Marilyn YalomCritiques

Nice topic, fun read.

Yalom presents us with an engaging look at the history of the breast. The arrangement is roughly chronological, but she breaks away from the straight chronological presentation to divide the chapters thematically, subsequently exploring the breast as sacred, erotic, domestic, political, psychological, commercial, medicalized, and liberated.

To a large degree, the story of the breast is the story of women. Thus, if you've read much along those lines, much of that will be familiar. Even so, I found much that was new to me. The chapter the medicalized breast, which included a history of breast cancer treatments, was educational (and heart wrenching, at times).

My main criticism of this book is that it is primarily a history of the western and mostly upper class breast as seen by men. The second and third criticism -- upper class and the male gaze -- are hardly Yalom's fault. In fact, one of her themes throughout the book is how it is only in recent decades that women's voices have been able to openly speak about the breast. Before that men often defined the societal meaning of the breast, just as they defined women. And since much of that definition was through art, paintings and poetry in particular, that vision tended to focuses on upper class women.

But I am surprised at the lack of non-western perspective, beyond a couple scattered remarks. Just as it was an "ah hah" moment for my really feeling that attractiveness is socially constructed when I learned that the ideal French medieval breast was small and high, it would have been even more perspective stretching to see views of the breast in cultures I am less familiar with.

Overall, this was an engaging read.

This book describes the history of marriage as it relates to modern marriage in America. The lives of wives in the ancient world are examined by looking at wives in the Bible, Greek wives, and Roman wives. Yalom then marches on through history, examining Medieval Europe, early Protestant wives, republican wives in America and France, Victorian wives in England and the U.S. (including those on the frontier). She then gets into the more modern era and looks at the changing role of women and wives in the late 19th century and the history of issues such as sex, contraception, and abortion in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th. Finally, she looks at wives in WWII and briefly examines how the role of the wife has changed in the last 50 years.

The common theme of this book is that what it means to be a wife is always changing with time and with culture. The so-called traditional nuclear family of a mother homemaker, a father breadwinner, and a couple of children is actually no more common than many other modes of family life. Throughout history, there have been times and places where both parents have worked, where children were sent elsewhere once they reached a certain ages, and where the household was much more diverse (extended family, servants, apprentices, etc.). Sometimes women were assumed to be more full of sexual desires than men and sometimes women were assumed to be frigid towers of purity.

Marriage can be an economic relationship, a political relationship, or a emotional relationship. These days, we think that it should be primarily an emotional relationship, but throughout much of history, that idea was ridiculous; marriage was a way to solidify political ties or increase your economic worth. Over time, love became an important factor in choosing a spouse, but it is only recently (since women started becoming more independent, in fact) that love and personality became the primary factors when choosing a spouse.

Yalom also makes the point that what seem like modern issues about sex, contraception, and abortion actually have histories going back hundreds of years (and a public history going back about 150 years). The unequal sexual freedoms accepted for men and women have been the issue of private discussion many centuries, and women have always shared the secrets of contraception and medicinally induced abortions since at least the middle ages. Ancient cultures practiced infanticide, and while it was never approved, there were times when it was certainly ignored. What changed in the last 150 years is that this discussion has become public.

In short, the role of the wife is constantly evolving (as are the closely related issues of the husband, children, and sex). Acknowledging this is important; it shows the error in thinking that marriage is now corrupted and ruined and that marriages of the past fit some idealized perfect mold. Marriage has always been changing; marriages may be less stable today, but beating ones wife and children is no longer acceptable. It is neither going downhill nor approaching some ideal; like all human institutions, it is just changing in response to the world around it and will continue to do so.

I enjoyed this book for it's historical content and contrasts to present day roles of being a wife. I admire the research that the Author did, but I felt there was a lost opportunity towards the end to expand on how the religious, cultural and society roles influenced the modern ways.

She touches lightly on some, but not at the depth of what she did in the earlier chapters. The pace changed a bit towards it's conclusion.

I really appreciated the light she shined on many of the issues that are often not spoken about. She provided a voice for many relationships and wives who did not and do not have the opportunity to do so. For that I'm grateful to her.

I learned alot, was surprised and overall would recommend if you love history.

