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kathydavie's review against another edition
5.0
An exploration of life, love, and marriage between an artist and a lawyer in Paris.
This story begins in late September 2002 a few weeks after 9/11 and continues through the first invasion of Iraq when Bush is insisting that Weapons of Mass Destruction are in Iraq and Americans are eating Freedom fries
My Take
I was reluctant to read this one. The whole cheating on one's significant other is anathema to me, however, the artist in me who loves Paris couldn't resist it for that side of the storyline. And it was well worth it.
Yes, I loved listening to Richard as he thinks his way through his motivations and thoughts about his art. How he's selling out with his keyhole paintings, his thinking behind the WarWash. I like the sound of his keyhole work, but then I'm a representationalist, and I may have an intellectual appreciation for his more avant garde work, but I'd never want it in my house. I found Richard's whining about Julien's stance naive, and I do wish art schools would include a required class on the business of selling art from the gallery's point of view as well as the artist's.
I would love to know if and when Richard creates art from those videos in which he explores the depth and truth of long-lasting love.
Richard's thoughts about art are secondary to his exploration of his own mind, why he found his affair so exciting, and why in the end, it was not. Part of the introspection is looking back over how he met Anne, their courtship, their marriages, meeting the parents, and more. It's a lovely way to provide the back history, especially when combined with Richard's emotional analysis, which goes deep, examining when his feelings toward his wife changed. Instead of blaming it all on Anne's "coldness", he came to understand where he was at fault. The small things he did which caused the changes. I loved that he didn't push the blame off. It's always harder to accept that you are the one in the wrong. And it's the only way to grow.
It was an interesting perspective to read the French reaction to Bush's statements. It's too bad our news organizations can't be bothered with reporting both sides of events. Of course, that would make it more difficult to stir people 'round to your way of thinking.
Some problems I had with this were Richard's inability to say no. Well, okay, obviously *grin*. It began with his ambivalence about selling The Blue Bear. Just say no, it's not for sale. So why not tell Julien to put a red dot on it so no one will offer for it?
I do love Lisa's reasons for having the affair, lol. It's a stab in the heart for the male ego, as Richard bemoans her reasoning, her attitude. Meanwhile, he's been manufacturing all these daydreams. Dreams Lisa burst, and that so very slowly, brought Richard back to earth. Only to be confronted with Anne's indiscretions. Ones he is astonished by. Seems what's good for the gander is not allowed for the goose, even if they are separated. To be fair, Richard is between a rock and a hard place, and I do feel bad for him. Just, not that bad.
Anne has her own issues at work when a group of pregnant women want to bring a class action suit against wine label makers. Sadly, it seems the French are going the way of the Americans. Must be that EU influence *grin*.
Well worth reading on a number of levels.
The Story
She’s left him! She wasn’t supposed to leave. And in one way she does not. It’s that which catches Richard out with his wife. Because he was not thinking. Because he was an idiot.
On the plus side, it will give Richard a lot of time to think about his marriage, his choices, and what he really wants in his life.
The Characters
Richard Haddon is an artist, not quite struggling monetarily but struggling more in terms of his style. He's also struggling with his marriage. Anne-Laure, neé de Bourigeaud is his lovely French wife of seven years, a lawyer now with Savda & Dern. Camille is their five-year-old daughter. George, a history teacher, and Edna Haddon, a librarian, are his parents while Alain and Inès are hers. Balfus is the de Bourigeauds' dog. Esther is a friend of Anne-Laure's and the reason Richard met Anne at all.
Julien is Richard's gallerist, the man who is representing Richard's keyhole paintings and showing them in his gallery in Paris. Azar Sabounjian is Julien's rival and more interested in performance art; Alice is his assistant.
Thomas is a new transfer to Savda & Dern. Selena and Jacques are more paralegals.
Lisa Bishop is the mistress who is the Paris-based New York Times reporter on culture. Dave is the fiancé, a cutlery designer. Harold Gadfrey is a chance-met passenger on the ferry; Rosalyn is his wife. Tabatha and Rufus Adsit are some Paris friends.
Tony Blair is prime minister in England. Bush is president. Saddam Hussein is still in power in Iraq.
Patrick Madsen is the performance artist who drives home the feeling of being a sell-out. Dave Lacey buys The Blue Bear for his fiancée, and they're a pair of New Age collectors, pagan Continuists. And it's disgusting, lol, in terms of the food *more laughter*.
