Synopses & Reviews
For twenty-five years, Rose Lloyd has juggled marriage, motherhood, and career with remarkable success. It has been a life of family picnics, books and wine, a cherished house, and her own exquisitely designed garden—sunny and comfortable. But then the carefully managed life to which Rose has become accustomed comes crashing down around her when—over the course of a few days—her marriage and her career both fall apart.
Can Rose, whose anguish is barely softened by the ministrations of friends and grown children with their own problems, ever start over? Not easily. But it's amazing what prolonged reflection, the slimming effect of a lost appetite, a new slant on independence (and a little Parisian lingerie) will do. Especially when an old flame suddenly reappears.
Full of humor, clever insight, and a whimsical sense of the absurd, Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman is an irresistible and finely written fantasy for anyone who ever wondered what a certain age would look like from beyond the looking-glass-and who will find it ripe with promise that the best days are yet to come.
Review
"This ‘Middle-Aged womans revenge is delightfully dishy. The 'revenge' in the title has little to do with getting back at people. Rather, Buchan celebrates the patience and wisdom that only age brings. While middle-aged women will relish the novel, it's a cautionary tale for husbands with eyes glued to the pertly twitching buttox of that office minx. Beware. Better that aging first bride than the girlish tendril you seduced. She just might start craving what you thought you had escaped..." —
USA Today
"Middle-aged or not, readers will find this book funny and sad, serious and light. Bottom line: Get REVENGE." —People (Page-turner of the Week)
"Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman is an eye-catcher of the first degree—even if most of those eyes are starting to disappear into the folds of their faces.... I raced through [the book] like a woman two weeks late for her hair-color appointment...[it] is a guilty pleasure." —Rocky Mountain News
"It would be easy to turn Rose's story into a fantasy of revenge, like Fay Weldon's "The Life and Loves of a She-Devil," or a feminist awakening along the lines of "The Women's Room," by Marilyn French. But what makes Buchan's take on the situation so appealing is that she sidesteps the expected plot devices. It takes more than misfortune, even if it is extreme, to change the basics of character. Rose never has been the kind of woman to brood on her hurts or to nurse a desire for revenge. It wouldn't be realistic for her anger and hurt to drive her in that direction now. Buchan skillfully brings the reader into Rose's days, and while there is anger there is also sadness, memories both bitter and sweet, and worries about the future.... Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman is not about revenge as much as it is about change. It is a nicely written piece of chick lit that ends up being thought-provoking in its restraint.... This is a novel that is about a three-dimensional woman, not a stereotype, and she's a character that grows on the reader while she grows into a new stage of her life." —Denver Post
"The revenge of an abandoned spouse is a dish best served in the company of her or his long-lost love. And in fairy tales (or novels such as Elizabeth Buchan's Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman) that's exactly what happens." —Minneapolis Star Tribune
"An excellent story…strong, imaginative power…wonderful atmosphere" —Joanna Trollope
"A gorgeously well-written tale: funny, sad, sophisticated" —Independent
Review
"This beautifully written novel about a discarded middle-aged wife brims with surprises."." —
USA Today, in naming the 10 Best Books of 2003
"Wise and wonderful...Buchan celebrates the patience and wisdom that only
age can bring." —USA Today
“Bottom line: Get Revenge.” —People
“Revenge may be sweet, but Revenge is not, thank goodness.” —The Wall Street Journal
“What I like about this book is everything.” —Elizabeth Berg
Review
"Pancol deftly manages the constellation of characters in a cleareyed, warmly funny tale."
—Kirkus
Review
“This multilayered well-paced tale will delight you with its entertaining cast of characters and madcap adventures from Paris to the wilds of Africa.”
—Katharine Davis, author of Capturing Paris
"Pancol deftly manages the constellation of characters in a cleareyed, warmly funny tale."
—Kirkus
Review
"A satisfying read."
—The Washington Post
“Bonjour, book lovers. Get ready for best-selling French author Katherine Pancols American debut. Its a charmer about fortysomething sisters Iris and Josephine, who have taken very different paths in life but come together when each finds herself in need of a little reinvention. Read it and ouip.”
—Daily Candy
"Lucky you! You're about to succumb to France's most irresistible writer! At the end of this delicious, tender, funny, heartwarming novel, you'll feel as if Iris and Joséphine are part of your family."
—Tatiana de Rosnay, New York Times bestselling author of Sarah's Key
“Thought Parisian women are perfect? Think again. A delicious treat about separation, sisterhood, and turning tables.”
—Inès de la Fressange, New York Times bestselling author of Parisian Chic
“There is a gorgeous and invigorating zip and sparkle to the writing. You read it with a big smile.”
—Elizabeth Buchan, New York Times bestselling author of Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman
“No wonder Katherine Pancols books are all bestsellers, reading her feels like coming home. Her characters become like friends and family members, and you long to know how they get on. The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles has all the quirks, tensions, and belly laughs that family, friendship, and sisterhood can entail. It is touching, entertaining, and vibrant.”
