Anna Gavalda is a French teacher and award-winning novelist.
Referred to by Voici magazine as "a distant descendant of Dorothy Parker", Anna Gavalda was born in an upper-class suburb of Paris. While working as French teacher in high school, a collection of her short stories was first published in 1999 under the title "Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part" that met with both critical acclaim and commercial success, selling more than three-quarters of a million copies in her native France and winning the 2000 "Grand Prix RTL-Lire." The book was translated into numerous languages including in English and sold in twenty-seven countries. It was published to acclaim in North America in 2003 as "I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere." The book received much praise and is a library and school selection worldwide in several languages.
Gavalda's first novel, Je l'aimais (Someone I Loved) was published in France in February 2002 and later that year in English. Inspired by the failure of her own marriage, it too was a major literary success and a bestseller and was followed by the short (96 pages) juvenile novel 35 kilos d'espoir (95 Pounds of Hope) that she said she wrote "to pay tribute to those of my students who were dunces in school but otherwise fantastic people".
In 2004, her third novel, "Ensemble c'est tout," focused on the lives of four people living in an apartment house: a struggling young artist who works as an office cleaner at night, a young aristocrat misfit, a cook, and an elderly grandmother. The 600-page book is a bestseller in France and has been translated into English as Hunting and Gathering.
As of 2007, her three books have sold more than 3 million copies in France. Ensemble c'est tout was made into a successful movie in 2007 by Claude Berri, with Audrey Tautou and Guillaume Canet. The adaptation of her first novel, Je l'aimais, with Daniel Auteuil and Marie-Jos茅e Croze, was filmed in 2009 by Zabou Breitman.
Divorced, and the mother of two, Gavalda lives in the city of Melun, Seine-et-Marne, about 50 km southeast of Paris. In addition to writing novels, she also contributes to Elle magazine.
Je Voudrais Que Quelqu'un M'attende Quelque Part = I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere, Anna Gavalda
I Wish Someone Were Waiting for Me Somewhere was first published in 1999 under the title Je Voudrais Que Quelqu'un M'attende Quelque Part that met with both critical acclaim and commercial success, selling more than three-quarters of a million copies in her native France and winning the 2000 Grand Prix RTL-Lire.
The title says it all. I'm lonely. So, I'm off to Cancun tomorrow to hospital and then Miami on the 27th and ... back on the dating apps. Maybe someday I will go to Miami and somebody will be waiting for me there. Or somewhere.
Richie wrote that he had read my letter over and over and over, and wanted to chat 'soon'. Soon is like tomorrow, never comes.
This is what it means to write with economy. All of these short stories 鈥� and most of them are very short鈥� are told in the first person. No flowery metaphors here. The voices do the heavy lifting, creating these little gems that are revealing and poignant. What Gavalda does with so few words is amazing. While many are emotionally affecting and thought-provoking, there is humor too. The end of 鈥淛unior鈥� is the funniest thing I鈥檝e read in a while.
There is much said on 欧宝娱乐 about the unreliability of first person narrators, as though it were a formulaic rule that a first-person narrative is always unreliable. I don鈥檛 think that鈥檚 necessarily true, at least no more so than it is for people telling stories in real life, who are sometimes less than forthcoming for various good or bad reasons, or self-deluded, or simply don鈥檛 have all the information. I also think it鈥檚 not as important as whether or not a narrator is self-aware. The very fact of the narrator鈥檚 self-awareness is what makes several of this stories work so well. They know what their problem is. Not that it changes anything. But they know. Other times their character traits, and not necessarily undesirable ones, lead them in directions that will wreck their lives, but circumstances have tripped them up. But character is fate. Deal with it.
My favorites among the dozen stories in this volume include 鈥淐ourting Rituals of the Saint-Germain-des- Pres,鈥� 鈥淎mber,鈥� 鈥淟eave,鈥� 鈥淟ead Story,鈥� 鈥淐atgut,鈥� and 鈥淛unior.鈥�
The simplicity and the economy with which Gavalda tells a complete, plot-driven, arc-fully constructed story in very few pages, and the vivid voices used to do this, completely blew me away. I will be reading more of her. A shout-out, too, to translator Karen L. Marker.
Maybe it's because my ultra-casual, hipster French is lacking, but I found a number of these highly praised stories not only difficult to follow at times, but also kind of boring. Towards the end, I was thinking oh get a move on way too often and skimming forward through the bla bla just to reach the end.
