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Ooh La La!:: French Women’s Secrets to Feeling Beautiful Every Day
French women seem to have a special knack for life's most important things--food, love, raising children. And in matters of beauty and style, they appear to be at an unfair advantage. But the good news is that everything French women know can be learned. . ..French women are not born more attractive than anyone else. They simply learn at a very young age how to feel beautiful, confident, and sexy, inside and out. It's an allure that outlasts youth--in fact, some of France's most celebrated women are femmes d'un certain age. Experience only makes them more irresistible. Growing up, Jamie Cat Callan had a French grand-mere to instruct her on style, grooming, and genuinely liking her reflection in the mirror. Now she shares that wisdom along with advice from other French women on fragrance, image consulting, makeup, and more, and shows you how
Discover the power of perfume
Find mentors who will help hone your personal style
Begin at the ends--hands, feet, and hair
Choose lingerie that makes you feel magnifique
Get an internal makeover and nourish your soul
Embrace your age gracefully and gorgeously
Bid au revoir to Botox, fad diets, and agonizing over every imperfection, and say hello to the truly timeless beauty that comes with making the most of your own unique je-ne-sais-quoi.
Praise for Jamie Cat Callan's Bonjour, Happiness
"With warmth and sincerity, Callan shares that most precious of French life lessons--the art of saying 'enough.' "--Elizabeth Bard, author of "Lunch in Paris"
"Clever, insightful. . .provides immediate happiness. Voila!" --Karen Karbo, author of "The Gospel According to Coco Chanel"
Discover the power of perfume
Find mentors who will help hone your personal style
Begin at the ends--hands, feet, and hair
Choose lingerie that makes you feel magnifique
Get an internal makeover and nourish your soul
Embrace your age gracefully and gorgeously
Bid au revoir to Botox, fad diets, and agonizing over every imperfection, and say hello to the truly timeless beauty that comes with making the most of your own unique je-ne-sais-quoi.
Praise for Jamie Cat Callan's Bonjour, Happiness
"With warmth and sincerity, Callan shares that most precious of French life lessons--the art of saying 'enough.' "--Elizabeth Bard, author of "Lunch in Paris"
"Clever, insightful. . .provides immediate happiness. Voila!" --Karen Karbo, author of "The Gospel According to Coco Chanel"
212 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2013
96 people are currently reading
668 people want to read
About the author
Jamie Cat Callan
6 books110 followersJamie Cat Callan latest book, Parisian Charm School will be released from Penguin Random House in January 2018. She is the author of "Bonjour, Happiness!" and the wildly successful "French Women Don't Sleep Alone." Inspired by her beautiful and elegant French grandmother, Jamie has traveled all over France, interviewing hundreds of women to uncover their secrets to simple, authentic pleasures, including how to stay stylish at any age, how to enjoy more with less and how we too can find our joie de vivre, American style. Jamie is also the creator of The Writers Toolbox. Jamie has taught her unique right-brain style of writing at Grub Street, UCLA., NYU, Wesleyan University and Yale University. She has won a Massachusetts Cultural Council grant in fiction and a Virginia Center for the Creative Arts fellowship to write in Auvillar, France.
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April 18, 2017
Then she turns her head to the woman in purple. "Maybe she's French. I don't know. It's a good possibility she is French. This is not the point. Anyway, French women, they can have bad dress."
I raise my eyes at her. Is this true? I wonder. If so, then my whole world is going to shatter. I don't know what I'll do. If I can't look to French women as my spiritual fashion guides, then what am I doing?
So we're back to Callan, the American woman who worships the French as gods. This book is even less structured than her last book, which was ostensibly about 'catching' a man the French way. This is about a much more ephemeral topic 'finding your ooh la la,' whatever the fuck that means.
Basically it's just an excuse for Callan to wander around France (aka heaven) and talk to French people (aka angels). She interviews them about... stuff. Stuff like makeup use, perfume use, fashion, and always ALWAYS weight-loss since Callan is chronically unhappy with her weight.
Mainly two things bother me about Callan's books.
