French Lessons: A Novel

by Ellen Sussman

A single day in Paris changes the lives of three Americans as they each set off to explore the city with a French tutor, learning about language, love, and loss as their lives intersect in surprising ways.

Josie, Riley, and Jeremy have come to the City of Light for different reasons: Josie, a young high school teacher, arrives in hopes of healing a broken heart. Riley, a spirited but lonely expat housewife, struggles to feel connected to her husband and her new country. And Jeremy, the reserved husband of a renowned actress, is accompanying his wife on a film shoot, yet he feels distant from her world.

As they meet with their tutors—Josie with Nico, a sensitive poet; Riley with Phillippe, a shameless flirt; and Jeremy with the consummately beautiful Chantal—each succumbs to unexpected passion and unpredictable adventures. Yet as they traverse Paris’s grand boulevards and intimate, winding streets, they uncover surprising secrets about one another—and come to understand long-buried truths about themselves.

• ISBN10: 034552277X
• ISBN13: 9780345522771
• Publish Date: 5 July 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 1 May 2017
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Random House USA Inc
• Imprint: Random House Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 256
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780345522771

Reviews

[Whitney @ First Impressions Reviews]

French Lessons centers around three Americans and their french tutors focusing on a single day with supposed life changing events. The book is broken up into 5 parts the first and last for the tutors and the body for the pupils.

I can say one positive thing for French Lessons, it was a fast read, but that's about all. The back cover proclaimed it as a "page-turner" I do agree with that but not for the same reason, which to be rid of the horrid story! I knew it was a romance but was expecting a little more substance or feel for Paris as the tutors are semi tour guides. Nope, most of the book was on the pairs having some kind of affair or lusting/flirting with one another. I might be acting a little over-dramatic here but I would liken it to a soft "Scruples". To give an example, several men in the book have yet to be circumcised, this might be too much information but there we are. If I had to pick a favorite part it would be fin.