The sub title of the book just drew me in - In Paris. In Love. In trouble!!! who wouldnt want to read something after that! I was also just after an exhibition of European masters and after Renoir and Monet at the National Gallery of Victoria this was my immediate choice at the library. (I was still in Europe in my mind!!) The exhibition was awesome and for me my first ever sight of an original Renoir and Monet amongst so many others.
The story is non fiction and deals with the life of a blogger - for a period of one year. A period of many ups and downs. A strained relationship with the father of her child, the emergence of one lover who is a follower of her blog, the break up of that relationship, and finally the emergence of a stronger Catherine - who is able to handle her life and loves with more strength than before.
From the time she was very young, Catherine fell in love with anything to do with the French way of life and the book shows how she was able to achieve her dreams of both studying and then working in Paris. The overwhelming influence of Paris in her life - is paramount in this book. More than Mr. Frog (her French partner which is how she describes him in her blog) Paris is the magnet for Catherine's life and it is impressive how she builds her life as a foreigner in France.
The book takes us through the mundane day to day life of any young mother coping with a toddler and a partner - the boring stuff all side by side with memoirs of Parisian life. It also gives us a glimpse of how exciting life can be in this European capital.
I loved the easy going style of this book. Maybe it is what could be called "Summer Reading". I am still not very familiar with what books actually fall into this category. Sri Lanka does not have a summer at all and I cant get my mind around books being read according to a season! For me books are wonderful 365 days of the year.
Petite Anglaise was very enjoyable - you really felt for Catherine whilst she was feeling down, you were elated when things were looking good and this was the essence of this book.
The book is a Penguin publication and I got it from the local Carnegie library.
Having recently visited Paris for the first time this looks like a great way to revisit!
ReplyDeletei like the premise of the life of a blogger. interesting. i'm adding to my tbr list ;-D
ReplyDeleteI like the sound of this one and I am at once taken by the cover
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