NUMBER ONE
Callan worships the French and seems to think Americans are lost creatures who have no idea how to be beautiful, sexy, or happy.
Here's a list of things that are better in France:
- Professional men and women dress better than in America.
- French women have better taste in fashion.
- Rainstorms. No, seriously.
...the sky has turned pitch-black and the rain is pouring down. I've never seen anything quite like it. So volatile and so sudden. I can't help thinking this is a very French rain. Passionate, insistent, and yet mysterious.
- Umbrellas. Apparently Americans favor black umbrellas but the French are SO creative and SO full of joy that they favor colorful umbrellas.
- The French are able to laugh and accept any weather, whereas Americans complain nonstop. The French are good-natured, Americans are grumpy.
- Hot Chocolate.
- Salons.
- The wax that they use to wax your face and body.
- "French women want to look good for our husbands. We want to keep them," she whispers.
Heather nods in agreement. ... Maybe French women know something about human nature - or should I say the nature of men - that we don't know, or would rather not know.
French women always expect their men to cheat on them if they are bored with them, if they are not keeping up their figures or makeup or fashion enough. And that's... good? Good according to Callan.
- French men are better, sexier, kinder, more compassionate than American men. And Callan develops crushes on every single one she meets. (We'll discuss that later.)
- Three pages on how the gyms in France are better than the gyms in America.
- Their way of raising children is better and their children are better-behaved than American ones.
With all this life experience, you'd think I would get over being constantly, breathlessly enthralled by France. But somehow I'm not. Somehow, I cannot get enough. I envy Sylvia, an American mother, living here and experiencing firsthand what it is like to have a baby in a country that is famous for its talent of raising children who don't throw their food.
- French Glamour magazine is superior to American Glamour.
- French women are more romantic than American women.
- Undergarments.
- The French are daring and they always are themselves and feel proud and free to be themselves.
- Medical care.
- Hospital food.
- Nurses dress better in France because they have to wear starched white outfits.
- Nurses are better at nursing in France, unlike inept American nurses who frequently make Callan cry.
Then, in one seamless motion, this nurse put the needle into the vein and simply drew the blood. Voilà!
I look at her incredulously. Tears in my eyes.
Vous êtes une experte. You are an expert, I tell her. ...
She looks at me and smiles ever so slightly - you know, the way French women will smile at you, giving you just a little peek into their emotional life but still holding a little something back.
"Non," she says slyly. "Je suis une artiste." I am an artist.
That about sums it up.
I feel kind of sorry for Callan because she obviously is very insecure about herself and her American-ness, and she seems to spend a lot of her time wishing she was born French or could absorb 'Frenchness' in some way.
This was an opportunity to get to know France from a completely new perspective. The universe was asking me a question. Do you want this thing? Do you want to get on this ride called The Big French Adventure?
And my answer was an unequivocal, yes! Yes, I do!
She goes around hoping some French person will reach out and touch her and infuse her with true Frenchness. Because, of course, if you are French you have no problems.
"Make me French!" I want to say. "I am a French American who has lost her way. My ancestors came to the New World in the 1600s and somehow the family lost the secrets des femmes. Please help me! Adopt me! Take me into the French fold - just give me a year with you and I'll do all your cooking and cleaning! I'll be your au pair! Just help me find my way back home."
The desperation is pretty unbelievable.
"Yes, but the French women. They're more romantic than American women, don't you think? And all those dinner parties. The perfume! The lingerie! Ooh la la!"
She laughs at me and my crush on the French.
When she goes to a French herbalist, things get even weirder.
And then I see a bottle labeled TONIQUE SEXUEL.
Maybe it's just me - but whenever I see the word 'sexual' my interest is immediately aroused. And if you spell it the French way, well, doubly so. Heather and the herbalist approach me and ask if I want to buy something. Well, of course I do. I want some of this Tonique Sexuel - for the bottle, for the label, for the idea of it, for the notion that I will return home with a little brown bottle of Love Potion No. 9, à la française!
Of course she has no idea what is in this shit.
