Lust in Translation: Infidelity from Tokyo to Tennessee
by Pamela Druckerman
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 172)
Read in August, 2007
I’ve gone on and on (and on and on) about this book and how excited I was to hear that it had been written. A comparison of attitudes and practices governing adultery in different countries around the world, this puppy was right up my alley. While satisfying my endless interest in the subject of fidelity, it also scratched (just a little, but still…) my itch to travel.
The book begins by introducing general ideas about adultery in the way that a typical American would comprehend them. ...more
The book begins by introducing general ideas about adultery in the way that a typical American would comprehend them. ...more
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From Publishers Weekly
Former foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal now living in Paris, Druckerman offers an anecdotal rather than a scholarly exploration of the international etiquette of adultery. From American prudishness about the subject to French discretion, and from Russian vehemence about the obligatory affair to Japanese adherence to the single marital futon, one factor rings true in all cases: people lie about sex. Druckerman interviews numerous adulterers, starting with ...more
Former foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal now living in Paris, Druckerman offers an anecdotal rather than a scholarly exploration of the international etiquette of adultery. From American prudishness about the subject to French discretion, and from Russian vehemence about the obligatory affair to Japanese adherence to the single marital futon, one factor rings true in all cases: people lie about sex. Druckerman interviews numerous adulterers, starting with ...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone who thinks about sex
One of the big challenges in writing a book on sex is to find a balance between the dreariness of statistical accuracy drawn from a survey and the lively richness of anecdotal information from a single source. I don't want to read a Kinsey report, nor do I want to read Cosmopolitan magazine. I think Druckerman found a good balance in this book that makes it both interesting and credible.
Druckerman examines several cultures. I was particularly interested in her study of Japan. The vari...more
Druckerman examines several cultures. I was particularly interested in her study of Japan. The vari...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommends it for:
degree-holders in anthropology, anyone who's been in a relationship, anyone who's curious
This book truly gave me insight into the perspective of other cultures on something as old as culture itself. It goes by many names: cheating, infidelity, adultery, gettin' some on the side. In any case, it's something that goes on everywhere, yet how people treat it differs from place to place. It gave me some surprises, and some worries, on how infidelity is commenced, and the author herself gave us good enough distance on the subject, while at the same time providing her own thoughts in a ...more
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Read in May, 2008
I saw this book on the shelf and my interest was piqued - not least as I have known, either personally or through friends, a couple of guys who have cheated on their wives. I was intrigued to learn more about what was behind it all and how views differed in different cultures.
I was sadly disappointed though...
The book had some interesting snippets on practises in various countries but the author had overshadowed it all with a sense of middle class white American Christian morality. While she...more
I was sadly disappointed though...
The book had some interesting snippets on practises in various countries but the author had overshadowed it all with a sense of middle class white American Christian morality. While she...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
anyone married person who laspes into daydreams occasionally ;-)
Not a bad book if you read it with an understanding of its limits -- it is not meant to be a definitive academic resource, but a good, somewhat thought-provoking read about relationships, fidelity and guilt. The author does frame the book as a compare/contrast study of infidelity in the United States and the rest of the world, but the author definitely goes beyond an "us and them" tone in the main body of the work.
I'm still left wondering where Canada lands between the US and "...more
I'm still left wondering where Canada lands between the US and "...more
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I learned some interesting "facts" about the perception of infidelity across the world (Americans do it but feel guilty and like to punish themselves for eternity, French do it but don't feel guilty, Russians do it to create drama, Japanese do it because they have to, Sub-Saharan Africans do it for love,lust, money).
However, the author's style of writing annoyed me. Her constant interjection of herself into the story gave me the sense that she was sort of pretentious and boastful.
However, the author's style of writing annoyed me. Her constant interjection of herself into the story gave me the sense that she was sort of pretentious and boastful.
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Read in July, 2007
Am ambitious project that the author was not capable of completing. She shows that statistics regarding infidelity in foreign countries are hard to come by. Her interviewing technique was awkward, possibly because of cultural differences. I was intrigued by the Japanese sexless marriage and the Marriage-Industrial complex that has taken over America. Full disclosure is not always the rule, we're being taught that by daytime talk shows and the religious right - how credible is that?
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Read in May, 2008
Saw this book on a best books of the year list. It's not a super in-depth study of one subject in one specific area. She goes all around the world talking to people about infidelity, basically. The U.S., France, Japan, South Africa, China. She comes across some pretty interesting statistics. And makes some conclusions. But along the way there are plenty of interesting stories and tidbits to provoke one's mind. Not necessarily for the academic or the soul-searcher...
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Read in July, 2008
This is my kind of book - a readable non-fiction on one narrow topic. Even though her research seems largely anecdotal, i enjoyed the differing takes from the various countries and the rationalizations people gave. The Sarkozy stuff was dishy - and that was before Carla Bruni even! When can I read HIS bio?
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This book delves into, not just infidelity but also dating and approach to relationships/marriages. The author debunks common myths and then delves into where the assumptions may have begun. At times this is a bit dry (when she is analyzing the data to explain her additional research and why she isn't relying on commonly referenced data) but the interviews and assessments are quite interesting.
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Read in February, 2008
This will certainly amuse you. It's about how people have affairs in different countries. Some hassidic Jews change their clothes before venturing out to the disco because you can't pull many chicks wearing a fur samovar and a thick black coat.
The surprise (no surprise!) is that Americans are the only ones who feel very guilty about it and carry the guilt with them for years and years.
The surprise (no surprise!) is that Americans are the only ones who feel very guilty about it and carry the guilt with them for years and years.
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This was surprisingly good! Written by a former foreign correspondent for the "Wall Street Journal", a really interesting (and well-written) set of information (data and anecdotes from interviews) about the concepts of love, marriage, sex, adultery and guilt (religion!). Who knew that in Ireland, adultery is called "playing offsides"???
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone who has ever loved
best non-fiction read ever, not just because of the subject matter (infidelity), which is highly intriguing. Druckerman's prose are witty and astute. Sometimes we forget that there is whole world full of alternative perspectives and the one that we're so well acquainted with isn't always the most accurate. I'm glad I read this book!
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Read in July, 2008
I had high hopes for this book and was disappointed. The author was far too biased in her presentation of the "facts." It was clear that she had a very myopic point of view and her "research" was laughable at best. Don't pick this up if you're hoping for anything substantial, more than anything it reads like a very long op-ed.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in May, 2008
I saw this book under staff favorites at a bookstore. I picked it up and couldn't stop reading it. This is a quick, easy read and isn't an academic overview of adultery. It has an engaging story line in where the author weaves in her thoughts with the stories that she presents across the 10 countries.
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Read in June, 2007
recommends it for:
noone
I thought this would be an interesting book on kind of a taboo subject in our culture but I thought the author just could not follow through. Some parts were kind of interesting but really this did not deserve book publication if anything maybe just an article in The New Yorker or NYT.
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Cool! You could learn how people in the world think about having an affair. You would be shocked, for getting know things you 'll never think of before. Even Indonesia, my country, has a great story about it. The king of poligamy, Puspo Wardoyo was interviewed in this book.
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Read in May, 2007
recommends it for:
People that like statistics
I thought the book would be very intresting. And it would have stories about people that had affairs!!! But most of the book is about the statistics of countries!!! Who really cares???? Is it so bad that I wanted to read about affairs that destroyed people???
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Read in March, 2008
I am not sure what I was hoping to get out of this book but I had a very difficult time getting through it. It seemed too much like a textbook to hold my interest. I kept expecting it to get better and less clinical. I wanted more stories, more gossip.
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