Le Mariage

by Diane Johnson

Marriage Admits Impediments

The great European novelists of the 19th century often took marriage as their topic. For Tolstoy, marriage was a lonely affair; for Flaubert, a tragic one. In America, it was a different case. Readers would be hard-pressed to find more than a casual reference to marriage in Melville. The 20th century, in turn, produced very few great novels of marriage on either continent, so concerned with the individual were that period's novelists. Yet if Diane Johnson's excellent new novel, Le Mariage, is any indication, church bells will be ringing loudly again in the 21st century.

It is appropriate that Johnson should be the one to return to the hallowed state of matrimony. An American who divides her time between San Francisco and Paris, she writes with the sweep and understanding of a modern Tolstoy, skillfully penetrating into the minds of each and every one of her characters. But Johnson's sense of humor is distinctly Her characters suffer from comedic bouts of self-consciousness; her plot never misses a chance to delve into the bizarre, even ludicrous elements of the modern world.

And Johnson is no stranger to the material. Her previous novel, Le Divorce, a modern comedy of manners that centers on the breakup of a Franco-American union, was a 1997 National Book Award finalist. This ground—Paris, the clashing of old and new cultures, and the vicissitudes of married life—belongs to Diane Johnson.

Le Mariage is essentially the story of the events leading up to the marriage of Tim Nolinger, an American journalist living in Paris, and Anne-Sophie d'Argel, a beautiful young French woman who sells equestrian art at the flea market. Nolinger is the quintessential dispassionate He is a contributor to two American magazines, Reliance, a conservative journal, and Concern, a liberal one. When asked how he manages the contradiction, Tim simply shrugs, "I can see both sides" (though he uses only his initials, TAN, in articles for the liberals). Anne-Sophie, on the other hand, is a picture of Frenchness.

As the novel begins, Tim has been tipped off to a case involving a medieval manuscript stolen from the Morgan Library in New York, somehow linked to a mysterious murder that takes place in the first few pages. The case leads him to make the acquaintance of Serge Cray, a famous American film director living in seclusion outside of Paris, and Cray's beautiful wife, Clara Holly, an actress from Oregon. The Crays' marriage is in the last stages of decline. Their passion for each other, such as it may have been, has cooled, and Anne-Sophie and Tim look on them with fear and anxiety, thinking and rethinking their own imminent nuptuals.

The sequence of couples is complete when Delia and Gabriel, vacationing Oregonians who are somehow mixed up in the stolen manuscript/murder case, arrive. Gabriel disappears, and Delia, who walks with a limp, joins up with the two married couples, lending the lethargic air of an immovable tourist to their increasingly chaotic affairs. The Crays get drawn into an internationally publicized hunting controversy; Clara Holly falls in love with her neighbor; Serge Cray becomes obsessed with Delia's ties to the Y2K secessionist movement in Oregon, about which he plans to make a film; Tim and Anne-Sophie struggle to find an apartment; and Gabriel is arrested. Meanwhile, the wedding date is fast approaching. (Le Mariage is welcome comic relief for frantic wedding Nothing could be more stressful than this one.)

Johnson negotiates her complex plot with mastery. There are no dead subplots in the novel. With the grace of a Tolstoy, she tends to each of her character's inner lives. We are privy to Serge Cray's artistic turmoil, Clara Holly's desperation for her lost youth, Tim's pragmatic self-haranguing dread, Anne-Sophie's linguistic concerns (which lead her to read Henry Miller, hunting for words like "horny" and "fuck"), and Delia's innocent self-righteousness. Johnson writes with what can only be called, considering her subject matter, joie de vivre—she clearly loves Paris and all the people and situations it contains.

Perhaps this is what lends...

Genres: Fiction, France, Chick Lit, Romance, Novels, Literary Fiction, Contemporary

322 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Diane Johnson is an American novelist and essayist whose satirical novels often feature American heroines living in contemporary France. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for her novel Persian Nights in 1988.
In addition to her literary works, she is also known for writing the screenplay of the 1980 film The Shining together with its director and producer Stanley Kubrick.

Reviews

[kwesi 章英狮 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dear Diane Johnson,

I don't know how to start my freaking letter about your books. Generally, most of your books that I read have this one star trying to shine like hell waiting for changes. Okay, I'm not angry, sad or, of course, happy of your works. They are very fragile in a sense that they have good covers, simple but very doddling elegant for me. Unfortunately, inside, it was the worst experience I ever felt in my entire life. I'm trying not to be rude but your books are killing me softly, waiting for the right time to burst.