8 stars: Very good

From the back cover: In today's culture, the bonds of female friendship are taken as a given. But only a few centuries ago, the idea of female friendship was completely unacknowledged, even pooh poohed. Dating back to the Greeks and Romans, women were long considered "weaker" than men and constitutionally unsuited for friendship at the highest level. Only men, the reasoning went, had the emotional and intellectual depth to develop and sustain these meaningful relationships. Surveying history, philosophy, religion and pop culture, Yalom demonstrates how women were able to co-opt the public face of friendship throughout the years. Chronicling shifting attitudes toward friendship - both female and male - from the Bible and the Romans to the Enlightenment, to the women's rights movements to Sex and the City, they reveal how the concept of female friendship has been inextricably linked to the larger social and cultural movements that have defined human history.

-----------------------

Overall, I found this to be a very good read and learned a lot of information. I very much enjoyed the trip through women's history which is inextricably linked with women's larger role in the society of the time. For instance, the first section was on Greek friendships and specifically was not about women, because there just wasn't historical record. This section was used to discuss various philosophies of friendship, and is referred to in later chapters. The section on "Romantic friendships", roughly 1750-1900 or so, where letters between women has very romantic and at times erotic language was also enlightening. In some cases there may have been non-platonic interactions, but much of it was how people communicated at the time. An entire chapter is devoted to Eleanor Roosevelt. As I have read multiple books on her, it was not new information, but set in this book on history it was necessary. I give a star off because the book did not have me deeply engaged, and also because it only discussed white, more monied women, until the very recent past (late 60s). Some of this may have been lack of historical record, but that can't account for all of it. Most moving was an account of a woman condemned to the guillotine. She asked her female friend to be present on the route, so that she could see the friend and provide some comfort in her final journey. This is all recorded, the friend did so, wearing the dress she had worn when they were last together, and holding extended eye contact.

Some quotes I liked:

Guys get together and have shoulder - to - shoulder relationships. We do things together. As compared to women, who are more apt to have face to face relationships. Many women confide in their friends, while men simply enjoy hanging out together. All too often, competitiveness colors male relationships and prevents men from disclosing their frailties and pain to their friends. Hence men's intimate discussions are often reserved for their girlfriends, spouses, or platonic women friends.

CIcero gives us practical advice about how to end a friendship that has gone wrong. If it is necessary to break with a friend, he prefers that the friendship "should seem to fade away rather than to be stamped out." for fear that it would create hard feelings or turn into serious personal enmity.

Intimacy often recedes in order to make space for heterosexual love, which often - in life as well as in literature - supersedes female friendship. The conflict between women's bonds with one another and marriage is one that we shall see played out... right into the present.

"I find that there are few friendships in the world marriage - proof... we may generally conclude the Marriage of a Friend to be the Funeral of a Friendship." - Katherine Phillips

The first generation of New Women, who came of age between 1880 and 1900, were aware that their young adult freedom would probably end with marriage. That a stark choice would have to be made between marriage and family and a real career was a societal given, even for an educated woman. ... those who chose a career looked to their female friends to create a supportive circle and ersatz family. Some entered into long lasting domestic partnerships with other women.

In the early years of marriage, blue collar husbands and wives named their spouse as their favorite companion, but after seven or more years, the older wife named friends and relatives with increasing frequency in her list of preferences, whereas the older husband curtailed his extrafamily associations. There does seem to be a tendency for men of all classes, as they grow older, to depend increasingly on their wives for friendship, even as their wives find more friends outside the family circle.

{Toni Morrison, discussing her 1983 book Sula] Friendship between women is special, different, and has never been depicted as the major focus of a novel before Sula. NObody ever talked about friendship between women unless it was homosexual, and there is no homosexuality in Sula. Relationships between women were always written about as though they were subordinate to some other roles they're playing. This is not true of men. It seemed to me that black women have friends in the old fashioned sense of the word. I was halfway through the book before I realized that friendship in literary terms is a rather contemporary idea.

As more girls and boys grow up in a gender neutral environment, their attitudes towards friendship will carry weight in workplaces in the future. Like most cultural change, this process will likely be a halting progression of the two step forward, one step back kind.

(Epilogue) Are there qualities of women's friendship that seem to be almost universal? ... What common elements can be found in the friendships [across time and history]. From the many exampels presented in this book, were have identified four ingredients that seem basic to women's friendships: Affection, self revelation [talk to openly without the fear of reprisal and with expectation of sympathy and support], physical contact, interdependence.

I can't help it; I'm a francophile!

