A Paris Affair

by Tatiana de Rosnay, Sam Taylor (Translator)

Overview

From the internationally best-selling author of Sarah's Key Tatiana de Rosnay comes an irreverent yet heartfelt collection of short stories that examines our most intimate and forbidden desires

Late nights at the office... Hotel rooms and secret rendezvous... Lingering perfume... Sizzling texts...

What takes place in Paris when husbands and wives tangle with infidelity?

In this compulsively readable collection, Tatiana de Rosnay paints a portrait of forbidden loves in many shades - sometimes tragic, sometimes humorous, sometimes heartfelt, always with a dry wit and unflinching authenticity. A PARIS AFFAIR will take you on a vacation overseas, into the hidden lives of husbands, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends, where illicit desire wars with duty, and where a French take on romance will surprise you every time.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250068804
Publisher:	St. Martin's Press
Publication date:	07/07/2015
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	843,692
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

TATIANA DE ROSNAY is the author many acclaimed novels, including the New York Times bestselling novel Sarah's Key, an international sensation with over 4 million copies sold in thirty-five countries worldwide that has now been made into a major film and released in spring 2011. Together with Dan Brown, Stephenie Meyer, and Stieg Larsson, she was named one of the top ten fiction writers in Europe in 2009. Tatiana lives with her husband and two children in Paris, where she is at work on her next book.

Table of Contents

A Paris Affair

1. Hotel Room
2. The Texts
3. The "Toki-Baby"
4. The Red Notebook
5. The Answering Machine
6. The Au Pair Girl
7. The Strand of Hair
8. The Woods
9. The Password
10. The USB Key
11. The Brunette from Rue Raynouard

Editorial Reviews

12/01/2014
This new story collection from the author of the New York Times best-selling Sarah's Key and, most recently, The Other Story, is reputedly hot, hot, hot. After all, what better place to explore the endless allure of forbidden love than Paris?

Library Journal

2015-04-15
De Rosnay's stories demonstrate 11 ways to deceive and/or leave your lover. In this prolific French novelist's first short story collection, infidelity is a given, particularly for the male of the species. Retribution, however, is women's work. Technology is the petard by which many straying spouses are hoisted: in "The Texts," a wife opts for feigned ignorance of her husband's escapades—if only she can resist the temptation to hack his cellphone. In "The ‘Baby Phone,' " a baby monitor permits a hitherto trusting wife to overhear hanky-panky, and in "The Answering Machine," an unerased message is the harbinger of betrayal. Many of the stories have O. Henry-esque twist endings that American readers may find a bit old-fashioned. Among these is "Hotel Room," wherein a man drops off a letter ending his passionate liaison moments before the no-tell hotel—and perhaps his mistress—is engulfed in flames. Similarly, in "The Red Notebook," a cheating wife bemoans her husband's staidness, which is a sure sign she's in for a surprise. Readers seldom are, however: in "The Brunette from Rue Raynouard," a suspected affair turns out to be sex therapy, and in the "USB Key," a husband chooses an unusual medium to reveal that he's gay, with predictable results. The most promising stories seem to end just as interesting complications begin to arise. "The Password," about a randy professor and a young American studying abroad, refers expressly to the difference between French and American attitudes toward sexual harassment but, sadly, ducks the opportunity to elaborate. (The American women all have names like Hunter, Holly, Taylor, etc., as if de Rosnay has been cribbing from The Preppy Handbook.) In most cases the revenge meted out by the women is not particularly inventive, whether it involves fisticuffs, ("The Au Pair Girl"), sharp objects ("The ‘Baby Phone' "), a dignified exit ("The Woods"), or a Raymond Carver-worthy apartment trashing ("The Strand of Hair"). Stylized sketches rather than fully realized fiction.

Kirkus Reviews

"Want a bit of sizzle? This new story collection from the author of the New York Times best-selling Sarah’s Key … and, most recently, The Other Story, is reputedly hot, hot, hot." - Library Journal

From the Publisher

Simon Vance and Polly Stone share the narration of this collection of short stories about marriage and deceit, set in Paris, a city usually associated with romance. Because most of the pieces are told from a woman's perspective, Stone is the primary narrator, and her excellent characterizations convey the women's varying emotions, depending on the nature of the story. Her impeccable pronunciations and light but recognizable French accent for the dialogue transport listeners to the City of Lights. Stone wisely drops her accent for the narrative, so listeners aren't distracted. Vance, whose French pronunciations are also spot-on, delivers the few pieces told from the male point of view. Although he doesn't use an accent, he nicely captures the stories’ moods. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

OCTOBER 2015 - AudioFile