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usernamemustbeunique's review against another edition
5.0
MY is a great writer and wonderful storyteller. I enjoyed this well-structured overview of the history of romance, sex, and love in French literature. I would recommend it to anyone interested in the topic. The book is written in a charming, straightforward style. It doesn’t necessarily offer a lot of deep dives because it is an overview, but it’s a great starting point for further exploration.
ameyawarde's review against another edition
5.0
This was really my first introduction to French literature, and it was impressive in its breadth and fascinating in its novelty (for me). what really made this book work for me was the author's voice- academic feminism mixed with a love of and long history with this material, which allowed her to present many problematic pieces and authors in a way that extolled their contributions to literature, culture, and philosophy, without ignoring or making excuses for their faults. (Proust was an -advocate- of pederasty (!), but against homosexuality! Simone de Beauvoir and Satre seduced and had a relationship with one of her (Jewish) high school students, and they basically abandoned her when the nazis came, instead of helping protect her, as most influential/wealthy people did for their jewish lovers at that time, etc.)
bluestjuice's review against another edition
4.0
This was really interesting, although maybe not exactly what I was expecting out of the experience. Like some other reviewers summarized, I was anticipating a more sociological perspective, while this work is instead an overview of influential French literature around the theme of love. It was still really interesting to me, more so perhaps because a great deal of the literature Yalom discussed was not works with which I was already familiar. Still, there was something evident in the small vignettes she sprinkled through the more scholarly information that suggested a truly unique, French characteristic of love, that was never fully expanded on or explored. It's also worth pointing out that this constitutes a largely Eurocentric overview of love literature. It's also worth acknowledging that the idea of French love supremacy is hardly unchallenged: indeed, most European countries get credited with being the home of lovers (with the exception of the English, poor souls). But the French, Spanish, and Italians, at very least, would have to duke it out for the title in popular conception.
girl_in_glasses's review against another edition
4.0
As a Francophile, I was captivated by this book! I eagerly devoured this history of love through literature. And even came away with several authors and titles that I will now need to read!
Wonderful analysis.
Wonderful analysis.
bookhoarding's review against another edition
4.0
This is really more of an overview of French romance in literature. It's not too academic and the author slips in some anecdotes about herself and friends which kind of maintains that the analysis is coming from an American woman of the current time. I think it's important to understand the biases an author may have when approaching a topic and Yalom pretty much lays out her views on feminism, which are even more palpable when reading her interpretations of some of the more famous novels.
Overall I was pretty pleased with the book because I don't think I would have found a more succinct overview of French literature (at least one focused on romance). There are a few times where she gives away a major plot point, but she'd have to in order to talk about what's relevant to her overall study. Part storytelling/history, part analysis, this book isn't entirely academic, but it's still informative and amusing.
Overall I was pretty pleased with the book because I don't think I would have found a more succinct overview of French literature (at least one focused on romance). There are a few times where she gives away a major plot point, but she'd have to in order to talk about what's relevant to her overall study. Part storytelling/history, part analysis, this book isn't entirely academic, but it's still informative and amusing.
mxcoyote's review against another edition
3.0
Picked this book up on a whim (like most things I read nowadays). I thoroughly enjoyed! Found some great references for my next reads, made a lot more connections to literature and critiques I've previously read than I thought I would.
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
I felt privileged to have read this - and by that, I mean that the word "privilege[d/s]" appeared a little too frequently for my tastes (according to the Search feature on my Kindle, it was a mere 15 times, but a few of those times appeared in the same small Kindle window). As this was an ARC, perhaps that's changed in the final version.
My bigger quibble was that this was not really about the French inventing love, it was how French literature influenced and/or mimicked the state of love in France, starting with the courtly love of the Middle Ages and ending with the sexual revolution as described by Catherine Millet. In other words, literary social history. Now, that's not bad, but it felt like the title and subtitle were false advertising.