I've enjoyed Marilyn Yalom's prose in every one of her books. Great use of primary documents, good historical analysis, and funny, touching and just plain interesting moments. Learned a lot I didn't know about property rights, contraception, and love matches.

A wonderful companion to my Masterpieces of French Literature course. My reading list has now expanded considerably!

Thorough research of all US graveyards/cemeteries/varying places. Not enough photographs. Full of white racism.

A history of how the image we call a heart came to be called that and associated with love and romance.

The writing in this is well done but dry. I Pearl ruled it as I just wasn't find the reading experience enjoyable. YMMV.½

From the title of this book, I thought it was going to be a sociological exploration into the romance and courting habits of the French. I was pleasantly surprised to find out it was about French romantic literature. There were a few sociological-type personal anecdotes from the author about herself as well as friends and associates. I thought the anecdotes were distracting from what really interested me--the changing views of love and romance in French literature. I found the scope of the literature choices interesting and liked hearing the personal histories of some of the authors. I enjoyed this more as a literary exploration than I probably would have as a sociological exploration. Glad I didn't judge this book by its cover.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, having been fascinated with the French and French literature and culture since I pilfered Angelique off of Mom's bookshelf when I was too young to read it (what an American sentiment!). I then proceeded to find and buy all the books in the series, and later managed to study law in France for a summer. I believe that a number of French concepts in those books greatly influenced my life for the better. I have always sought out French classics but, of course, have not been able to read them all, despite my Literature major in college. I now have an even better understanding of the important French literary contributions (novels, letters, author histories, and even some movies) to the French ideals of love from its inception through its ups, downs and all arounds. Thanks Marilyn Yalom for listening to your literary agent and writing this important work, and for treating all the evolutions of love so passionately and thoroughly. Your epilogue was just right; I now have a new item on my bucket list, when I return to Notre Dame one day. I also will definitely read one of your favorite books: "La Princess de Cleves"and look forward to it.


(Thank you to the publisher for allowing me a preview of the book.)

A well-researched, well-organized and fascinating study of what it has meant to be a "wife."

In many ways, this book illustrates why I rarely read non-fiction books, preferring instead to get my facts from magazines, journal articles, and news outlets. The prose is unexceptional and inconsistent, veering in tone between academic and chatty. The content is almost random, providing a lot of anecdotes but failing to provide what the title promises: a history of wife-hood.

A better name for this book would be: “A Background for American Wives of European Ancestry.” Admittedly (as was pointed out to me when I started complaining about it) the back of the book does note the Western focus of the book. So it’s not precisely fair to fault the book for not being what I wanted it to be: a clear view of the different legal and social obligations that have accompanied the concept of marriage in different time periods and cultures.

Instead, this book tells a quite familiar tale. No one with a passing acquaintance with Western History is going to learn anything new or shocking here. In keeping with the old idea that American culture is based on Greco-Roman society, Yalom starts off with ancient Greek and Roman marriages, proceeds to medieval and Renaissance Europe, spends quite a bit of time on Frontier wives in America, goes on to the Victorians, the effect of the early feminist movement, the development of contraception, the effect of WWII, and modern times (in the United States).

Even within the scope of the book, so many opportunities are lost. There is no discussion of how different cultures’ bringing their own marriage traditions and expectations to America is a factor in society, no mention of gay marriage or alternative family arrangements – nothing more challenging than a mild feminist perspective is included.

Rather than making a historical argument, or even really talking that much about the book’s topic, Yalom really has just collected a bunch of anecdotes about women throughout history who happened to be married. Luckily, many of them are really fascinating, interesting anecdotes. I love history, and I love reading things like old diary and letter excerpts to gain insight into others’ lives and perspectives. I didn’t mind keeping this book around for a bit, working my way through it by picking it up every so often to read the next segment…

I received this book from GoodReads in exchange for an honest review.

This is kind of a difficult book to rate. While the text is informative, the overall narrative feels as though it is lacking. Part of the issue is clearly a lack of historical texts to use in order to determine changes in female friendship. This is mostly a history of white middle class friendship with a brief look at various "other" friendships such as "Friendship in the Workplace, Third-World Style", an unfortunately flippant title. Again, this is partly due to the lack of documentation outside of the dominant group, but I think the missing pieces were crucial to this history.

The historical connections to feminism were interesting, especially the chunk of the book dedicated to Eleanor Roosevelt, but as a whole the book felt a bit dull. The text was broken up well into digestible pieces, but some areas were heavier than others, leaving some sections unsatisfying thin. The section on modern friendships was incredibly short with very little depth.