My imagination takes a little leap into the air, does a sexy pirouette, and lands on pink ballet-slippered tippy toes at the cash register. That'll be thirty euros... and I pay for it feeling so happy, as if I am Harry Potter himself and I've just entered the Chamber of Secrets. Imagine, for a mere forty-five dollars you will feel very hot and sexy and your libido will never be quite the same. Ooh la la.
Carmen: *if you could only see the look on my face*
*It's this combination of confusion and complete cringing that I wore for the entirety of reading this book*
This confusion/cringing look only intensifies as Callan explains she's never going to try the stuff.
And yet, to be honest with you, I know I will never actually take even a tiny teaspoon of this Tonique Sexuel. Because, truth be told, I'm afraid I might end up like the man in that song 'Love Potion No. 9' and I'd start running around Paris kissing every man in sight! But, I like the bottle. I like the label and the experience.
So... thirty euros for nothing. Got it.
She has a girlcrush on every French woman she meets, and dedicates at least a paragraph describing each one in very flattering terms.
If a French woman makes a suggestion to her, she immediately takes it. She will do whatever they suggest. Even if it means giving up something she loves or something she's been doing for decades.
It's bizarre.
She has a romantic crush on every Frenchman she meets, and they are are invariably charming and handsome and witty.
Which brings me to the second point of the book.
NUMBER TWO
Her constant 'secret fantasies' which can grip her at any moment.
These make me a little uncomfortable.
For instance, when she goes over to Coco's house to meet her and interview her, only Coco's husband is there. And Coco hasn't arrived yet. Instantly, Callan is thrust into a fantasy.
"So how are you enjoying your visit to our fine city?" Peter asks.
And I tell him I am having a wonderful time. I don't ask him where his wife is, because I don't want to sound nervous. But for a fraction of a second my brain takes flight and I imagine that I have landed in Morocco via the River Seine and I am about to be seduced by a sultan.
o.O Not only that, but then she imagines what would happen if Coco walked in on them. Which would be nothing, of course because they are doing nothing, but even if they are doing nothing, Callan is hopeful Coco will get the wrong idea.
I sip champagne and laugh at Peter's banter. For a moment, I imagine Coco walking in the door. What will she think when she sees me on the bar stool, legs crossed, drinking champagne and sharing bon mots about French lingerie with her American husband? This thought makes me a bit anxious. After all, I've heard she's a bit unpredictable. Perhaps even explosive. Suppose she doesn't like the looks of the friendly scene between her husband and a strange woman and she misunderstands my writerly intentions and then she screams something in French to me - something I don't understand? And then, suppose she grabs me by the hair and pulls me down on the floor and I break the champagne flute?
Ah, how French! Ooh la la! /s LOL
Sometimes it's even more sexual. How about this part, where she is having dinner with a group of friends. I'm going to hide it under a spoiler tag, just because I don't want this review to get too annoying.
o.O Damn. Maybe she should take writing up romance! Even though this hapless couple has no idea they are starring in her sex fantasies. But wait, it's not over.
But to be fair, her fantasies range all over the place. Sometimes she imagines Coco Chanel on Paris streets, judging her and insulting her. Sometimes she has conversations in her head with random French women.
And for a moment, before the burst of wind from the oncoming train rushes through the tunnel and separates us, I have a secret, silent conversation with the French girl in the red plaid skirt and I whisper to her in French and in English that she is a part of my story and I am a part of her story. And one day, when I am gone from this world, it will be okay because there will still be girls wearing red plaid skirts meeting the man of their dreams.
The fact that her ancestors came over from France in the 1600s and ruined everything for her by forcing her to be born in America seems to really bug her. She goes with a French friend to the place where her ancestors lived. She dreams a long-lost relative will pop out and guide her to true Frenchness.
My secret fantasy is that I will meet a Vaillancourt. A wise woman. She will invite me into her home and we will realize that we have so much in common and then perhaps she'll invite me to move in and I will get an education on ooh la la and then come home six months from now, completely transformed. Oh, and brimming with ooh la la.
What?