As for the contents, perhaps it helps if you've read many (most) of the books discussed (as I have, some in translation, some in the original). It added to my appreciation of how the works in question revealed something about the society at that time, although often I wondered what the "real" French were thinking and doing; literacy being a privilege of the upper classes in the earlier years, would peasants really have been aware of how Cyrano's words affected Roxanne? Or how best to woo a woman? Was adultery as accepted by those in the countryside as it was those in Paris and royal (or semi-royal) circles? These are questions that the author does not address. Obviously there's more evidence and discussion about how the non-literary/average classes feel about things once we move into the 1800s, but even at the end, when the question of Dominique Strauss-Kahn comes up, it feels like there's something missing.
ARC provided by publisher.
My bigger quibble was that this was not really about the French inventing love, it was how French literature influenced and/or mimicked the state of love in France, starting with the courtly love of the Middle Ages and ending with the sexual revolution as described by Catherine Millet. In other words, literary social history. Now, that's not bad, but it felt like the title and subtitle were false advertising.
As for the contents, perhaps it helps if you've read many (most) of the books discussed (as I have, some in translation, some in the original). It added to my appreciation of how the works in question revealed something about the society at that time, although often I wondered what the "real" French were thinking and doing; literacy being a privilege of the upper classes in the earlier years, would peasants really have been aware of how Cyrano's words affected Roxanne? Or how best to woo a woman? Was adultery as accepted by those in the countryside as it was those in Paris and royal (or semi-royal) circles? These are questions that the author does not address. Obviously there's more evidence and discussion about how the non-literary/average classes feel about things once we move into the 1800s, but even at the end, when the question of Dominique Strauss-Kahn comes up, it feels like there's something missing.
ARC provided by publisher.
norrin2's review against another edition
5.0
I almost never read non-fiction. I’m not sure why. But now I’ve read two in a row. I guess if you’re a good enough writer and the subject is one I’m passionate about – like Jesus or love – I’ll forgive the commitment to the temporarily factual factual at the expense of the eternally truthful. (Wow, I think I just figured out why I prefer fiction.)
Anyway, I devoured Marilyn Yalom’s “How the French Invented Love”, which is a non-fiction book about fiction – specifically French literature and how its attitude about love has become so ingrained in the French culture. In America, the concept of romantic love did not become a reason to marry until about 200 years ago. Up till that time what you wanted in a spouse was someone hardy enough to tame the land and make plenty of children to help with that task. But it’s been paramount in choosing a spouse (or a lover) in France for a long time. L’amour a la Francaise is eloquent (think Cyrano de Bergerac) but it is also very physical – and not just for the young. In a recent AARP poll of American and French people aged fifty to sixty-four, only 34 per cent of the French agreed with the statement “true love can exist without a radiant sex life” compared to 83 per cent of Americans.
I haven’t read a lot of French fiction (but I’ve moved my copy of Moliere’s “The Misanthrope” to the top of my to-read stack and put Marguerite Duras’s “The Lover” on reserve at the library) but I watch more French movies than American ones because (as Yalom puts it:) “While American films excel in technological innovation, violence, explosions, mystery, animation and science fiction, the French continue to zero in on the intimate space between lovers”, and this book has helped me understand a few things about French cinema that always slightly baffled me before – such as their often blasé attitude about adultery.
I think I will read more non-fiction in the future. I see Yalom has written another book called “A History of the Breast” and like I said if the subject is compelling enough. . .
Anyway, I devoured Marilyn Yalom’s “How the French Invented Love”, which is a non-fiction book about fiction – specifically French literature and how its attitude about love has become so ingrained in the French culture. In America, the concept of romantic love did not become a reason to marry until about 200 years ago. Up till that time what you wanted in a spouse was someone hardy enough to tame the land and make plenty of children to help with that task. But it’s been paramount in choosing a spouse (or a lover) in France for a long time. L’amour a la Francaise is eloquent (think Cyrano de Bergerac) but it is also very physical – and not just for the young. In a recent AARP poll of American and French people aged fifty to sixty-four, only 34 per cent of the French agreed with the statement “true love can exist without a radiant sex life” compared to 83 per cent of Americans.