A decent book, but the lack of concentration in certain areas left me unsatisfied as a whole.

Absolutely full of historical details about customs and laws that affected women as wives. I continue to be surprised and fascinated at the number of differences between my own experience and that of women not that long ago. Just the changes in laws regarding property, work, and finances is astounding. And of course it is very interesting to spot the "traditional" views that are straight out of the Victorian "cult of domesticity" (so, not actually that long ago). Excellent use of diaries, letters, newspapers and other first-person accounts from the earliest sparse examples to the flood of more recent years. As I also enjoy reading historical fiction, I can now bring more context and knowledge to any stories regarding women, the home, and family life since ancient times.

An interesting and amusing book, this was read for a college course on the history of women. I recommend as good starter book on the history - a book to use as a springboard for deeper studies.

This book was interesting, but it expanded upon knowledge I already had rather than teaching me anything new. My primary complaint is that when the book hit the modern era (modern relative to the book itself, which was published in 1998) it left anecdotal evidence at the station and hopped right on board a speculation train. The best example I have of this is the author's treatment of nipple rings - take the following quote:

". . . the symbolic meaning of the nipple ring draws from both conscious and unconscious motivations. Women with nipple rings speak of 'marking a transition' in their lives or 'creating a new sexual identity' or making their breasts 'more exciting' or simply wanting to distinguish themselves from more conventional folk. Perhaps they also want to signal to prospective partners that they are not breeders or nurses, at least temporarily."

Whoa there, partner. I got a nipple piercing in 1999, admittedly a year after this book was initially published but certainly social convention hadn't changed much in the preceding 12 months. The reason behind my own choice to pierce is multifaceted and not really fitting for a book review, but suffice it to say that my choice had absolutely nothing to do with the reasons outlined in the author's conjecture.

Essentially: I don't regret reading this, but I probably should have stopped when the author quit making sense.

So I was led astray by the title of this book How the French Invented Love--doesn't that suggest a sociological explanation of the significance of love in French culture? Now of course, love is important in every culture. But to my romantic American Francophile mind, the French seem to have cornered the market on love. Stereotype or not, it seems to me that the French, both throughout history and today, are much more devoted to the pleasures of love. I was expecting a sociological exploration of this belief. In reading this, I wanted to learn: why do we associate the French so strongly with love? is the French emphasis on love fact or fiction? how do the French treat love differently from other cultures?

Unfortunately, this book somewhat broaches these questions but not sociologically. Rather, Yalom, who writes both congenially and informatively, takes us on a sweeping adventure through French love literature. She begins with the tragic story of Abelard and Heloise, whom she names the "patron saints" of French love. From there we discuss [a:Chrétien de Troyes|20903|Chrétien de Troyes|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1263599207p2/20903.jpg]' Arthurian romances and his focus on courtly love before moving to the invention of gallantry during the reign of Sun King Louis XIV. Then we investigate the Romantics' fixation/fascination on love as the absolute purpose of life and finally we explore the more modern cynicism toward love as found in [a: Proust|233619|Marcel Proust|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1189444962p2/233619.jpg] and Flaubert's [b:Madame Bovary|2175|Madame Bovary|Gustave Flaubert|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1335676143s/2175.jpg|2766347]. Yalom does not limit herself to heterosexual love either--lesbian and gay relationships are well-covered. What I found most interesting about this chronological expedition through French literature was the oscillation between periods of romantic attitudes toward love followed by periods of jaded attitudes toward love. A lot of French love literature is motivated by backlash toward these ideals.

While this book left me with a long list of French love stories to seek out, I didn't get the answer to my most pressing questions: do the French actually love differently? and if they do, why? This omission was somewhat assuaged by Yalom's inclusion of several personal anecdotes on French love. She tells charming real life stories of French lovers that are so utterly French in character that I can't help but believe that l'amour à la française is not merely imagined but truly exists.

