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195th out of 299 books
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Dreaming in French: A Novel
A captivating coming-of-age story about a precocious young woman living in Paris and New York and discovering how to love and be loved.
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
September 1st 2009
by Scribner
(first published August 21st 2009)
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I always appreciate an author who can create characters that defy labels... no one is always good, no one is always bad. People are complex and relationship complicated. Just the way it is...
I picked this book up because I read the synopsis and McAndrew's short bio. Growing up as a Third Culture Kid among the expatriate world this book really captured the element that Charlotte, Lea, Astrid, and Frank as American expats living in Paris at the brink of the meltdown of the communist movement in Eastern Europe. Charlotte and Lea are regular teenagers who attend a private exclusive school among children who have influential or socialite parents among the elite in Paris. As an expat Amer...more
The beginning of this book really doesn't give you an accurate picture of everything the book is going to dig into, and I think that's a shame. Part of my confusion once I reached the midway point was that I couldn't understand why the scope of the novel had changed.
The pacing seemed a little off, but it also mirrored the development of Charlotte, and once I realized that, I didn't have as many problems with it. When Charlotte's life is steady and normal, the book is steady and nor...more
The pacing seemed a little off, but it also mirrored the development of Charlotte, and once I realized that, I didn't have as many problems with it. When Charlotte's life is steady and normal, the book is steady and nor...more
McAndrew's novel detailing the complicated story of a multi-generational expat family is pure and enticing. Her language throughout is compelling in its compact yet layered nature. The protagonist Charlotte blossoms from her days as a curious lycée student in Paris to her much later days as a risk-taking journalist on the front lines of Eastern European events in the 80's. At times I felt a bit stifled by her perspective as she remained vraiment straightforward in her descriptions of the elab...more
I wish I could give books half stars, I would have given this book 2.5 stars.
This book kept me reading, but I could have stopped reading at any time. The beginning of this book reminded me a lot of 'Are you there God? It's me Margret". It was a compelling coming of age story (and I guess the whole book is as Charlotte starts off as a young girl of 15 {who can't wait for her 'monthlies' to start} and ends with her at 30).
The book doesn't leave you feeling any sort of hop...more
This book kept me reading, but I could have stopped reading at any time. The beginning of this book reminded me a lot of 'Are you there God? It's me Margret". It was a compelling coming of age story (and I guess the whole book is as Charlotte starts off as a young girl of 15 {who can't wait for her 'monthlies' to start} and ends with her at 30).
The book doesn't leave you feeling any sort of hop...more
Set mainly in France and told in first person point of view by Charlotte, a privileged girl from the United States growing up in Paris with her sister, Lea, and her parents, Frank and Astrid. Astrid is adored by her youngest daughter, so much so that Charlotte has a hard time sleeping if her mother is out late at one of her frequent soirees with her best friend, the somewhat overbearing but amusing Grace. Charlotte is characterized as kind of a goody-goody who wishes she weren't: wanting to lose...more
This book starts out as an engaging and funny story of an American family living in Paris. It turns into something slightly less appealing as the family disintegrates and we follow its members for many years. A fairly large subplot has to do with the events in Poland 1978-1989, and by the end the book has a fair number of Polish characters (people, not diacritic marks) in it (who are mostly nice). I was impressed by the accuracy of the retelling of that period of Polish history and the correct s...more
oriana
marked it as to-read
From the L Magazine review: In Dreaming in French, Meghan McAndrew lovingly captures the desperate seriousness of being a teenager, years when everything feels terribly important and much energy is spent proving it.... Dreaming in French may be predictable – walking us through the milestones of precocious young adulthood as if working from a checklist – but part of Charlotte's appeal lies in her familiarity. She's an archetype, an outsider determined to stand at a distance from the happy endings...more
Megan McAndrew’s Dreaming in French is the tender, funny and smart story of Charlotte, a teenage girl in 1980’s Paris, growing up against the backdrop of a rapidly changing Europe. After the divorce of her American parents, Frank a stuffy, conservative lawyer and Astrid, a bohemian free-spirit, she and her newly penurious mother move to New York where they must start over. Charlotte is forced to mature quickly in order to bring some order into a household badly mismanaged by the extravagant and ...more
I'm dedicating this review to the dear friends that "enjoys" all the email notifications about the books I'm reading. You were looking forward to this one :p
While the storyline kept me interested throughout, I thought the novel moved rather slowly. I love the concept of the novel and the way McAndrew carefully moves between the United States and various European countries. Being familiar with Paris, I enjoyed the international dimension of the novel.
A nice comi...more
While the storyline kept me interested throughout, I thought the novel moved rather slowly. I love the concept of the novel and the way McAndrew carefully moves between the United States and various European countries. Being familiar with Paris, I enjoyed the international dimension of the novel.
