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the_read_rose's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty good "divorced woman travels" book, though there were points when I genuinely wondered why she was with the professor. I liked that the narrator had faults (and big ones), meaning that the author was being genuine. However, I didn't like the point of view. Rather than "I did this", it was "You did this". Very hard to get used to. Still, good for a light summer read of the girly persuasion.
katekate_reads_'s review against another edition
21p
Not for me. I really liked the description of the plot but I couldn’t get into it. I found it being written in second person very distracting and kept pulling me out of the story.
Not for me. I really liked the description of the plot but I couldn’t get into it. I found it being written in second person very distracting and kept pulling me out of the story.
melissakuzma's review against another edition
3.0
I didn't like this book as much as I wanted to. Heartbroken American divorcee meets charming Frenchman on Italian island and two year transcontinental affair ensues. What can be bad about that? Unfortunately the Frenchman is married, so that made it a little less fun. The whole thing had a bit more depressing tone than I would have liked, but the travel scenes are mostly enjoyable, so it gets three stars for that.
12roxy's review against another edition
2.0
Not quite a travel book, although those are the best parts, partly an uninteresting memoir of a needy marriage-/child-seeker on the rebound with some nice food and lodging descriptions tucked in here and there. I found the use of second person narration terribly grating. It interrupted the flow unpleasantly.
jaclynday's review against another edition
4.0
How do you heal yourself after losing love? In the vein of Eat, Pray, Love, Fraser tells how she put a heart-breaking divorce behind her after a chance meeting with a Parisian professor in Italy who helped restore her self-confidence and her lust for life (and other things).
What really struck me about this book was the travelog feel throughout. Fraser is a skilled travel writer, and those skills are put to good use here as she offers a real taste of each location she visits to the reader. As she and “M” (the professor) part ways, then meet later in a different location, she aptly describes both the scenery and the way their relationship changes (or the way it just changes her).
It’s such a short, quick read. I curled up on the couch with a cup of decaf coffee and a few cookies and had it done in two hours or so. It transported me in a really exciting way, but I appreciated most of all Fraser’s honesty about her vulnerabilities. It doesn’t have what you might think of as a traditional storybook ending, but it does end on what I felt was a satisfying note—made all the more so by the knowledge that the book is a memoir and not fiction.
It was a perfect end of summer book for me and enticed me to perhaps drag out some pasta recipes again (I’ve had a pasta aversion for a little while here due to weird pregnancy food things going on). I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did!
What really struck me about this book was the travelog feel throughout. Fraser is a skilled travel writer, and those skills are put to good use here as she offers a real taste of each location she visits to the reader. As she and “M” (the professor) part ways, then meet later in a different location, she aptly describes both the scenery and the way their relationship changes (or the way it just changes her).
It’s such a short, quick read. I curled up on the couch with a cup of decaf coffee and a few cookies and had it done in two hours or so. It transported me in a really exciting way, but I appreciated most of all Fraser’s honesty about her vulnerabilities. It doesn’t have what you might think of as a traditional storybook ending, but it does end on what I felt was a satisfying note—made all the more so by the knowledge that the book is a memoir and not fiction.
It was a perfect end of summer book for me and enticed me to perhaps drag out some pasta recipes again (I’ve had a pasta aversion for a little while here due to weird pregnancy food things going on). I hope you enjoy the book as much as I did!
shelleyrae's review against another edition
1.0
1607230 I had to drag myself through most of this book - the main reason was the endless You's. I found it incredibly irritating to have You in almost every sentence.
I also failed to find much interest in the affairs of a woman who knowingly - especially after being cheated on - chose to have an affair with a married man regardless of what he says the circumstances of his marriage are. I can see the romance in a sweeping translantic kind of way but I really dislike infidelity as a lifestyle choice so couldn't involve myself in the story (particularly with the repetitive YOU)
I'd give it 1 and a half stars
I also failed to find much interest in the affairs of a woman who knowingly - especially after being cheated on - chose to have an affair with a married man regardless of what he says the circumstances of his marriage are. I can see the romance in a sweeping translantic kind of way but I really dislike infidelity as a lifestyle choice so couldn't involve myself in the story (particularly with the repetitive YOU)
I'd give it 1 and a half stars
jennyexiled's review against another edition
4.0
I loved this book. It's a travel memoir written by a woman whose husband leaves her after only one year of marriage. Seeking to mend her broken heart she takes off for Italy, where she meets a married Frenchman. They have a casual affair over the next couple years that takes her to Milan, Morocco, London, the California coast, and more. She also talks about her trials and tribulations with her hometown dating scene and tries online dating, so it resonated with me.
In the end, it's a book about finding your true self and what really makes you happy after losing what you thought you always wanted - the "perfect" marriage. This book just happened to be laying on the desk when I started my new job. I had never heard of it, but it was a great book for me to read at this point in my life.
My only complaint is that Fraser writes in the second-person, which I found a little off-putting at first. But as I got into the story, I noticed the repeated use of "you" less and less.
In the end, it's a book about finding your true self and what really makes you happy after losing what you thought you always wanted - the "perfect" marriage. This book just happened to be laying on the desk when I started my new job. I had never heard of it, but it was a great book for me to read at this point in my life.
My only complaint is that Fraser writes in the second-person, which I found a little off-putting at first. But as I got into the story, I noticed the repeated use of "you" less and less.