—Cécile David-Weill, author of The Suitors
“This multilayered well-paced tale will delight you with its entertaining cast of characters and madcap adventures from Paris to the wilds of Africa.”
—Katharine Davis, author of Capturing Paris
"Pancol deftly manages the constellation of characters in a cleareyed, warmly funny tale."
—Kirkus
“Pancols runaway French bestseller is a satisfying Cinderella story. . . . delicious.”
—Publishers Weekly
"Riveting . . . Delicious morsels involving every family member compel attention in a title that will appeal to fans of Marian Keyes and Olivia Goldsmith."
—Booklist
Synopsis
Prize-winning author Anna Gavalda has galvanized the literary world with an exquisite genius for storytelling. Here, in her epic new novel of intimate lives-and filled with the "humanity and wit" (Marie Claire) that has made it a bestselling sensation in France-Gavalda explores the twists of fate that connect four people in Paris. Comprised of a starving artist, her shy, aristocratic neighbor, his obnoxious but talented roommate, and a neglected grandmother, this curious, damaged quartet may be hopeless apart, but together, they may just be able to face the world.
Synopsis
In
Le Divorce,
Diane Johnson delightfully recounts the adventures of two sisters from California who make a modern pilgrimage to the City of Light.
Pregnant and abandoned by her French husband, Roxeanne Walker de Persand turns to her younger sister, Isabel, for support, while the powerful Persand family exerts subtle but firm control over her decision whether or not to divorce. Complicating matters is the disposition of a family heirloom, a painting in Roxy's possession that is suddenly discovered to be worth millions. In the midst of a variety of schemes, the stakes are suddenly raised by a crime of passion, disrupting everyone's motives and plans.
Not since Edith Wharton penned her brilliant portraits of Americans abroad has an American novelist so perfectly captured the possibilities and perils of succumbing to the allure of Paris.
Synopsis
Get ready to cheer for Rose Lloyd, a woman of young middle-age who proves that starting over doesn’t have an age limit. After twenty-five years spent juggling husband, career, and kids with admirable success, Rose suddenly finds both her marriage and her career in unexpected ruin. Forced to begin a new life, she is at first terrified, then energized, by her newfound freedom—it’s amazing what prolonged reflection, a little weight loss, a new slant on independence, and some Parisian lingerie will do for the psyche! Witty, insightful, and emotionally resonant, Buchan’s novel will strike a chord with anyone who has ever wondered what Middle Age would look like from the other side of the looking glass (answer: much better than you could ever expect).
Synopsis
At forty-three, Myriam has been a wife, mother, and lover—but never a restauranteur. When she opens Chez Moi in a quiet neighborhood in Paris, she has no idea how to run a business, but armed only with her love of cooking, she is determined to try. Barely able to pay the rent, Myriam secretly sleeps in the dining room and bathes in the kitchen sink, while struggling to come to terms with the painful memories of her past. But soon enough her delectable cuisine brings her many neighbors to Chez Moi, and Myriam finds that she may get a second chance at life and love. Redolent with the sights, smells, and tastes of Paris,
Chez Moi is a charming story that will appeal to the many readers who fell in love with Joanne Harris’s
Chocolat and Laura Esquivel’s
Like Water for Chocolate.
Synopsis
Soon to be a major motion picture from Merchant Ivory productions starring Naomi Watts and Kate Hudson!
Called "stylish...refreshing...genuinely wise" by The New York Times Book Review, Diane Johnson’s Le Divorce has delighted readers since its publication in 1997.
This delightful comedy of manners and morals, money, marriage, and murder follows smart, sexy, and impeccably dressed American Isabel Walker as she lands in Paris to visit her stepsister Roxy, a poet whose marriage to an aristocratic French painter has assured her a coveted place in Parisian society...until her husband leaves her for the wife of an American lawyer. Could "le divorce" be far behind? Can irrepressible Isabel keep her perspective (and her love life) intact as cultures and human passions collide? "Social comedy at its best" (Los Angeles Times Book Review), Le Divorce is Diane Johnson at her most scintillating and sublime.
Synopsis
Le Divorce meets The Elegance of the Hedgehog in this hilariously entertaining mega-bestseller from France
When her chronically unemployed husband runs off to start a crocodile farm in Kenya with his mistress, Joséphine Cortès is left in an unhappy state of affairs. The mother of twoconfident, beautiful teenage Hortense and shy, babyish Zoéis forced to maintain a stable family life while making ends meet on her meager salary as a medieval history scholar. Meanwhile, Joséphines charismatic sister Iris seems to have it alla wealthy husband, gorgeous looks, and a très chic Paris addressbut she dreams of bringing meaning back into her life. When Iris charms a famous publisher into offering her a lucrative deal for a twelfth-century romance, she offers her sister a deal of her own: Joséphine will write the novel and pocket all the proceeds, but the book will be published under Iriss name. All is wellthat is, until the book becomes the literary sensation of the season.
About the Author
Elizabeth Buchan is the author of several highly acclaimed and bestselling books of fiction, including the bestselling Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman, The Good Wife Strikes Back, Everything She Thought She Wanted, and Consider the Lily.