So, I am French after all. But I just don't feel very French. I've lost the thread; I've lost my way home. And I think something essential was lost when my ancestors crossed the oceans and arrived in the new land all those many years ago. There was no time to hold on to the past, the traditions, the helpful things that grandmothers tell us. The recipes, the little secrets that women share.
Okay.
Anyway, I don't know what to think about Callan. She's not hurting anyone with her little obsession with France. It's a bit sad that she is so insecure and that she believes absorbing France and French culture through her pores is the only way to be sexy, happy, and confident. But everyone has their hobbies.
The whole book I wondered, "Why doesn't Callan just move to France and live there permanently? She would love that and it would be like a dream come true for her." The only reason I could come up with is perhaps her husband, who seems to be something like a marine biologist.
Does anyone ever give her a reality check?
Yes, she does talk to one French woman who says
"Is there something you'd like to tell American women to help them feel more "French?""
"I am very un-at-ease when I read 'feel more French.' I think it is a horrible thing to say, because they won't be able to change their nationality, it is their heritage. American women have to be proud to be American; it is not healthy to want to become French, to become someone else."
Unclear if this little conversation has any effect on our author.
Callan isn't a bad person. She takes in everything with a wide-eyed stare and an incredible naivete. Even though she's in her (late 50s?) she comes off sounding pretty young in this book, as you can see from the excerpt. If she's worried about staying young-at-heart, I'd have to say she doesn't need to have any worries. She's got a youthful enthusiasm and energy that envelopes everything around her.
Was there anything you enjoyed about this book?
Yes. I liked all the parts when Callan discussed perfume! She has a whole chapter about it, and it's also a thing she asks French women about. I also liked when Callan stopped being so obsessed with makeup, fashion, perfume, shoes, and massages and talked (very, very briefly) about things like how her mom became disabled in a car accident when Callan was eight and how that affected her mom; and about her close friend who died at a young age of MS. Or she could've talked about her ex-husband, her divorce, or her new husband. Which she DIDN'T, and I understand why she didn't, that might be to personal. Was she keeping this book so superficial because she doesn't want to get into the personal stuff? Maybe. But I did see peeks of actual experiences in here. And I don't mean 'experiences' like the experience of buying a strange bottle of potion that you are never even going to use, but I mean being through some shit. Obviously as a woman who has been married, divorced, and re-married, AND being a mom, she should have one or two things of substance to say.
One would think.
But I guess that isn't the book she wanted to write. Also, you have to keep in mind how much $$$ putting the term 'French Women' in the title of your non-fiction book brings you. A lot.
Tl;dr - Another book that consists of nothing more than Callan kissing France's butt.
I raise my eyes at her. Is this true? I wonder. If so, then my whole world is going to shatter. I don't know what I'll do. If I can't look to French women as my spiritual fashion guides, then what am I doing?
So we're back to Callan, the American woman who worships the French as gods. This book is even less structured than her last book, which was ostensibly about 'catching' a man the French way. This is about a much more ephemeral topic 'finding your ooh la la,' whatever the fuck that means.
Basically it's just an excuse for Callan to wander around France (aka heaven) and talk to French people (aka angels). She interviews them about... stuff. Stuff like makeup use, perfume use, fashion, and always ALWAYS weight-loss since Callan is chronically unhappy with her weight.
Mainly two things bother me about Callan's books.
NUMBER ONE
Callan worships the French and seems to think Americans are lost creatures who have no idea how to be beautiful, sexy, or happy.
Here's a list of things that are better in France:
- Professional men and women dress better than in America.
- French women have better taste in fashion.
- Rainstorms. No, seriously.
...the sky has turned pitch-black and the rain is pouring down. I've never seen anything quite like it. So volatile and so sudden. I can't help thinking this is a very French rain. Passionate, insistent, and yet mysterious.
- Umbrellas. Apparently Americans favor black umbrellas but the French are SO creative and SO full of joy that they favor colorful umbrellas.
- The French are able to laugh and accept any weather, whereas Americans complain nonstop. The French are good-natured, Americans are grumpy.
- Hot Chocolate.
- Salons.
- The wax that they use to wax your face and body.
- "French women want to look good for our husbands. We want to keep them," she whispers.