There were a few stories that I enjoyed quite a lot, though: Cet homme et cette femme, Ambre, Pendent des annees, IIG and my personal favourite, Le fait du jour. These are on point, stylistically highly competent, and clearly have a deeper meaning to them. Others in the collection, I'm not so sure about. Or maybe it's a French thing and I wouldn't understand.
芦Je voudrais que quelqu鈥檜n m鈥檃ttende quelque part鈥� C鈥檈st quand m锚me pas compliqu茅禄, se dit un personnage, en formulant ainsi le titre parfait d鈥檜n volume o霉 douze nouvelles parlent, d鈥檜ne fa莽on ou d鈥檜ne autre, de la solitude, son supra th猫me. Un th猫me interpr茅t茅 habituellement en tenant compte de toutes ses connotations dramatiques, mais qui est trait茅 ici dans des registres diff茅rents, du tragique au sarcastique, du s茅rieux 脿 l鈥檋umoristique. Et par-dessus de tout, c鈥檈st l鈥檌ronie qui d茅finit m锚me le tragique鈥� m锚me dans les seules trois nouvelles o霉 rien ne donne envie de rire, on d茅couvre l鈥檌ronie cach茅e soit dans l鈥檌gnorance des autres de nos propres souffrances (芦 IIG 禄), soit dans l鈥檌nnocence avec laquelle on c么toie le malheur (芦 Le fait du jour 禄), soit dans la mort aussi dans le sens propre que figur茅 d鈥檜n id茅al (芦 Pendant des ann茅es 禄)
Si les nouvelles susmentionn茅es illustrent plut么t la com茅die d鈥檌ntention, en renfor莽ant l鈥檌d茅e que la solitude, tout en 茅tant un 茅l茅ment essentiel de la condition humaine reste incompr茅hensible aussi par le soi que pour les proches, les autres s鈥檈xercent dans la com茅die de caract猫re, de situation et surtout de langage, dans une vari茅t茅 de registres linguistiques qui passent de l鈥檌ronie tendre au sarcasme et 脿 l'humour noir.
Le talent de donner vie 脿 un personnage par quelques traits de crayon est peut-锚tre le don le plus remarquable de cette 茅crivain qui ne cesse jamais de m鈥櫭﹎erveiller. Dans ce recueil, les portraits tombent souvent en caricature et la solitude est plut么t un ch芒timent qu鈥檜ne pr茅destination. On voit ainsi la jeune fille aux r锚ves culturels qui ne peut trouver l鈥檃mour pr茅cis茅ment 脿 cause de Baudelaire, Sagan 芦 et tous ces charlatans 禄, le jeune homme de bonne famille qui 芦s鈥檡 est repris 脿 deux fois pour avoir le bac, mais le permis non, 莽a va 禄, l鈥櫭﹖ernel Don Juan surnomm茅 Po锚le Tefal 芦 parce qu鈥檌l ne voulait surtout pas s鈥檃ttacher 禄, tous les trois ayant plus d鈥檜ne chance de devenir l鈥檜n ou l鈥檃utre du couple riche dans lequel l鈥檋omme ne trompe plus sa femme par crainte de la pension alimentaire qu鈥檌l devrait payer en divor莽ant, et la femme pense 脿 sa vie rat茅e mais aussi au 芦 petit tailleur vert 禄.
Les situations dans lesquelles ces personnages et d鈥檃utres se trouvent frisent parfois le grotesque et l鈥檃bsurde. Un jeune homme vole le Jaguar neuf de son p猫re pour une escapade inoffensive, mais sur le chemin de retour il va le transformer involontairement dans un 芦 truc m茅tallis茅 禄 脿 l鈥檃ide d鈥檜n鈥� sanglier. Un autre, avec la femme de ses r锚ves finalement entre ses bras, se demande s鈥檌l sera capable d鈥檕uvrir son nouveau canap茅-lit de chez Ikea. Une femme, viol茅e brutalement par trois ivrognes, leur greffe les testicules 芦 au dessus de la pomme d鈥橝dam 禄.