God, I'm not here to give you (Diane) headaches nor giving fans of yours a letter that will send them gaga for years and trying to evolve their entire time giving me another set of funny opinionated comments. Anyway, at least I already read half of your works and one more to go to cut this hatred and I can free myself from hell. I want to die but suicide is a sin, pray.

Your beloved hater fan,
Kwesi of Old-Fashioned Reader

I want to start my review with, uhm, ugh, what? I can't remember anything, wait, uhm, I'm trying to reconcile my thoughts. Uhm, how many days did I read this book? 3. 5 or 9 days? I don't know. Fine, I'm done. So that was it, it happens to be nothing and it was like reading in a blank page while taking a break every chapter. I'm very sorry and I did not understand the near end of the book or the thoughts that instilled inside.

Yeah, a lot of my friends read and hated enjoyed the award winning Le Divorce which she was the finalist of National Book Award and gold medalist of California Book Awards (I'm planning not to read books that was awarded by CBA. Gulp.) I heard that she was also one of the co-authors of Stephen King's The Shining's screenplay, which was good and better than her book. Period.

Anyway, at least I have one or two idea from the book (Congratulating myself!). There is a murder case and then a wedding, a conspiracy, jealousy, some kind of that, until everyone is in trouble and suspected and went to jail. Overall, it was a bad book written by a pretty American living inside and outside the state. Unfortunately, her out of this world books did not work well for me.

my mother is calling...

40 minutes later.

Oh yeah, I'm back. At last I'm nearly done with my informal review with a stupid twist in the middle. So far, I don't know whom to recommend this book. Wait, I'm still thinking. Oh yeah, a guy here on Goodreads always mentioned that he always enjoy books that I hated and I think he might like this. And please, don't bother me next time if you did not or like it in the end.

I'm tired now and I need to rest, I still have few books left to read for this week and some school stuff that bothers me for days already. I congratulate myself for finishing this trying hard book, wait, I just remember, I still have one more book left and I'm trying to finish it next year. Ugh, wish me luck lucky readers!

What is that?! Eeew, okay. I'm trying to portray that I'm dying of starvation, not inside my stomach but inside my brain, and dehydration. Anyway, I still survive in the end with a cup of milk. Nice art!

Review posted on Old-Fashioned Reader .

Rating: Le Mariage by Diane Johnson, 1 Sweets

Challenges:
Book #218 for 2011
Book #128 for Off the Shelf!

[Julie G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good pool-side read. When you're done, you can leave it on the chair for the next sun-dazed reader. (Can't see a straight man enjoying this, pool or not!)

[Breanna Rivera · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actuallyyyyy wtf was this

So much happened that SHOULD HAVE been super intriguing but I had to force feed myself pages every time I picked this up

Hated nearly every character, and there were a lot!!

Whew if I could describe this in two words it would be boring and obnoxious 😗

Giving it a two bc there were some really pretty turns of phrase throughout. Johnson is a good writer, and apparently the predecessor to this book was very good, but idk if I can try it and do this to myself again 🥲


This is going into a little free library so it can torture another poor soul

[Helynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best part about this novel, which is linked loosely through a few characters to its prequel, Le Divorce, is its emphasis on the tragi-comic snafus in French-American relations and everyday attempts of French and American people to understand one another without becoming too exasperated. American journalist Tim Nolinger is engaged to French flea marketer Anne-Sophie, and the main plot revolves around their often frustrating, often hilarious attempts to reconcile themselves to one another's cultural prejudices, and eventually, to reconcile and keep peace between their respective families as the upcoming nuptuals draw closer. Other bumbling American characters in France and more of their bewildered French friends add extra spice to the story. Ignorant faux pas by American characters abound as do unflattering comparisons of them to French people "Anne-Sophie is so delightful" says American friend Clara. "So French! Americans are just clods next to them. The French seem to know everything about--well everything important. Gastronomy. Eros" (129). But then, French people come under fire themselves not only for their stereotypical snootiness, but also for their own brand of naivete and clumbsiness. This is especially hilarious during Anne-Sophie's brief visit to Oregon before her wedding. "Teem, cheri, I want to go to the supermarche for sure . . the Mall, all the typique things .. . . The cars are so beeg . . . And how they wait for people turning left---really, it's very organized. . . The men here so handsome, just like Bruce Wills . . Oh Teem, I have been to Circuit City . . . It is heaven, what is left for me in life?" (265). Will Tim and Anne-Sophie survive as an intercultural couple? Some hints come in the sequel . . . L'Affaire.