Heather nods in agreement. ... Maybe French women know something about human nature - or should I say the nature of men - that we don't know, or would rather not know.
French women always expect their men to cheat on them if they are bored with them, if they are not keeping up their figures or makeup or fashion enough. And that's... good? Good according to Callan.
- French men are better, sexier, kinder, more compassionate than American men. And Callan develops crushes on every single one she meets. (We'll discuss that later.)
- Three pages on how the gyms in France are better than the gyms in America.
- Their way of raising children is better and their children are better-behaved than American ones.
With all this life experience, you'd think I would get over being constantly, breathlessly enthralled by France. But somehow I'm not. Somehow, I cannot get enough. I envy Sylvia, an American mother, living here and experiencing firsthand what it is like to have a baby in a country that is famous for its talent of raising children who don't throw their food.
- French Glamour magazine is superior to American Glamour.
- French women are more romantic than American women.
- Undergarments.
- The French are daring and they always are themselves and feel proud and free to be themselves.
- Medical care.
- Hospital food.
- Nurses dress better in France because they have to wear starched white outfits.
- Nurses are better at nursing in France, unlike inept American nurses who frequently make Callan cry.
Then, in one seamless motion, this nurse put the needle into the vein and simply drew the blood. Voilà!
I look at her incredulously. Tears in my eyes.
Vous êtes une experte. You are an expert, I tell her. ...
She looks at me and smiles ever so slightly - you know, the way French women will smile at you, giving you just a little peek into their emotional life but still holding a little something back.
"Non," she says slyly. "Je suis une artiste." I am an artist.
That about sums it up.
I feel kind of sorry for Callan because she obviously is very insecure about herself and her American-ness, and she seems to spend a lot of her time wishing she was born French or could absorb 'Frenchness' in some way.
This was an opportunity to get to know France from a completely new perspective. The universe was asking me a question. Do you want this thing? Do you want to get on this ride called The Big French Adventure?
And my answer was an unequivocal, yes! Yes, I do!
She goes around hoping some French person will reach out and touch her and infuse her with true Frenchness. Because, of course, if you are French you have no problems.
"Make me French!" I want to say. "I am a French American who has lost her way. My ancestors came to the New World in the 1600s and somehow the family lost the secrets des femmes. Please help me! Adopt me! Take me into the French fold - just give me a year with you and I'll do all your cooking and cleaning! I'll be your au pair! Just help me find my way back home."
The desperation is pretty unbelievable.
"Yes, but the French women. They're more romantic than American women, don't you think? And all those dinner parties. The perfume! The lingerie! Ooh la la!"
She laughs at me and my crush on the French.
When she goes to a French herbalist, things get even weirder.
And then I see a bottle labeled TONIQUE SEXUEL.
Maybe it's just me - but whenever I see the word 'sexual' my interest is immediately aroused. And if you spell it the French way, well, doubly so. Heather and the herbalist approach me and ask if I want to buy something. Well, of course I do. I want some of this Tonique Sexuel - for the bottle, for the label, for the idea of it, for the notion that I will return home with a little brown bottle of Love Potion No. 9, à la française!
Of course she has no idea what is in this shit.
My imagination takes a little leap into the air, does a sexy pirouette, and lands on pink ballet-slippered tippy toes at the cash register. That'll be thirty euros... and I pay for it feeling so happy, as if I am Harry Potter himself and I've just entered the Chamber of Secrets. Imagine, for a mere forty-five dollars you will feel very hot and sexy and your libido will never be quite the same. Ooh la la.
Carmen: *if you could only see the look on my face*
*It's this combination of confusion and complete cringing that I wore for the entirety of reading this book*
This confusion/cringing look only intensifies as Callan explains she's never going to try the stuff.
And yet, to be honest with you, I know I will never actually take even a tiny teaspoon of this Tonique Sexuel. Because, truth be told, I'm afraid I might end up like the man in that song 'Love Potion No. 9' and I'd start running around Paris kissing every man in sight! But, I like the bottle. I like the label and the experience.
So... thirty euros for nothing. Got it.