La touche finale est, 茅videmment, l鈥檕ralit茅 du style, car Anna Gavalda sait comment reproduire le langage parl茅, avec son argot et son humeur : 芦 le resto "Deux-Magots", c鈥檈st l茅g猫rement plouc le soir, il n鈥檡 a que des grosses Am茅ricaines qui guettent l鈥檈sprit de Simone de Beauvoir禄. Quelqu鈥檜n se plaint que son c艙ur 芦est comme un grand sac vide, le sac, il est costaud, y pourrait contenir un souk pas possible et pourtant y a rien dedans 禄. Un certain Mercier a essay茅 芦 de baratiner Myriam alors qu鈥檌l a une chevali猫re en or avec ses initiales en surimpression. 禄 Une femme 芦 p猫te plus haut que son cul. 禄
Il n鈥檈st pas au hasard qu鈥檌l y ait un 茅pilogue comme douzi猫me nouvelle. Dans ce monde ahurissant d鈥檃ujourd鈥檋ui, o霉 tout est pris plus ou moins 脿 la l茅g猫re, o霉 les objets envahissent et tendent de remplacer la vie, la cr茅ation devient elle-m锚me un moyen de s鈥檈nrichir鈥� ou c鈥檈st ce que croit, pour une br猫ve p茅riode, l鈥檃rtiste en herbe qui envoie son premier manuscrit 脿 une maison d鈥櫭ヾition et re莽oit une invitation de s鈥檡 pr茅senter. Mais l鈥櫭ヾiteur 茅tait tout simplement curieux de la conna卯tre et d茅莽ue, la jeune 茅crivain r茅gale son manuscrit 脿 une belle fille rencontr茅e dans la rue qui n鈥櫭﹖ait m锚me pas fran莽aise.
Un geste symbolique, qui d茅finit encore une fois l鈥櫯搖vre non par rapport 脿 la critique mais par rapport au public 鈥� le vrai b茅n茅ficiaire. Et moi, le public, j鈥檈n suis bien contente !
Vous adorez les petites bluettes. Quand on vous titille le coeur avec ces soir茅es prometteuses, ces hommes qui vous font croire qu鈥檌ls sont c茅libataires et un peu malheureux.
鬲乇噩賲賴 讴鬲丕亘听賭賭 亘賱賴貙 讴賲蹖 毓氐亘蹖 亘賵丿賲. 賲丕賳賳丿 丿禺鬲乇蹖 賳丕卮蹖 讴賴 賲蹖鈥屫з嗀� 丌乇丕蹖卮 賲賵蹖卮 囟丕蹖毓 卮丿賴. (氐賮丨賴 郾酃貙 倬丕乇丕诏乇丕賮 丌禺乇) Un peu nerveuse comme une d茅butante qui sait que son brushing est rat茅. 鬲乇噩賲賴 丿乇爻鬲:听讴賲蹖 毓氐亘蹖鈥屫з呚� 賲孬賱 丌乇丕蹖卮诏乇 鬲丕夭賴鈥屭┴ж臂� 讴賴 賮賴賲蹖丿賴 讴丕乇卮 乇丕 禺乇丕亘 讴乇丿賴.
鬲乇噩賲賴 讴鬲丕亘听賭賭 賴賵丕 诏乇诏 賵 賲蹖卮 丕爻鬲貙 亘賱賵丕乇 丌乇丕賲 丕爻鬲貙 丕夭 丌賳鈥屬囐呝� 丕鬲賵賲亘蹖賱 丕孬乇蹖 賳蹖爻鬲. (氐賮丨賴 鄄郯貙 爻胤乇 鄱) Entre chien et loup, le boulevard s鈥檈st apais茅 et les voitures sont enveilleuse. 鬲乇噩賲賴 丿乇爻鬲:听賴賵丕 讴賲鈥屭┵� 丿丕乇丿 鬲丕乇蹖讴 賲蹖鈥屫促堌� 亘賱賵丕乇 禺賱賵鬲 卮丿賴 賵 丕鬲賵賲亘蹖賱鈥屬囏� 趩乇丕睾鈥屬囏й屫簇з� 乇丕 乇賵卮賳 讴乇丿賴鈥屫з嗀�.