[Robin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This novel is about events leading up to the impending marriage of a Parisian horse-memorabilia dealer and a journalist born in America who has lived in Europe for many years. The plot is ostensibly about recovering a stolen illuminated manuscript whose subject is the end of the world. Johnson creates characters delightfully: the sullen American expatriate movie producer/art collector, his sad and beautiful former movie star wife, the shy yet manipulative Oregonian antiques dealer, the bride’s naughty fiction author mother, the mysteriously sexy businessman neighbor, etc. The characters’ relationships and emotions weave together in complex ways, within the context of a plot involving murder, a fugitive in hiding, doomsday cults, unjust justice, love and lust, kidnapping, etc. Mostly it is about interrelationships of the characters, and explores the mysteries of friendship, marriage, and betrayal, often told with a surprising touch of humor. Many other plot details were intriguing, but not fully explored, explained, or wrapped up to my satisfaction in the end.

Will this couple make it to the altar, and who has that manuscript?

[Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

i liked Le Divorce better. i did not like any of the characters in this book. and the murder mystery was such an afterthought making this reader wonder why she needs it, as if she could not carry the novel on social/national stereotypes alone. her books do that: a little mystery, little love and angst, little social commentary and always americans in France, usually Paris. i like the way she writes, she is smart and witty, but i didn't feel like hoping for any of the characters and i need that in a novel. also i think she hates marriage. it seemed that way in Le Divorce, too. like she (the author) doesn't believe in it or something.

[Stacey Eid · Rating 2 out of 5]

Because I enjoyed Johnson's previous book 'Le Divorce' so much, I assumed that I'd find this one at least amusing - not so. While I enjoyed the glimpse of Americans living in France, the surrounding story and attempt at a suspenseful plot did nothing for me. Murder, Ancient Manuscript Theft, Love Affairs - this book could have been so promising, yet the storyline never delivered. Save yourself some time and read 'Le Divorce' instead (although don't rent the movie, even Kate Hudson couldn't save that one!)

[Annie Kaye · Rating 1 out of 5]

Gosh, I hate giving up on books. I always remember how I thought A Tale of Two Cities was so boring till I reached the final section of the book, and then I didn't put it down for HOURS till I finished it.

This? Is not that. There wasn't a single interesting character, and the dialogue was written in such a way that I could barely follow the conversations. It was as if much was being communicated through meaningful looks and body language, but the author never bothered to tell us what they might have been. It will go back to the library unfinished.

[Nia Forrester · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book launched my phase of infatuation with Diane Johnson and her work about expats, a culture with which I am very familiar. I still read snippets of this book and Le Divorce (never, never, never see that movie, it was an awful adaptation) every once in awhile. The author has a wonderful eye and ear and attention for the detail that distinguishes one culture from another, and the idiosyncrasies of each.

[Thierry Sagnier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Le Mariage is the follow-up to the runaway bestseller Le Divorce, which was made into a pretty good movie. It's a fun read, and I would have given it 5 stars, but it reminded me a bit too much of the second and third Bridget Jones books. This being said, Diane Johnson's a wonderful writer and a pleasure to read, whether you're a Francophile or a Francophobe.

[Katy · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I like about Diane Johnson's amusing comedies of manners are her extremely apt yet remarkably detached observations on cultural life, French and American.

[Antof9 · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had no expectations for this book, and started reading it with interest. What I couldn't decide in this book was if the author was trying to compare and contrast the sexes, or Americans vs. French. She sort of did both, but I couldn't help but wonder if she'd placed all the characters in one locale with a similar nationality, if she'd have hit the mark better? It's not that this book couldn't have both, but it seemed weaker because she was trying to hit both. Maybe what I'm really trying to say is, if you want to write a book about a wedding, and American vs. French thoughts about it, do that. If you want to write a book about a wedding, and your thoughts on male vs. female thoughts, then ... do that. This one was very interesting to read, but kind of petered out at the end. Maybe that was the problem. In trying to hit everything, there were too many notes to hit, and many got missed.

