"French Lessons," by Ellen Sussman

The blurbs on the back cover of Ellen Sussman’s “French Lessons” (Ballantine, 2011) lead the reader to believe the novel will be a frothy, fun, sexy romp through Paris. And there is definitely that element. The main characters also, though, bring much sadness and loss to the events of one day in Paris, and the main theme of the novel seems to be a kind of renewal and redemption experienced by the characters, each in her or his own way. There are six main characters: three French tutors and three clients of those tutors. Each pair of characters – a tutor and a tutee – has a chapter; the story is framed by introductory and concluding chapters about the three tutors, who meet at the end of every day and have their own complicated relationships. The idea of teaching a language through strolling through a city, speaking in the target language, and flirting madly, is intriguing if unorthodox. And the conversations and the Paris experiences are certainly enjoyable to read about. The story reminds me of the (excellent) movie, “Before Sunset,” (a sequel to “Before Sunrise”) in which Ethan Hawke and Julia Delpy play a couple walking through Paris in nonstop conversation. I have to say that some of the characters can be a bit annoying in their self-preoccupation, but perhaps they are just fallible human beings trying to get through the days and figure out what they want in life. In any case, this novel is great fun to read, evokes the beauty and romance of Paris that we all love to read about, and is well written.