鬲乇噩賲賴 讴鬲丕亘听賭賭 賲蹖夭賴丕蹖 讴丕賮賴鈥屬囏� 丿賵亘丕乇賴 倬購乇 賲蹖鈥屫促堎嗀€� (氐賮丨賴 鄄郯貙 爻胤乇 鄹) On rentre les tables des caf茅s鈥� 鬲乇噩賲賴 丿乇爻鬲:听倬蹖卮鈥屫呚€屬囏й� 讴丕賮賴鈥屬囏� 丿丕乇賳丿 賲蹖夭賴丕 乇丕 賲蹖鈥屫ㄘ辟嗀� 鬲賵鈥�
鬲乇噩賲賴 讴鬲丕亘听賭賭 鈥� 趩賳丿 亘賳賾丕 亘丕 賱亘丕爻 讴丕乇 亘賴 趩卮賲 賲蹖鈥屫堌辟嗀� 讴賴 诏賵蹖蹖 賲蹖鈥屫堌з囐嗀� 賴賳賵夭 丕賳丿讴蹖 爻丕毓鬲鈥屬囏й� 鬲賳賴丕蹖蹖 賵 倬蹖乇蹖 乇丕 亘賴 鬲毓賵蹖賯 亘蹖賳丿丕夭賳丿鈥� (氐賮丨賴 鄄郾貙 爻胤乇 鄄) 鈥uelques ma莽ons dans leurs cottes tach茅es qui repoussent encore un peu l鈥檋eurede la solitudeou de labobonne鈥� 鬲乇噩賲賴 丿乇爻鬲:听鈥� 趩賳丿 鬲丕 讴丕乇诏乇 亘丕 賱亘丕爻鈥屭┴ж辟囏й� 讴孬蹖賮 賳卮爻鬲賴鈥屫з嗀� 賵 倬蹖卮 丕夭 乇賮鬲賳 亘賴 爻乇丕睾 丕賴賱 賵 毓蹖丕賱貙 丕夭 丌禺乇蹖賳 賱丨馗丕鬲 鬲賳賴丕蹖蹖鈥屫簇з� 丨丿丕讴孬乇 丕爻鬲賮丕丿賴 乇丕 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁嗀€�
鬲乇噩賲賴 讴鬲丕亘听賭賭 鈥� 賲卮鬲乇蹖鈥屬囏й屬� 倬蹖乇 賴賲蹖卮诏蹖 亘丕 丕賳诏卮鬲鈥屬囏й� 夭乇丿卮丿賴 讴賴 丨丕賱 賴賲賴 乇丕 亘丕 倬蹖卮鈥屬矩必ж� 鄞鄹 賮乇丕賳讴蹖鈥屫簇з� 亘乇丕蹖 乇夭乇賵 賲蹖夭 亘賴 賴賲 賲蹖鈥屫操嗁嗀�. (氐賮丨賴 鄄郾貙 爻胤乇 鄞) et des vieux habitu茅s aux doigts jaunis qui emmerdent tout le monde avec leur loyer de 48. Lebonheur. 鬲乇噩賲賴 丿乇爻鬲:听鈥� 賲卮鬲乇蹖丕賳 倬蹖乇 賯丿蹖賲蹖 亘丕 丕賳诏卮鬲鈥屬囏й� 夭乇丿 蹖讴乇蹖夭 丕夭 讴乇丕蹖賴鈥屬囏й� 丕乇夭丕賳 爻丕賱 郾酃鄞鄹 賲蹖鈥屭堐屬嗀� 賵 讴賮乇 賴賲賴 乇丕 丿乇鈥屬呟屸€屫①堌辟嗀�.
鬲乇噩賲賴 讴鬲丕亘听賭賭 丕夭 禺賵丿 賲蹖鈥屬矩必迟� 卮丕蹖丿 亘賴鬲乇 亘丕卮丿 丕蹖賳鈥屫� 賳賲丕賳賲. (氐賮丨賴 鄄郾貙 爻胤乇 郾鄞) je me demande si je ne ferais pas mieux de rester l脿. 鬲乇噩賲賴 丿乇爻鬲:听亘賴 禺賵丿賲 賲蹖鈥屭堐屬� 丕诏乇 賴賲蹖賳鈥屫� 亘賲丕賳賲 亘賴鬲乇 賳蹖爻鬲責
鬲乇噩賲賴 讴鬲丕亘听賭賭 倬蹖乇丕賴賳 蹖賯賴鈥屫ㄘ壁必з� 胤賵爻蹖鈥屫辟嗂� 丕夭 噩賳爻 讴卮賲蹖乇 亘賴 鬲賳 丿丕乇丿. 噩丕蹖 卮讴爻鬲诏蹖 丿乇 丌乇賳噩卮 賵 噩丕蹖 夭禺賲 讴賵趩讴蹖 乇賵蹖 賲卮鬲 乇丕爻鬲卮 丿丕乇丿. 丕丨鬲賲丕賱丕賸 蹖丕丿诏丕乇 丿賵乇丕賳 亘蹖爻鬲 爻丕賱诏蹖鈥屫ж� 丕爻鬲鈥� (氐賮丨賴 鄄鄢貙 禺胤 丌禺乇) Il porte un col roul茅 gris en cachemire. Un vieux col roul茅. Il a des pi猫ces aux coudes et un petit accroc pr猫s du poignet droit. Le cadeau de ses vingt ans peut-锚tre鈥� 鬲乇噩賲賴 丿乇爻鬲:听倬賵賱賵乇 蹖賯賴鈥屫ㄘ壁必з� 禺丕讴爻鬲乇蹖 讴卮賲蹖乇 亘賴 鬲賳 丿丕乇丿. 倬賵賱賵乇卮 讴賴賳賴 丕爻鬲. 爻乇 丌乇賳噩鈥屬囏� 趩乇賲鈥屫堌槽� 卮丿賴 丕爻鬲. 倬丕乇诏蹖鈥屫й� 賴賲 賳夭丿蹖讴 賲趩 乇丕爻鬲 亘賴 趩卮賲 賲蹖鈥屫堌必�. 丕丨鬲賲丕賱丕賸 賴丿蹖賴鈥屰� 亘蹖爻鬲 爻丕賱诏蹖鈥屫ж� 亘賵丿賴鈥�
鬲乇噩賲賴 讴鬲丕亘听賭賭 丕賳诏丕乇 趩蹖夭蹖 賳卮丿賴 丕爻鬲. 丕賳诏丕乇 丿丕乇丿 丿賵爻鬲鈥屫必� 乇丕 鬲丕 鬲丕讴爻蹖 賴賲乇丕賴蹖 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗀€� 亘丕 禺賵丿 賲蹖鈥屭堐屫� 丿爻鬲卮 乇丕 賲蹖鈥屭屫辟� 鬲丕 诏乇賲 卮賵丿 賵 丿乇 卮亘 倬丕乇蹖爻 亘丕 賴賲 诏倬 賲蹖鈥屫操嗃屬呪€� 亘賱賴 丕蹖賳 丿乇爻鈥屬囏� 乇丕 鬲賯乇蹖亘丕賸 鬲丕 丌禺乇 丕夭 亘賻乇賲. (氐賮丨賴 鄄鄯貙 爻胤乇 郾郾) Comme si de rien n鈥櫭﹖ait. Genre je raccompagne une bonne copine 脿 son taxi, je frotte ses manches pour la r茅chauffer et je devise sur la nuit 脿 Paris鈥� La classe presque jusqu鈥檃u bout. 鬲乇噩賲賴 丿乇爻鬲:听丕賳诏丕乇 丌亘 丕夭 丌亘 鬲讴丕賳 賳禺賵乇丿賴. 丕夭 丌賳 丌丿賲鈥屬囏й屰� 丕爻鬲 讴賴 丿禺鬲乇蹖 乇丕 鬲丕 鬲丕讴爻蹖 賴賲乇丕賴蹖 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁嗀� 賵 亘丕 賲丨亘鬲 鬲賲丕賲 丿爻鬲鈥屬囏й� 蹖禺鈥屭┴必団€屫ж� 乇丕 诏乇賲 賲蹖鈥屭┵嗁嗀� 賵 亘丕 丿禺鬲乇讴 丕夭 卮亘鈥屸€屬矩必迟団€屬囏й� 倬丕乇蹖爻 丨乇賮 賲蹖鈥屫操嗁嗀€� 鬲丕 丌禺乇 丕夭 鬲讴 賵 鬲丕 賳蹖賮鬲丕丿貨
鬲乇噩賲賴 讴鬲丕亘听賭賭 亘賴 賯賵胤蹖鈥屬囏й� 讴賳爻乇賵 鬲禺蹖賱丕鬲賲 賱诏丿 賲蹖鈥屫操嗁�. (氐賮丨賴 鄄鄹貙 爻胤乇 鄱) Je donne des coups de pied dans des bo卯tes de conserve imaginaires. 鬲乇噩賲賴 丿乇爻鬲:听鬲賵蹖 禺蹖丕賱賲貙 亘賴 賯賵胤蹖 禺丕賱蹖 讴賳爻乇賵 賱诏丿 賲蹖鈥屫操嗁�.锘�
I was first attracted to the book by its title that I really liked and still do, I just loved the simplicity of it that means so much. But then I was really disappointed when I started reading it, it was BORING. Hear me out, i'm fond of boring stories/life stories where almost nothing happen cause like they say in Mr Nobody "life is like a french movie, most of the time nothing happens" so I like the truth that it implies. But this was just too much...I don't know how many times I gave up on this book before succeeding to finish it! Too much description for nothing concrete, characters for me undefined and too distant. I really wanted to like this book cause its title sounded so good to me, meant so much but I just can't... Maybe after some time I'll take it back again and see if I see it with another sight but for now I'll stay to the title.
Anna Gavalda ir viena no man膩m visu laiku m墨募膩kaj膩m Rakstniec膿m! J膩, ar lielo R
[..] nopirk拧u mazu piez墨mju bloci艈u un ieskr膩p膿拧u tur piez墨mes v膿l膩kiem darbiem. Jut墨拧os tik vientu募a, tik t膩la, tik tuva, tik cit膩da [..]
Es nezinu, kas ir t膩 st墨ga, kas mani vieno ar Gavaldu, bet lasot vi艈as darbus es skaidri zinu, es skaidri j奴tu - tas ir tas k膩 es j奴tos par gr膩matu rakst墨拧anu un las墨拧anu.
鈥淓s vi艈u m墨l膿ju鈥� ir mana visu laiku m墨募膩k膩 gr膩mata - vien墨g膩, kuru esmu p膩rlas墨jusi vair膩kk膩rt. Un 拧oruden, kad m膩cos st膩stus, rakstniece Dace Ruk拧膩ne man ieteica 拧o Gavaldas st膩stu kr膩jumu, kuru biju palaidusi gar膩m - vi艈as debija literat奴r膩. Un t膩 ir br墨ni拧姆墨ga! Kad biju izlas墨jusi pirmo st膩stu 鈥�
[..] Ien墨stu mobilos t膩lru艈us, ien墨stu Sag膩nu, ien墨stu Bodl膿ru un visus 拧os 拧arlat膩nus. Ien墨stu savu lepnumu [..]
鈥� nesu gr膩matu atpaka募 uz bibliot膿ku un atradu nopirkt las墨to gr膩matu vietn膿 pati savu eksempl膩ru. Turpin膩ju las墨t savu - pasv墨troju un pierakst墨ju. Un tagad es 拧o gr膩matu ieliku sav膩 Gavaldas gr膩matu plaukt膩 uz palik拧an膩m 鈥� blakus Bodl膿ram, jo m墨lu 鈥�
"I shifted somewhat abruptly. She stood back up behind me and put both hands flat on my shoulders. She said, "I'm going to go. I want you not to move and not to turn around. Please I am begging of you. I didn't move I didn't want to anyway, because I didn't want her to see me with my eyes swollen and my face all contorted. I waited a while, and then headed to my car." Anna Gavalda has seen a lot in her life. This novel with twelve short stories of people trying to connect shows her capturing their inner dialogues with perfect pitch. Reaching out, knowing they are missing something and moving to the center to find exactly what it is. These stories, all small snippets of life. Coming-apart love, met-again love, aborted love, unknown love and of love lost all woven from separate stories into a theme.
The saddest is the "Pregnancy". The story of a new love and the nine months it takes to grow this new love, only to have an unknown enemy defeat it.
In "For Years' a man searches for his lost love. Not reality searching but in his mind. He knows where she lives but not why she left. Both of them have moved on but he knows not why. And, then one day twelve years later he hears from her.
In "Courting Rituals of the Saint-Germaine-des-Pres", an attractive woman smiles at a passing man, and he pursues her. He asks her out to dinner. They meet hours later, both with a purpose of their own. They are attracted to each other and she is thinking of what might happen after dinner, when all of a sudden his cell phone goes off. At that moment he shuts it off, but she sees him scrumptiously look a number of the caller. She knows that the evening is over, forever.
each of these satires is better then the other, each one tells a separate but seemingly similar tale. These are the stories of a friend who is telling you bits and pieces of life. These are lively stories told with flourish and style. There is variety that surprises you, Parisian chic or hilarious, sophisticated farce. Anna Gavalda sees through ordinary appearances to our hidden longings. Highly Recommended. prisrob 3-4-06