That said, there were parts of this that were just awesome. Flashes of brilliance that just make you break out your highlighter and wish you had written them. Here are a few:

In a way she had been shocked to learn that the whole elaborate ritual of hunty -- dogs, red coats, horses -- was done in France, which seemed too, well, too small a country to let people loose with weapons in...
"What danger means to the French I have never understood," Tim had written once. She had read this passage over several times. "The seem drawn to it in a way we are not. Perhaps it is to atone for the crucial national moment when by and large they avoided danger. Or perhaps, belonging to an oldcivilization gives a certain perspective that we, fragile in our optimism, and convinced that we have yet so much to teach, lack. we are prudent, they drive too fast, race cars across deserts, sail in little boats alone across the open sea, scale skyscrapers, tightrope-walk, assault their arteries with rillettes and patinate their lungs with Gauloises."
"I wonder if the Americans will be, well, like Tim, alors -- their jackets won't match their pants, they'll wear tennis shoes in town, that sort of thing," said Anne-Sophie happily.
She stared at the moonlit wall, where she could reat the cross-stitched sampler that said "Kissin' don't last, cookin' do." The exact opposite of what the countess Ribemont in Against the Tide would say. The countess said, "All men really require is extravagant admiration of their genitals."

And although this wasn't brilliant, it made me laugh: Delia didn't think she was a prude, but there was an awful lot of screwing in France, in the public toilets, or with people listening two feet away -- for of course she was awake, four o'clock the heure blanche of jet lag.

I mostly liked this book, but I felt like the author's pessimistic attitude toward marriage colored the writing, instead of writing a character to express her opinion. If I could just change the end of this, I'd like it a whole lot better ...

[Evelyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

pretentious crap, silly underdeveloped characters, interesting plot twists that unfortunately by the end went nowhere... i was annoyed reading the book at the shallowness of the characters and not even the final shootout could save it for me.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, this book is light reading, but I found the characters to be both amusing and memorable - not a bad achievement! The beautiful American Clara Holly is married to the self-absorbed Polish film director Serge Cray, and the footloose, feckless American Tim Nolinger is engaged to the horse-mad French antique dealer Anne-Sophie d'Argel, whose mother is the soixante-huitard and self-consciously avant-garde novelist Estelle d'Argel. What happens to these two couples as their lives become entangled in improbable ways is entertaining and also thought-provoking. I think comparisons to Austen and Wharton are far-fetched, but still, this book has more to offer than most "chick lit" and is a bit betrayed by its cover design and marketing.

You'll learn a lot about hunting and property laws in France, as well as the importance of protecting historically important buildings - "which of them might not be the next to be dragged off in the night for having put a nail in some wall that Chateaubriand had peed against?" You'll also learn more than you want to know about millenialist apocalyptic friendship circles in Oregon, thanks to Delia, whose naivete knows no bounds and who visits the Louvre to sun herself in the center of the pyramid in order to cure her ailing hip joint!

There are some eloquent insights into character and longing - "In his dark, remarkably fringed eyes she sensed a sort of pain or longing at some sincere level beneath the cynical very French social manner, pleasantries and gallantries and careful choice of wine. Civilization is painful, she thought, holding us in our chairs."

Not to mention eloquent insights into alcohol: "On the plane, Tim had a couple of stiff bourbons, thinking it would be possible to shift his allegiance to bourbon; after the botanical mysteries of scotch, there was something fresh and uncomplicated about it, like mouthwash." It suddenly seems odd to Tim, an American reared in France, that bourbon should have a French name...

The cross-cultural insights do provide much of the fun of this book. Unlike some reviewers, I find the ending completely appropriate, given the way the characters have grown. It's not a traditional tie-everything-up-with-a-neat-bow ending, it leaves something to the imagination, as any good book involving the French should. Bon appetit!

[Sandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

While French vs American social mores and perceptions are the running themes the book, I am not sure what it means that the only characters who led my interest were two Americans, Clara Holly Cray and Tim Nollinger (with an honorable mention to one of the French characters Antoine Persand). Many of the other characters, French and American alike are just not interesting, likable or in any way relatable. Whether this was meant to be a French trifle on marriage and trust I don't know, as this story strayed from the character and emotional entanglements to a half baked detour in to stolen manuscripts, cults, a trip to Oregon, all with no payoff. Well at least the trip to Oregon relieved us of the character of Delia , who besides being just a wretched character to read about, again zero payoff to her storyline which basically dominates the first half of the book. I think there was a good story in here somewhere but it was completely overtaken by many distractions.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Or "le meh"? I was disappointed with this book, especially after the glowing reviews from the NY Review of Books, NYT, Chicago Tribune, etc. Definitely some good things going on and some fascinating characters, but there was too MUCH going on... and therefore, Johnson just can't give all the plot strings the attention they need. The whole manuscript thing went right over my head. I felt like I got to know Clara very well, but Tim remained an enigma. How was the situation back in Oregon resolved? Who knows. I recognized good writing and some interesting characters and insights, but it was all too cluttered for me to truly enjoy.