She has a girlcrush on every French woman she meets, and dedicates at least a paragraph describing each one in very flattering terms.
If a French woman makes a suggestion to her, she immediately takes it. She will do whatever they suggest. Even if it means giving up something she loves or something she's been doing for decades.
It's bizarre.
She has a romantic crush on every Frenchman she meets, and they are are invariably charming and handsome and witty.
Which brings me to the second point of the book.
NUMBER TWO
Her constant 'secret fantasies' which can grip her at any moment.
These make me a little uncomfortable.
For instance, when she goes over to Coco's house to meet her and interview her, only Coco's husband is there. And Coco hasn't arrived yet. Instantly, Callan is thrust into a fantasy.
"So how are you enjoying your visit to our fine city?" Peter asks.
And I tell him I am having a wonderful time. I don't ask him where his wife is, because I don't want to sound nervous. But for a fraction of a second my brain takes flight and I imagine that I have landed in Morocco via the River Seine and I am about to be seduced by a sultan.
o.O Not only that, but then she imagines what would happen if Coco walked in on them. Which would be nothing, of course because they are doing nothing, but even if they are doing nothing, Callan is hopeful Coco will get the wrong idea.
I sip champagne and laugh at Peter's banter. For a moment, I imagine Coco walking in the door. What will she think when she sees me on the bar stool, legs crossed, drinking champagne and sharing bon mots about French lingerie with her American husband? This thought makes me a bit anxious. After all, I've heard she's a bit unpredictable. Perhaps even explosive. Suppose she doesn't like the looks of the friendly scene between her husband and a strange woman and she misunderstands my writerly intentions and then she screams something in French to me - something I don't understand? And then, suppose she grabs me by the hair and pulls me down on the floor and I break the champagne flute?
Ah, how French! Ooh la la! /s LOL
Sometimes it's even more sexual. How about this part, where she is having dinner with a group of friends. I'm going to hide it under a spoiler tag, just because I don't want this review to get too annoying.
o.O Damn. Maybe she should take writing up romance! Even though this hapless couple has no idea they are starring in her sex fantasies. But wait, it's not over.
But to be fair, her fantasies range all over the place. Sometimes she imagines Coco Chanel on Paris streets, judging her and insulting her. Sometimes she has conversations in her head with random French women.
And for a moment, before the burst of wind from the oncoming train rushes through the tunnel and separates us, I have a secret, silent conversation with the French girl in the red plaid skirt and I whisper to her in French and in English that she is a part of my story and I am a part of her story. And one day, when I am gone from this world, it will be okay because there will still be girls wearing red plaid skirts meeting the man of their dreams.
The fact that her ancestors came over from France in the 1600s and ruined everything for her by forcing her to be born in America seems to really bug her. She goes with a French friend to the place where her ancestors lived. She dreams a long-lost relative will pop out and guide her to true Frenchness.
My secret fantasy is that I will meet a Vaillancourt. A wise woman. She will invite me into her home and we will realize that we have so much in common and then perhaps she'll invite me to move in and I will get an education on ooh la la and then come home six months from now, completely transformed. Oh, and brimming with ooh la la.
What?
So, I am French after all. But I just don't feel very French. I've lost the thread; I've lost my way home. And I think something essential was lost when my ancestors crossed the oceans and arrived in the new land all those many years ago. There was no time to hold on to the past, the traditions, the helpful things that grandmothers tell us. The recipes, the little secrets that women share.
Okay.
Anyway, I don't know what to think about Callan. She's not hurting anyone with her little obsession with France. It's a bit sad that she is so insecure and that she believes absorbing France and French culture through her pores is the only way to be sexy, happy, and confident. But everyone has their hobbies.
The whole book I wondered, "Why doesn't Callan just move to France and live there permanently? She would love that and it would be like a dream come true for her." The only reason I could come up with is perhaps her husband, who seems to be something like a marine biologist.
Does anyone ever give her a reality check?
Yes, she does talk to one French woman who says
"Is there something you'd like to tell American women to help them feel more "French?""