I haven’t read a lot of French fiction (but I’ve moved my copy of Moliere’s “The Misanthrope” to the top of my to-read stack and put Marguerite Duras’s “The Lover” on reserve at the library) but I watch more French movies than American ones because (as Yalom puts it:) “While American films excel in technological innovation, violence, explosions, mystery, animation and science fiction, the French continue to zero in on the intimate space between lovers”, and this book has helped me understand a few things about French cinema that always slightly baffled me before – such as their often blasé attitude about adultery.
I think I will read more non-fiction in the future. I see Yalom has written another book called “A History of the Breast” and like I said if the subject is compelling enough. . .
jillkt13's review against another edition
4.0
So I was led astray by the title of this book How the French Invented Love--doesn't that suggest a sociological explanation of the significance of love in French culture? Now of course, love is important in every culture. But to my romantic American Francophile mind, the French seem to have cornered the market on love. Stereotype or not, it seems to me that the French, both throughout history and today, are much more devoted to the pleasures of love. I was expecting a sociological exploration of this belief. In reading this, I wanted to learn: why do we associate the French so strongly with love? is the French emphasis on love fact or fiction? how do the French treat love differently from other cultures?
Unfortunately, this book somewhat broaches these questions but not sociologically. Rather, Yalom, who writes both congenially and informatively, takes us on a sweeping adventure through French love literature. She begins with the tragic story of Abelard and Heloise, whom she names the "patron saints" of French love. From there we discuss [a:Chrétien de Troyes|20903|Chrétien de Troyes|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1263599207p2/20903.jpg]' Arthurian romances and his focus on courtly love before moving to the invention of gallantry during the reign of Sun King Louis XIV. Then we investigate the Romantics' fixation/fascination on love as the absolute purpose of life and finally we explore the more modern cynicism toward love as found in [a: Proust|233619|Marcel Proust|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1189444962p2/233619.jpg] and Flaubert's [b:Madame Bovary|2175|Madame Bovary|Gustave Flaubert|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1335676143s/2175.jpg|2766347]. Yalom does not limit herself to heterosexual love either--lesbian and gay relationships are well-covered. What I found most interesting about this chronological expedition through French literature was the oscillation between periods of romantic attitudes toward love followed by periods of jaded attitudes toward love. A lot of French love literature is motivated by backlash toward these ideals.
While this book left me with a long list of French love stories to seek out, I didn't get the answer to my most pressing questions: do the French actually love differently? and if they do, why? This omission was somewhat assuaged by Yalom's inclusion of several personal anecdotes on French love. She tells charming real life stories of French lovers that are so utterly French in character that I can't help but believe that l'amour à la française is not merely imagined but truly exists.
Here's a LONG list of French works focused on love that Yalom has inspired me to read as soon as possible:
[b:The Lais of Marie de France|119079|The Lais of Marie de France|Marie de France|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331917315s/119079.jpg|114648]
[b:The Princesse de Clèves|354364|The Princesse de Clèves|Madame de La Fayette|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1174023203s/354364.jpg|344556]
[b:Les Liaisons Dangereuses|49540|Les Liaisons Dangereuses|Pierre Choderlos de Laclos|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298425654s/49540.jpg|3280025]
[b:Manon Lescaut|577246|Manon Lescaut |Abbé Prévost|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348371776s/577246.jpg|649139]
[b:The Misanthrope|752994|The Misanthrope|Molière|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328868192s/752994.jpg|685838]
[b:The Complete Claudine: Claudine at School; Claudine in Paris; Claudine Married; Claudine and Annie|89839|The Complete Claudine Claudine at School; Claudine in Paris; Claudine Married; Claudine and Annie|Colette|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316125865s/89839.jpg|704679]
[b:Indiana|104260|Indiana|George Sand|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1171510382s/104260.jpg|1192753]
[b:Madame Bovary|2175|Madame Bovary|Gustave Flaubert|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1335676143s/2175.jpg|2766347]
[b:Cyrano De Bergerac|15638|Cyrano De Bergerac|Edmond Rostand|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309203284s/15638.jpg|2327623]
[b:Remembrance of Things Past: Volume I - Swann's Way & Within a Budding Grove|190576|Remembrance of Things Past Volume I - Swann's Way & Within a Budding Grove |Marcel Proust|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320495451s/190576.jpg|184245]
[b:The Lover|275|The Lover|Marguerite Duras|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1353844338s/275.jpg|1009849]
So obviously that list suggests that you probably shouldn't pick this book up if you're not looking to add even MORE books to your already towering TBR pile. The Francophile in me, however, can't wait.