[Amy]

This is another book given to us by a friend. Bumma read it, but I haven't had the courage. You see, my second language is Spanish, and I never took any French. When I saw the number of times Bumma scurried to her French dictionary while reading this, I got scared off. Then, another book by the same author got made into a chick flick and I shoved this book even further down my TBR pile. It's probably a very nice book and I shouldn't have such preconceived notions about it, but can't help it.

Nope. Didn't work for me.

[Jeanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Marriages, both established and pending, are explored in this quirky novel. Clara and Serge are the established couple: a one-time actress and director. Anne-Sophie and Tim are the soon-to-be married couple: the French woman and the American.

Ah, yes, the conflict between the French and the Americans. By the way, Clara is also from the States.

Cultural conflict, secret crushes, cold feet, and a stolen manuscript are just part of this novel’s wackiness. The characters are interesting, and the subplots are bizarre. An enjoyable diversion.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed reading this book because the former editor of the NYT Book Review said he reads anything Diane Johnson writes simply because she writes so well, but I just wasn't that into it. I didn't care about the characters that much even though I was super into the idea of Americans in Paris. Who isn't? But she played up the cultural differences so much that it seemed stereotypical. I suppose this could have been meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but it wasn't working for me. Tant pis!

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have been in a Jane Austen mood and needed a break. Well, this was just about as far from Jane Austen as I could get. I had a hard time getting into the book, but by about chapter 5, I was somewhat interested. There were a lot of cultural stereo-types, which were funny at times, but also somewhat naive or shallow. The story-line was unbelievable, but still somehow managed to entertain. A good book if you don't want to think or dig deep. A light summer read.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read, not always completely believable, but I really liked the parts about the misunderstandings and prejudices of the Americans toward the French, and vice versa. And the main male character was very believable, and likeable. I read this when I was sick and needed something amusing, and it was just what the doctor ordered. Years ago I read her book, Le divorce, which was also funny.

[Corey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave up! I trudged through Le Divorce and (since I aquired both at a local thrift store) attempted to follow it with this book. Each night I'd open the book and make it through a few pages. After a month or so, and less than half the book, the stack of other books collecting dust on my night stand convinced me that perhaps, although well written, it was time to put this one down in favor of something new.

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh I don't know. I didn't really like the characters and it took be until about half way through to actually get into it. Seemed a mish-mash really, never getting to know the characters at all. At least one of the characters should have been developed more than the rest. I also probably should have had a french-english dictionary at hand while reading but I couldn't be bothered.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho hum. I finally picked up one of Diane Johnson's books. This one, with a subplot of an apocalyptic gun-carrying home-schooling cult in Oregon on the eve of Y2K, its discussion of the ethics of hunting and infidelity, and the interminable question of whether Tim and Ann-Sophie really will get married left me cold--though I did finish the book.

[Kuladima · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting in the beginning, and it kept on building up, and then it just crashed towards the end. It left a lot of questions unanswered, and not in a deep satisfying way. It just seemed to stop abruptly. I like when books leave certain things unresolved, but this one really left everything unresolved in an uncomfortable way.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one has been on my bookshelf forever so in an effort to clean up a bit i figured I might as well read it. I would say that it was not anything special. It followed a few months in the lives of couple soon to be married in Paris and some of the people they encounter along the way.

I found it to be pretty boring with no real point. I wouldn't recommend spending your time on it.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diane Johnson really drags this story out. I found myself wanting to get to the end just to see how she tied it all together. I did enjoy the continuity and references of characters from her other books and I always enjoy a good story about France.

[Anika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just recently re-read this one as it was sitting on my bookshelf at a moment when I needed something lighter. Did the trick. I had forgotten how enjoyable this one was. Remarkably similar to Peter Mayle's fiction.

[Sylvia Tedesco · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun break to read. I got out my French dictionary and read it in short bursts. She isn't much on realistic plot, but her characters' views on French/American attitudes is really delightful.

[Tristy · Rating 1 out of 5]

All these characters are totally dead inside and self-obsessed to boot. Is it a mystery? Is it a sad commentary on marriage? Is it the story of "Americans in Paris?" It is all of these things and yet none.