"I am very un-at-ease when I read 'feel more French.' I think it is a horrible thing to say, because they won't be able to change their nationality, it is their heritage. American women have to be proud to be American; it is not healthy to want to become French, to become someone else."
Unclear if this little conversation has any effect on our author.
Callan isn't a bad person. She takes in everything with a wide-eyed stare and an incredible naivete. Even though she's in her (late 50s?) she comes off sounding pretty young in this book, as you can see from the excerpt. If she's worried about staying young-at-heart, I'd have to say she doesn't need to have any worries. She's got a youthful enthusiasm and energy that envelopes everything around her.
Was there anything you enjoyed about this book?
Yes. I liked all the parts when Callan discussed perfume! She has a whole chapter about it, and it's also a thing she asks French women about. I also liked when Callan stopped being so obsessed with makeup, fashion, perfume, shoes, and massages and talked (very, very briefly) about things like how her mom became disabled in a car accident when Callan was eight and how that affected her mom; and about her close friend who died at a young age of MS. Or she could've talked about her ex-husband, her divorce, or her new husband. Which she DIDN'T, and I understand why she didn't, that might be to personal. Was she keeping this book so superficial because she doesn't want to get into the personal stuff? Maybe. But I did see peeks of actual experiences in here. And I don't mean 'experiences' like the experience of buying a strange bottle of potion that you are never even going to use, but I mean being through some shit. Obviously as a woman who has been married, divorced, and re-married, AND being a mom, she should have one or two things of substance to say.
One would think.
But I guess that isn't the book she wanted to write. Also, you have to keep in mind how much $$$ putting the term 'French Women' in the title of your non-fiction book brings you. A lot.
Tl;dr - Another book that consists of nothing more than Callan kissing France's butt.
May 23, 2013
If I had to identify myself as a "country"-phile, I would probably use the word Japanophile. But, that doesn't mean books like these don't interest me! I've never really felt the whole "French women are somehow better" thing that the author seems to feel, but I am interested in a culture of women who have made such an impression that they are perceived as glamorous.
On the whole, I'm quite impressed with this book. I thought it was going to be a beauty and style secrets kind of book, but it tries to go beyond that into helping you live a happier life. And yes, I can sum the book up into one sentence:
Be yourself.
And that really is the whole point of the book. The author talks with different French women of different ages and different personalities, and she gives different tips at the end of each chapter, but the entire book is about finding yourself and being happy in your own skin.
Which is actually good advice. There's this line about expats that struck me: "And so, they are lost somewhere in the middle, never feeling quite at home." That statement hit me pretty hard. It's something that I will deal with for the rest of my life. I know that I will never belong in Japan 100%, even if I'm constantly mistaken for a Japanese. But I also know that even if (or rather, when) I move back to Singapore for good, I will always feel a disconnect because a part of my heart will stay in Japan.
Because of this, the whole "be yourself" message in the book really impressed me. I can't say that I'll be following a lot of her concrete tips, but I will be keeping in mind that I shouldn't try to conform for the sake of conforming - I should be myself, even if that makes me the nail that sticks out.
Disclaimer: I got this book for free via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
This review was first posted to Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
On the whole, I'm quite impressed with this book. I thought it was going to be a beauty and style secrets kind of book, but it tries to go beyond that into helping you live a happier life. And yes, I can sum the book up into one sentence:
Be yourself.
And that really is the whole point of the book. The author talks with different French women of different ages and different personalities, and she gives different tips at the end of each chapter, but the entire book is about finding yourself and being happy in your own skin.
Which is actually good advice. There's this line about expats that struck me: "And so, they are lost somewhere in the middle, never feeling quite at home." That statement hit me pretty hard. It's something that I will deal with for the rest of my life. I know that I will never belong in Japan 100%, even if I'm constantly mistaken for a Japanese. But I also know that even if (or rather, when) I move back to Singapore for good, I will always feel a disconnect because a part of my heart will stay in Japan.
Because of this, the whole "be yourself" message in the book really impressed me. I can't say that I'll be following a lot of her concrete tips, but I will be keeping in mind that I shouldn't try to conform for the sake of conforming - I should be myself, even if that makes me the nail that sticks out.