Unfortunately, this book somewhat broaches these questions but not sociologically. Rather, Yalom, who writes both congenially and informatively, takes us on a sweeping adventure through French love literature. She begins with the tragic story of Abelard and Heloise, whom she names the "patron saints" of French love. From there we discuss [a:Chrétien de Troyes|20903|Chrétien de Troyes|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1263599207p2/20903.jpg]' Arthurian romances and his focus on courtly love before moving to the invention of gallantry during the reign of Sun King Louis XIV. Then we investigate the Romantics' fixation/fascination on love as the absolute purpose of life and finally we explore the more modern cynicism toward love as found in [a: Proust|233619|Marcel Proust|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1189444962p2/233619.jpg] and Flaubert's [b:Madame Bovary|2175|Madame Bovary|Gustave Flaubert|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1335676143s/2175.jpg|2766347]. Yalom does not limit herself to heterosexual love either--lesbian and gay relationships are well-covered. What I found most interesting about this chronological expedition through French literature was the oscillation between periods of romantic attitudes toward love followed by periods of jaded attitudes toward love. A lot of French love literature is motivated by backlash toward these ideals.
While this book left me with a long list of French love stories to seek out, I didn't get the answer to my most pressing questions: do the French actually love differently? and if they do, why? This omission was somewhat assuaged by Yalom's inclusion of several personal anecdotes on French love. She tells charming real life stories of French lovers that are so utterly French in character that I can't help but believe that l'amour à la française is not merely imagined but truly exists.
Here's a LONG list of French works focused on love that Yalom has inspired me to read as soon as possible:
[b:The Lais of Marie de France|119079|The Lais of Marie de France|Marie de France|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1331917315s/119079.jpg|114648]
[b:The Princesse de Clèves|354364|The Princesse de Clèves|Madame de La Fayette|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1174023203s/354364.jpg|344556]
[b:Les Liaisons Dangereuses|49540|Les Liaisons Dangereuses|Pierre Choderlos de Laclos|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1298425654s/49540.jpg|3280025]
[b:Manon Lescaut|577246|Manon Lescaut |Abbé Prévost|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348371776s/577246.jpg|649139]
[b:The Misanthrope|752994|The Misanthrope|Molière|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328868192s/752994.jpg|685838]
[b:The Complete Claudine: Claudine at School; Claudine in Paris; Claudine Married; Claudine and Annie|89839|The Complete Claudine Claudine at School; Claudine in Paris; Claudine Married; Claudine and Annie|Colette|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316125865s/89839.jpg|704679]
[b:Indiana|104260|Indiana|George Sand|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1171510382s/104260.jpg|1192753]
[b:Madame Bovary|2175|Madame Bovary|Gustave Flaubert|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1335676143s/2175.jpg|2766347]
[b:Cyrano De Bergerac|15638|Cyrano De Bergerac|Edmond Rostand|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309203284s/15638.jpg|2327623]
[b:Remembrance of Things Past: Volume I - Swann's Way & Within a Budding Grove|190576|Remembrance of Things Past Volume I - Swann's Way & Within a Budding Grove |Marcel Proust|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320495451s/190576.jpg|184245]
[b:The Lover|275|The Lover|Marguerite Duras|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1353844338s/275.jpg|1009849]
So obviously that list suggests that you probably shouldn't pick this book up if you're not looking to add even MORE books to your already towering TBR pile. The Francophile in me, however, can't wait.