The Cover
The cover has a white background with horizontal blue lines, as if it were a schoolchild’s notebook. The font used certainly looks primary with its watercolors of blue, orange, and green slopping out the uppercase letters. I do like the artistic touch of the paint, but I’m not sure what the schoolroom effect is supposed to do. The more subtle aspect is that those horizontal lines are meant to represent the lines on a first class envelope with its thin border of skewed orange, white, and blue rectangles, a "clue" I finally picked up on when I noticed the Eiffel Tower stamp with its Paris postmark.
The title is very tongue-in-cheek as Richard becomes more and more miserable as he realizes the mistake he made. I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You is not Richard’s battle cry.
This story begins in late September 2002 a few weeks after 9/11 and continues through the first invasion of Iraq when Bush is insisting that Weapons of Mass Destruction are in Iraq and Americans are eating Freedom fries
My Take
I was reluctant to read this one. The whole cheating on one's significant other is anathema to me, however, the artist in me who loves Paris couldn't resist it for that side of the storyline. And it was well worth it.
Yes, I loved listening to Richard as he thinks his way through his motivations and thoughts about his art. How he's selling out with his keyhole paintings, his thinking behind the WarWash. I like the sound of his keyhole work, but then I'm a representationalist, and I may have an intellectual appreciation for his more avant garde work, but I'd never want it in my house. I found Richard's whining about Julien's stance naive, and I do wish art schools would include a required class on the business of selling art from the gallery's point of view as well as the artist's.
I would love to know if and when Richard creates art from those videos in which he explores the depth and truth of long-lasting love.
Richard's thoughts about art are secondary to his exploration of his own mind, why he found his affair so exciting, and why in the end, it was not. Part of the introspection is looking back over how he met Anne, their courtship, their marriages, meeting the parents, and more. It's a lovely way to provide the back history, especially when combined with Richard's emotional analysis, which goes deep, examining when his feelings toward his wife changed. Instead of blaming it all on Anne's "coldness", he came to understand where he was at fault. The small things he did which caused the changes. I loved that he didn't push the blame off. It's always harder to accept that you are the one in the wrong. And it's the only way to grow.
It was an interesting perspective to read the French reaction to Bush's statements. It's too bad our news organizations can't be bothered with reporting both sides of events. Of course, that would make it more difficult to stir people 'round to your way of thinking.
Some problems I had with this were Richard's inability to say no. Well, okay, obviously *grin*. It began with his ambivalence about selling The Blue Bear. Just say no, it's not for sale. So why not tell Julien to put a red dot on it so no one will offer for it?
I do love Lisa's reasons for having the affair, lol. It's a stab in the heart for the male ego, as Richard bemoans her reasoning, her attitude. Meanwhile, he's been manufacturing all these daydreams. Dreams Lisa burst, and that so very slowly, brought Richard back to earth. Only to be confronted with Anne's indiscretions. Ones he is astonished by. Seems what's good for the gander is not allowed for the goose, even if they are separated. To be fair, Richard is between a rock and a hard place, and I do feel bad for him. Just, not that bad.
Anne has her own issues at work when a group of pregnant women want to bring a class action suit against wine label makers. Sadly, it seems the French are going the way of the Americans. Must be that EU influence *grin*.
Well worth reading on a number of levels.
The Story
She’s left him! She wasn’t supposed to leave. And in one way she does not. It’s that which catches Richard out with his wife. Because he was not thinking. Because he was an idiot.
On the plus side, it will give Richard a lot of time to think about his marriage, his choices, and what he really wants in his life.
The Characters
Richard Haddon is an artist, not quite struggling monetarily but struggling more in terms of his style. He's also struggling with his marriage. Anne-Laure, neé de Bourigeaud is his lovely French wife of seven years, a lawyer now with Savda & Dern. Camille is their five-year-old daughter. George, a history teacher, and Edna Haddon, a librarian, are his parents while Alain and Inès are hers. Balfus is the de Bourigeauds' dog. Esther is a friend of Anne-Laure's and the reason Richard met Anne at all.
Julien is Richard's gallerist, the man who is representing Richard's keyhole paintings and showing them in his gallery in Paris. Azar Sabounjian is Julien's rival and more interested in performance art; Alice is his assistant.
Thomas is a new transfer to Savda & Dern. Selena and Jacques are more paralegals.
Lisa Bishop is the mistress who is the Paris-based New York Times reporter on culture. Dave is the fiancé, a cutlery designer. Harold Gadfrey is a chance-met passenger on the ferry; Rosalyn is his wife. Tabatha and Rufus Adsit are some Paris friends.
Tony Blair is prime minister in England. Bush is president. Saddam Hussein is still in power in Iraq.