Here's a LONG list of French works focused on love that Yalom has inspired me to read as soon as possible:
[b:The Lais of Marie de France|119079|The Lais of Marie de France|Marie de France|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331917315s/119079.jpg|114648]
[b:The Princesse de Clèves|354364|The Princesse de Clèves|Madame de La Fayette|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1174023203s/354364.jpg|344556]
[b:Les Liaisons Dangereuses|49540|Les Liaisons Dangereuses|Pierre Choderlos de Laclos|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298425654s/49540.jpg|3280025]
[b:Manon Lescaut|577246|Manon Lescaut |Abbé Prévost|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348371776s/577246.jpg|649139]
[b:The Misanthrope|752994|The Misanthrope|Molière|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328868192s/752994.jpg|685838]
[b:The Complete Claudine: Claudine at School; Claudine in Paris; Claudine Married; Claudine and Annie|89839|The Complete Claudine Claudine at School; Claudine in Paris; Claudine Married; Claudine and Annie|Colette|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316125865s/89839.jpg|704679]
[b:Indiana|104260|Indiana|George Sand|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1171510382s/104260.jpg|1192753]
[b:Madame Bovary|2175|Madame Bovary|Gustave Flaubert|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1335676143s/2175.jpg|2766347]
[b:Cyrano De Bergerac|15638|Cyrano De Bergerac|Edmond Rostand|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309203284s/15638.jpg|2327623]
[b:Remembrance of Things Past: Volume I - Swann's Way & Within a Budding Grove|190576|Remembrance of Things Past Volume I - Swann's Way & Within a Budding Grove |Marcel Proust|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320495451s/190576.jpg|184245]
[b:The Lover|275|The Lover|Marguerite Duras|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1353844338s/275.jpg|1009849]

So obviously that list suggests that you probably shouldn't pick this book up if you're not looking to add even MORE books to your already towering TBR pile. The Francophile in me, however, can't wait.

This is somewhat a "Women’s Studies" book, but far more interesting and less dogmatic than it might have been. The emphasis is on history.

What a fascinating book.

What a fascinating book.

I began reading this book in a Religion class about marriage. This book shows a large chunk of history and how women were treated outside and inside a marriage contract. At first, I was skeptical that this book would be too factual (to a boring point) but I was pleasantly surprised! Great book!

Ο καθένας γνωρίζει ότι η βασίλισσα είναι το πιο ισχυρό κομμάτι στο σκάκι, λίγοι όμως ξέρουν ότι το παιχνίδι παιζόταν επί πεντακόσια χρόνια χωρίς εκείνη. Στην Ινδία, την Περσία και τις αραβικές περιοχές, όπου πρωτοπαίχτηκε το παιχνίδι, ο στρατηγός ή βεζίρης καταλάμβανε το τετράγωνο όπου τώρα στέκεται η βασίλισσα, η οποία δεν εμφανίζεται στη σκακιέρα νωρίτερα από το έτος 1000, διακόσια χρόνια αφότου οι Μαυριτανοί έφεραν το σκάκι στη Νότια Ευρώπη. Μόνο όταν το σκάκι έγινε δημοφιλής διασκέδαση στους βασιλικούς κύκλους της Ευρώπης, στη διάρκεια του Μεσαίωνα, γεννήθηκε η βασίλισσα του σκακιού και ενδυναμώθηκε σταδιακά ώστε να γίνει η άγρια πολεμίστρια και προστάτιδα του βασιλιά.



Η Γέννηση της βασίλισσας του σκακιού διερευνά τους πέντε αιώνες που μεσολαβούν από τη συνεσταλμένη εμφάνιση της βασίλισσας του σκακιού στις αρχές της δημιουργίας της Αγίας Ρωμαϊκής Αυτοκρατορίας ώς την αύξηση της ισχύος της στη διάρκεια της βασιλείας της Ισαβέλλας της Καστίλλης. Η Μαίριλυν Γιάλομ, έχοντας ως έμπνευση τις ελάχιστες μεσαιωνικές βασίλισσες του σκακιού που έχουν διασωθεί, αναζητά την προέλευση και την εξάπλωσή τους από την Ισπανία, την Ιταλία και τη Γερμανία ώς τη Γαλλία, την Αγγλία, τη Σκανδιναβία και τη Ρωσία. Με ζωηρή αφήγηση και ικανότητα να συναρπάζει τους αναγνώστες, η Μαίριλυν Γιάλομ βρίσκει κοινά σημεία μεταξύ της γέννησης της βασίλισσας του σκακιού και της ανόδου των γυναικών στους βασιλικούς θρόνους της Ευρώπης, παρουσιάζοντας σε διαδοχικά επίπεδα την ιστορία των μεσαιωνικών αυλών και τους εσωτερικούς αγώνες για την απόκτηση της εξουσίας. Επιπλέον, αναδεικνύει τη σχέση της βασίλισσας του σκακιού με τη λατρεία της Παρθένου Μαρίας και του Ρομαντικού Έρωτα, που επηρέασε για αιώνες την ευρωπαϊκή κοινωνία.

