L'Affaire

L'Affaire

by Diane Johnson (Author)

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 340
Edition: Reprint
Publisher: Plume Books
Published: 30 Aug 2004

ISBN 10: 0452285631
ISBN 13: 9780452285637

Media Reviews
In Le Divorce and Le Mariage, Johnson polished her skill for sophisticated social comedy involving the cultural disconnections of Americans in France. Here, she perfects it in a deliciously entertaining story of a group of people drawn together--and divided by--the sharply different laws of succession in France and Britain... Johnson's dexterity with plot builds astounding but credible complications, and she is adept at rendering a kind of fugal counterpoint in which each character misunderstands what each of the others thinks. Because love and money are never far apart in Johnson's oeuvre, four affairs take place, with mixed results. Johnson is more droll than Henry James, to whom she's been compared, and she's as witty as a modern-day Voltaire. Vraiment, L'Affaire, c'est irresistible! --Publishers Weekly

Like the wildly successful Le Divorce and Le Mariage, Johnson's latest novel explores the strange alchemy that occurs when American and European social mores collide... Johnson's novel is exactly the kind of intricate, bittersweet comedy of manners her many fans have come to expect. --Booklist
Immensely amusing... devilishly on target. --The New York Times Book Review

An international confection in which each flavor remains distinct, the comedy high, the suspense sharp. --Los Angeles Times

Full of tip-top invention [and] lightness of touch that has nearly disappeared from literary fiction, comic or otherwise... a pleasure. --The Atlantic

An engaging story of Americans abroad and the cultural mayhem that follows in their wake. Johnson's trademark ability to deliver insightful observations on cultural stereotypes makes the novel delightfully entertaining. This fresh and sophisticated satire brings each character's motivations and prejudices sharply into focus, making the reader aware that perhaps we are all more alike than we care to think. --Joni Rendon, BookPage

Author Bio
Diane Johnson is the author of the bestselling novel Le Divorce, a National Book Award finalist, as well as many other novels, including Persian Nights, Health and Happiness, Lying Low, The Shadow Knows, and Burning. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Persian Nights, and she co-authored the screenplay to The Shining with Stanley Kubrick. She divides her time between San Francisco and Paris.