Patrick Madsen is the performance artist who drives home the feeling of being a sell-out. Dave Lacey buys The Blue Bear for his fiancée, and they're a pair of New Age collectors, pagan Continuists. And it's disgusting, lol, in terms of the food *more laughter*.
The Cover
The cover has a white background with horizontal blue lines, as if it were a schoolchild’s notebook. The font used certainly looks primary with its watercolors of blue, orange, and green slopping out the uppercase letters. I do like the artistic touch of the paint, but I’m not sure what the schoolroom effect is supposed to do. The more subtle aspect is that those horizontal lines are meant to represent the lines on a first class envelope with its thin border of skewed orange, white, and blue rectangles, a "clue" I finally picked up on when I noticed the Eiffel Tower stamp with its Paris postmark.
The title is very tongue-in-cheek as Richard becomes more and more miserable as he realizes the mistake he made. I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You is not Richard’s battle cry.
thecasualreader's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gabmc's review against another edition
2.0
This was a book that I really could have put down and not finished but I persisted with it. I don't know if I didn't like it because I really disliked the main character or because it was written by a woman with a male main character that just didn't read true to me.
An "artist" who has it all - beautiful smart French wife, adorable daughter decides to have an affair. The wife finds out and he doesn't know how to win her back. Richard, the main character is not likeable at all and I don't know why he had an affair and then thinks that his wife should just get over it. I also didn't understand the title - but I do like the cover!
An "artist" who has it all - beautiful smart French wife, adorable daughter decides to have an affair. The wife finds out and he doesn't know how to win her back. Richard, the main character is not likeable at all and I don't know why he had an affair and then thinks that his wife should just get over it. I also didn't understand the title - but I do like the cover!
christiana's review against another edition
2.0
This had a couple good moments and lines (I like the part about how when you start over, you have to teach someone all the people and the stories, and it's frustrating when someone doesn't just know), but this was mostly a disappointment for me. Not as funny as Where'd You Go, Bernadette and not as deep as Beautiful Ruins for me. Also, this showed up on a beach read list and this is not my idea of a beach read (which has nothing to do with my rating, just, if you are also reading it hoping for a beach read, you may be disappointed).
akatdare's review against another edition
2.0
I'm not sure how this was one of the 10 best summer books or whatever Glamour called it...this was not really a great novel. The protagonist was whiny and seemed to never be content with his life as it was. His decisions were made without any forethought, but he didn't want to face the consequences of those decisions. He seemed too self-centered to really be able to make the ending work.
bookysue's review against another edition
3.0
The book contained some really creative ideas about art, but not so much about love, in my opinion. Still a breezy, mostly interesting read. And a really great title.
casie1014's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book, as the story is an interesting one with great potential, but it fell completely flat for me.
Neither of the spouses were particularly likable, and they weren’t developed enough for me to care one way or another. I came away feeling that they never really had this test love story that the author seemed to want us to think they had and I wasn’t even sure they’d ever liked each other much. They were devoid of warmth and affection, both separately and together, and there was no sense of me rooting for one outcome over another.
I never bought Richard as an “artiste” with something to say; he seemed a hack from the start and the incessant whining was insufferable.
I read this for an easy, “fluffy” read and that it was but there is better fluff to be had.
Neither of the spouses were particularly likable, and they weren’t developed enough for me to care one way or another. I came away feeling that they never really had this test love story that the author seemed to want us to think they had and I wasn’t even sure they’d ever liked each other much. They were devoid of warmth and affection, both separately and together, and there was no sense of me rooting for one outcome over another.
I never bought Richard as an “artiste” with something to say; he seemed a hack from the start and the incessant whining was insufferable.
I read this for an easy, “fluffy” read and that it was but there is better fluff to be had.
modern_analog's review against another edition
4.0
This one seems to be garnering quite mixed reviews, but I really liked it. It's complicated and messy like life can be. The narrator is confused and conflicted and you may not agree with him or understand his choices, but his flaws make him real. You're in his head and as a reader you basically play the role of his therapist, just taking in all of his thoughts, the justifications for his behavior and regrets. Ultimately it's an interesting account of the trajectory of love, from those frenzied early days, to building a life and committing to the future, to the lack of mystery as routines are formed, and finally through discovering if there can be forgiveness after indulging in temptation. I found that the rawness and honesty in the writing drew me in, though I wasn't happy with the swiftness of the change of heart at the end.
krisloveskihei's review against another edition
3.0
Sometimes you don't know what you have until it's gone. Sometimes you don't realize how much you love someone until you've lost them. Richard Haddon makes a very bad mistake. He not only has a 7 month affair but he falls in love. And when the affair is over and he gets over his devastation, he becomes fully aware of just how much his wife and marriage meant to him.