Το παρόν βιβλίο, με έγχρωμες και ασπρόμαυρες εικόνες σε όλη του την έκταση, προσφέρει μια φρέσκια ματιά για τις πολιτικές και τον πολιτισμό της μεσαιωνικής Ευρώπης, για το θεσμό της γυναικείας βασιλείας και για τις αντανακλάσεις της βασιλικής εξουσίας στη μορφή της βασίλισσας του σκακιού.

Κριτικές
« Έρευνα που αναζητά σε μεγάλη έκταση τις ρίζες του σκακιού και του πιο ισχυρού κομματιού του… Η Μαίριλυν Γιάλομ αναποδογύρισε την Ευρώπη για να ανακαλύψει τα χαμένα κομμάτια της σκακιέρας που δείχνουν την πορεία του παιχνιδιού στη γηραιά ήπειρο… Ο συναρπαστικός και αξιόπιστος συλλογισμός της είναι ότι η αποχώρηση του βεζίρη και η στέψη της βασίλισσας συνδέονται με την αύξηση του κύρους των γυναικών στη μεσαιωνική Ευρώπη ».

– New York Times Book Review



« Η Γιάλομ αναπτύσσει τον αξιόπιστο συλλογισμό ότι η άνοδος της βασίλισσας του σκακιού αντανακλά την εξουσία που δόθηκε, ή διεκδικήθηκε, από τις Ευρωπαίες ηγεμονίδες ».

– The New Yorker

« Επαρκής εξήγηση για το πώς η βασίλισσα του σκακιού έγινε το κυρίαρχα επιθετικό κομμάτι της σκακιέρας∙ ενδιαφέρουσα η άποψη ότι η σκακιέρα αναπαριστά τον πολιτισμό της εποχής της. Το έργο αποτελεί εμβριθή, καθόλου φανατική εξήγηση για την άνοδο της εξουσίας των γυναικών, ιδιαίτερα στην Ευρώπη ».

– BostonGlobe

« Η Μαίριλυν Γιάλομ έγραψε ένα εξαιρετικό βιβλίο που φωτίζει κάτι που είχε γίνει αμυδρά αντιληπτό αλλά δεν είχε διατυπωθεί ξεκάθαρα, στη συγκεκριμένη περίπτωση ότι η δύναμη της βασίλισσας του σκακιού αντανακλά την εξέλιξη της γυναικείας δύναμης στον δυτικό κόσμο ».

– San FransiscoChronicle

How the French Invented Love is a history of love in French society, particularly French literature, from around 1100AD to today. The author summarizes classic stories to give you a feel for the era, but leaves out just enough that you desperately want to read the complete work. These glimpses into each era’s literature are spiced up by the addition of true anecdotes from the author’s personal experience in France. Some of these stories are not for the faint of heart, as they include adultery and other even more unusual romantic situations, but there are very few explicit sex scenes included. I would rate this one PG-13.

Despite the lack of explicit sex scenes, I would highly recommend this book to all fans of the romance genre. Even as someone who only dabbles in romance, I found the history of the genre and the ways it shaped and was shaped by French culture incredibly fascinating. One of the few downsides to the book was the lack of a clear thread connecting the different eras into which the author divided French literature. She draws few overarching conclusions, focusing instead of analyzing the spirit of each era separately. In a lesser book, the lack of direction might have ruined the book for me; this one drew me in with accessible summaries of classic literature, the spicy real life anecdotes, and the interesting topic. It was hard to put down!

A few other likes and dislikes… I loved that the author included some words and phrases in French along with translations. It was incredible how many different words there are for different shades of love and I appreciated her explanations of phrases without direct English translations. Some of these added real insight into the differences between French and American views on love. I was less fond of the way she referred back to authors discussed earlier without reorienting her readers with some descriptors. That oversight meant I did a lot of flipping back and forth to check which author wrote what. Finally, and appropriately for a book involving such focus on the sensual, the physical book itself particularly appealed to me. From the appearance of the cover to it’s canvas-like material to the rough edged pages, the book was as elegant as the French society it portrayed.

This review first posted on Doing Dewey.