A nice comi...more
I disappointed myself by buying this book, even more that i liked substantial parts of it. good things first; maybelle and charlotte are pretty solid characters who carry the first half of the book. the family's interdependence also intrigued me some. I even liked the tone early on-adolescent and inviting. this tone returned when astrid was diagnosed. so that part interested me too.
but i'm not too sure what the narrator was shooting for. was this a book about becoming a grown-up? was it...more
but i'm not too sure what the narrator was shooting for. was this a book about becoming a grown-up? was it...more
I am tempted to give this book five stars, because it was beautifully written and as one of the reviews said on the back of the book, the author has the ability to create flawed characters without judging them... and what i loved was the flow of McAndrew's narrative. It was seamless and made me want to keep reading, long after I was way too tired to do so.
I found this book in the library and picked it up because I liked the title and the cover and it was such an enjoyable read. Plus,...more
I found this book in the library and picked it up because I liked the title and the cover and it was such an enjoyable read. Plus,...more
This book promised a lot, but did not deliver for me. I was not touched by the problems of rich Americans in Paris, by their boredom and lack of direction. The coming of age story is nothing new - the girl from the divorced family, living between two worlds. The only difference was that she always had enough of financial support, the best private education and a many choices to choose from. I did not feel sorry for her or her family. Somehow even if some characters had a lot of potential they...more
When I started reading Megan McAndrew's newest novel, Dreaming in French, I thought, "Man, I want this girl's life." It's the late 1970s, and Charlotte Sanders is a fifteen-year-old American living in an upscale Paris neighborhood with her sixteen-year-old sister Lea and their expatriate parents. The publisher blurb describes Charlotte as "precocious," and I can't think of a much better adjective. She is highly aware of her surroundings, the way people react, the way society ...more
This adult coming of age novel follows Charlotte as she grows up in France in her mother’s shadow. The first half of this book is strong, interesting, intense and painful in a teenage (although wealthy and in a posh international school in Paris) kind of way. The novel loses steam as Charlotte and her mother move to New York (there are some Polish solidarity workers involved somehow – sort of a strange side story). I would be interested in what else this author writes.
I really, really loved 80% of this book. I adored the first half, with Charlotte's life in Paris. I loved the descriptive writing and how I could just picture Charlotte's world, and Astrid, and everything else. I didn't care much for the political references, and sort of wished that parts of the book didn't move so fast.
It read like a memoir, and I was left wanting to know what happened next. But overall, this was such a refreshing, well-written book. I look forward to reading Megan...more
It read like a memoir, and I was left wanting to know what happened next. But overall, this was such a refreshing, well-written book. I look forward to reading Megan...more
OK, the last in my French series. I read this after coming home from Paris, kind of on a whim. It was in the browsing room at Gettysburg College's library. It details the story of a family where the parents go through a divorce and two sisters end up split, one in Paris and one in NY. I loved all the family dynamics and dysfunctions and that the ending was not all tied up pretty with a bow. Interesting characters and journeys from France to NY City to Poland.
Lynn Dolven
added it
Fun, fun book - pick it up for summer! It is set in Paris, Warsaw, and NYC - places that the author was obviously very familiar with. It traces the trials and tribulations of two sisters, Charlotte and Lea from high school to middle age. It is funny and the story moves quickly to keep your attention. Way better than the average beach read!!
SirPoochala
added it
I highly recommend the lovely Megan's books - yes she is a friend of mind but don't let that bias my reivew. I really enjoyed the read. She is a great story teller and her characters are original and complex. I can't wait until her next one!
The story of an ex-patriate who grows up in Paris with her parents and sister and in New York after her parents break up. The characters have a disturbing air of entitlement, but I do like books that describe Paris by arrondissement and street name.
The story of an ex-patriate who grows up in Paris with her parents and sister and in New York after her parents break up. The characters have a disturbing air of entitlement, but I do like books that describe Paris by arrondissement and street name.
Bobbie
added it
Really enjoying this book. Well written voices of characters. Seems like this book was written for me - lots of french history/culture information combined with a good story about friends/family and relationships.
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The long descriptions of elegant ex-pat life grew tiresome and tainted my enjoyment of this novel as a whole.
satisfying coming of age story 15-30 span; last paragraph about what it feels like to turn thirty is the best
I was very interested for the first quarter of this book... talking about being a teenager in Paris, her friends, etc. Then the book got very political about Poland and it lost my interest. I did finish it, but did not really enjoy it.
This book is wonderful. Lots of wonderful Paris and good coming of age story.
It was an easy read about a girl in who grew up in Paris in the 70's.
Finally, an author whom I enjoy as much as Diane Johnson. Such beautifully flawed characters.
..a complex multi-gemerational American family living in Paris..
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Megan Mcandrew grew up in France, Spain, and Belgium, and has worked in Warsaw, Poland, as a representative for the Financial Services Volunteer Corps. She is a graduate of Brown University and the Yale School of Management. Megan lives in New York with her eleven-year-old son.
More about Megan McAndrew...
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