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Taking It to Heart
At once wickedly funny and unexpectedly touching, Marie Desplechin's debut collection of stories explores life and love in contemporary Paris. Here are the trials and tribulations of sex in the city, as - with alarming frequency - her heroines' affairs fail to measure up to their expectations. They're not asking for much: but how much is too much? How long should they wait? And what should they do in the meantime? Sweet, sharp and unsentimental, Desplechin's stories capture eight unlikely moments of truth.
170 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2002
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About the author
Marie Desplechin
122 books32 followersMarie Desplechin has written over thirty books for children and adults, and is published internationally. Enormously popular in her native France, she has twenty-two first cousins, feels most comfortable in the kitchen, and has always dreamed of living in the 19th century.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 8, 2011
This collection of short stories takes you into the minds of various female characters and into the lives of several Parisians all with a search for happiness in common.
One of the ways they look for contentment is in the arms of a lover but often that ends in failure but with them almost pre-programmed for love they continue to search for replacements. Most of these characters have children but they stay firmly in the background most of the time. The children seem to be a physical reminder of previous relationships and failures to find lasting love in the past.
But beyond love, which is clearly a dominant theme, there are observations here about the difficulty some women have on finding an identity post-motherhood and post divorce. In Haiku the story follows someone who has never found love and as a result getting married is not only a dramatic change to her personal circumstances but also liberates her from a pigeon-hole her friends have placed her in.
Other stories that stick in the mind include the title one, Taking it to Heart, telling the story of a brother and sister who are going to visit their grandmother. Her experiences include the war and seeing some of the terrors and she has imparted this almost obsessional frankness about death. The events of the war still cast a long shadow and as the old woman herself prepares for death it is her legacy of horror stories that lives on particularly strongly in her grand daughter.
Having read through the stories the sense of a strong voice emerges and can be heard in each story through different characters. Desplechin manages to get the balance just right with the length and content with this stories and as an introduction to her writing it leaves you with a strong desire to go on and read Sans Moi, her novel also published by Granta.
One of the ways they look for contentment is in the arms of a lover but often that ends in failure but with them almost pre-programmed for love they continue to search for replacements. Most of these characters have children but they stay firmly in the background most of the time. The children seem to be a physical reminder of previous relationships and failures to find lasting love in the past.
But beyond love, which is clearly a dominant theme, there are observations here about the difficulty some women have on finding an identity post-motherhood and post divorce. In Haiku the story follows someone who has never found love and as a result getting married is not only a dramatic change to her personal circumstances but also liberates her from a pigeon-hole her friends have placed her in.
Other stories that stick in the mind include the title one, Taking it to Heart, telling the story of a brother and sister who are going to visit their grandmother. Her experiences include the war and seeing some of the terrors and she has imparted this almost obsessional frankness about death. The events of the war still cast a long shadow and as the old woman herself prepares for death it is her legacy of horror stories that lives on particularly strongly in her grand daughter.
Having read through the stories the sense of a strong voice emerges and can be heard in each story through different characters. Desplechin manages to get the balance just right with the length and content with this stories and as an introduction to her writing it leaves you with a strong desire to go on and read Sans Moi, her novel also published by Granta.
July 19, 2012
My favorite anthology of short stories in the whole world - absolutely love these stories. They capture the many facets of the heart and the complex nature of our relationships with those we love, the games we play, and the surprises that love has in store for us. It gives us a chance to laugh at ourselves with indulgence rather than bitterness, to chide ourselves goodnaturedly and enjoy the way that life is unexpected and eventful with its mysteries, that love can heal the greatest hurts and love can grow in the most unexpected places.
December 2, 2019
I liked it a lot and so did a reviewer for Literary Review, July 2001, p.56 and a reviewer for the TLS (Lucy Dallas), July 20, 2001.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews