C'est la Vie: An American Conquers the City of Light, Begins a New Life, and Becomes--Zut Alors!--Almost French
by Suzy Gershman
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 201)
Read in July, 2008
Okay, okay. So I came upon this book in my house here that we rented out, so thankfully I never bought this piece of crap. I have to say that this may be the worst book I have ever read. I'm going to give out spoilers here cause I am hoping that you will never ever ever read this shitty book. I'm not even done with it, and I can tell you that no matter what happens, this book will never redeem itself. So, first off, this stupid book is based on an autobiography. Which means that this woman...more
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Read in June, 2008
I got this for an American perspective of Parisian/French way of life...I'm be going around France for my honeymoon this summer and thought it'd be a good insight. Slightly silly that the author goes on about name-dropping and being fashionable and spending an insane amount of money on linens (it all makes me think her more-than-slightly absurd). But she did just lose her husband and was trying to make a new start for herself- hence the reason of moving to Paris- to age gracefully and to be cher...more
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Read in June, 2006
recommends it for:
Everyone
After reading several books on suicide and grief, being the surviving spouse of someone who had just recently ended their life, I felt I needed something light to read. Normally I read the back cover and the first few pages before buying a book, but in this case I didn't. I saw the cover, I love Paris, it looked like a light read. So I bought it, headed to the nearest coffee shop and settled in to read some fluff. Imagine my surprise when on the first page I read that she moved to Paris afte...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in July, 2007
42. "Bestselling writer Suzy Gershman (dubbed "Super Shopper Suzy" by Oprah) is our answer to Peter Mayle in this heartfelt, breezy, and funny story of starting over in Paris. Suzy had always fantasized about moving to Paris with her husband, but when he dies unexpectedly, she decides to fulfill their dream alone. Here she gives a deliciously conversational chronicle of her first year in Paris and of the dizzying delights and maddening frustrations of learning to be a Parisian. Fi...more
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Read in January, 2006
Suzy Gershman becomes a widow, sends her son off to college, and decides to pick up and move to France for a year to "get it out of her system." She writes of her process of learning about the French bureaucratic system, developing new friendships and shares her appreciation of the culture and country. She begins dating six months after her husband's death…with a married man. She romanticizes being a mistress and explains it away by writing, "All Frenchmen have mistresses.&qu...more
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Read in April, 2007
Suzy Gershman has an amusing style and this book, a memior, about moving to Paris after her husband died, is told in a clever way. It is a testament to her spirit that not only could she take on learning a new language, learning to live a new way in another country, and build a new life for herself. But a lot of the book is about shopping (she is a shopping guide writer by trade) and some other little things that I found distracting and seemed to fill up pages and pages of her story. I had expec...more
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Read in October, 2008
quotes#047793
I often had to force myself to one more party or one more dinner, when all I really wanted was to stay home and watch TV. I went out only because I heard the memory of my mother's voice ringing in my brain, an echo from when I was twenty-two years old: "No one ever met anyone while sitting at home reading a book." p61
[but reading a book sure is fun:]
I took his wedding ring from his left hand, removed my wedding ring from my left hand and switched both of them ov...more
I often had to force myself to one more party or one more dinner, when all I really wanted was to stay home and watch TV. I went out only because I heard the memory of my mother's voice ringing in my brain, an echo from when I was twenty-two years old: "No one ever met anyone while sitting at home reading a book." p61
[but reading a book sure is fun:]
I took his wedding ring from his left hand, removed my wedding ring from my left hand and switched both of them ov...more
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Read in June, 2008
This would have been an absolutely wonderful book... If I was a 50 year old woman. As it was, I read it to glean the little details about life in France, and how Americans see the differences. I picked up a few things I hadn't heard before (Parisians naming their dogs with names starting with a different letter each year, for example) and reinforced some things I'd already heard about. I certainly didn't identify with the author, though. She authors a set of travel/shopping books, and her f...more
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Read in September, 2007
Interesting book when it comes to life in Paris, France. More particularly the transition from living in America. The story itself did not capture me as I hoped (maybe because I can’t relate), but the stories and explanations of how different things are in Paris are pretty cool, everything seems so expensive and complicated yet the author says it’s cheaper to live there? I felt cheated at the end for the events are not in chronological order. I hope this doesn’t ruin it for you, but if...more
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Read in May, 2008
Having grown up as an American in Paris, I thought I would find this look at French life from the perspective of an American interesting, but much of the book seems to be less about the woman's experience in France and with the French culture than it is about her shopping expeditions and minglings with socialite, both of which I found terribly boring and hard to relate to. I didn't even finish the book I was so bored. Good premise but this could have been a lot more.
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Read in September, 2008
This was one woman's journey about moving to France. At first it started out interesting/exciting adventure then it turned into a lot of shopping (she is the "Born to Shop" woman, whoever that is...) so I guess I should have expected it, but also a lot of name dropping that went right over my head. It just got a little tedious with the shopping and the shopping, I was hoping for more of her own personal journey. Perhaps that was her way of dealing with everything...shopping.
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Read in January, 2007
This book was a pleasure to read. I love books about people who are brave enough to pick up and move to a new world. Suzy Gershman writes in a very realistic and hilarious way about what it is like to be a new resident of Paris. I felt like I was one of her good friends who she called up and told about her adventures. Definitely recommended for anyone who loves reading about someone else's adventures moving to a new country.
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Read in February, 2007
recommended to Teri by:
Bas Bleu
Suzy Gershman is the author of a series of Born to Shop books. I had never heard of them. This memoir is about her moving to Paris after her husband dies. She tells of culture differences and experiences. As a woman in her fifties, she felt her life would be richer, more what she needed, in Paris as opposed to the U.S. I did like the book, I just didn't agree with all of her opinions.
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An insider's peek at Parisian ways and lifestyle. The book has its enjoyable moments and the right amount of "chic" attitude. However, I found myself mildly irritated with the tone of the writer, Suzy Gershman.
Pick it up only if you have nothing else to read. I read this on a flight to Frankfurt, and for a long flight, it's just right: mindless entertainment.
Pick it up only if you have nothing else to read. I read this on a flight to Frankfurt, and for a long flight, it's just right: mindless entertainment.
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Read in August, 2008
I loved this book. Basically I am always planning the beginning of my life. At some point I will realise I'm already living, but until then I love books like C'est La Vie because they remind me that I can move to the south of France and by a run down chateau...if I want to. I am woman!
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If your wanting to take a vacation to Paris, but don't have the vacation time or money, this book is the next best thing. One woman's journey from becoming a widower to a bona fide Parisian. Along the way she shares great suggestions for local restaurants and flea market finds.
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Humorous read of a widow who relocates to Paris after her husband passes away. Although it reads a little like "What I bought in Paris" (she wrote a Shopping column) it gives some good insights into the differences in customer service and life in France.
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Read in November, 2007
I read this book for my book club, and it wasn't worth the time. Much as I love Paris, I couldn't abide this woman's selfishness, her loopy sense of being on a budget (hundreds of dollars of vintage linens? Please!), or her treatment of her son.
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Read in March, 2008
Great story that I would recommend to any lover of French culture, but more importantly anyone who has lost a loved one. Suzy Gershman journeys through a terrible loss with such honesty, humour and grace, this really is a healing book.
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Read in January, 2007
A book about a woman who picks up and moves to Paris for a year after her husband dies. I wish I could go right now. I would have liked Gershman to describe French culture a bit more, but a fun read for the Francophile nonetheless.
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