Disclaimer: I got this book for free via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
This review was first posted to Inside the mind of a Bibliophile
June 5, 2013
I will be honest and say this book was not very good. I wish I had done my research before purchasing as it was not what I thought it would be. I bought it on recommendation from another author I had previously enjoyed.
This book was pretty much written by an American for Americans who have not much prior knowledge already about French lifestyle and culture.
The author claims to have interviewed "hundreds" of French women, however there appears to be only a handful of interviews in the book with the French and many more by American friends who live in France. There was a lot of "in France they do it this way, but in America we do it like this", and so forth. I did not anticipate this to be a comparitive study of French & American culture. I hope the author understands that her audience extends beyond the United States - it would be nice for a change to read a book about France written by an American who embraces a universal audience.
I also felt that the book lacked sophistication and maybe was hastily edited, as I came across a few typos and found the structure to be disorganised. The writing style rambled and often went off on tangents, straying from the main theme. I think I lost count of how many sentences began with "Oh, and...."
Full of cliches and stereotypes, I give this book one star, mostly because there was a couple interesting anecdotes included. Pretty much everything you need to know is in the last chapter.
In future if I wish to seek advice on French beauty and style, I will ask my real-life French friends.
This book was pretty much written by an American for Americans who have not much prior knowledge already about French lifestyle and culture.
The author claims to have interviewed "hundreds" of French women, however there appears to be only a handful of interviews in the book with the French and many more by American friends who live in France. There was a lot of "in France they do it this way, but in America we do it like this", and so forth. I did not anticipate this to be a comparitive study of French & American culture. I hope the author understands that her audience extends beyond the United States - it would be nice for a change to read a book about France written by an American who embraces a universal audience.
I also felt that the book lacked sophistication and maybe was hastily edited, as I came across a few typos and found the structure to be disorganised. The writing style rambled and often went off on tangents, straying from the main theme. I think I lost count of how many sentences began with "Oh, and...."
Full of cliches and stereotypes, I give this book one star, mostly because there was a couple interesting anecdotes included. Pretty much everything you need to know is in the last chapter.
In future if I wish to seek advice on French beauty and style, I will ask my real-life French friends.
December 3, 2018
I did enjoy this book - but unfortunately the main takeaways were this: do things that make you feel sexy, wear perfume, take care of your skin, and sit around wishing you were French. Not exactly the goal I had in mind when I picked up this book.
January 27, 2018
I really love the points and great insights in this book overall! Definitely highlighted a ton to come back to again and again. Though I was impatient with the author’s stories at times, I could see the point of where she was going, but wished for less drama and exaggerated expression.
December 18, 2014
Unfortunately, this book failed to answer to why French women have this ooh la la! or allure. The author wrote a series of meeting/interviews with French women but also many American expats living in Paris, trying to find the secret to ooh la la!, but most of the times the meetings themselves were not particularly interesting or revealing, or the conclusions driven by the author had nothing to do either with the mysterious ooh la la! or the afore mentioned meeting.
I'd give this a 3 because despite the failure to answer the main question it was a fast paced piece of fluff (exactly what I was looking for that is), but the fact is that I found errors in some of her lessons and in the end, I was more convinced that this ooh la la! is unable to get unless you're born to it, than I was before I started this book. I guess that defeats the book's purpose:( The author may try to say that having massages, wearing sexy lingerie and organizing dinners with friends will help you achieve your ooh la la!, but what I gathered from her interviews is that self-confidence and high self-esteem are the most important part of the success recipe. How to get these? Read another book:)
As for the lesson in perfumes, I'll tell you what the very savvy and elegant saleslady should have told to the author: never select a perfume unless you've worn it for at least 2 hours, so that the base notes have come out, because these are the ones that will stay with you until the fragrance fades completely. Though you may like the opening of a fragrance, you may find the heart or base of it quite different and not to your taste. And choosing a perfume as your signature based on its name, as the author attempts to do, is not a method any perfume-lover would ever suggest. Also, you should choose a perfume not based on who you want to be, if you're not already halfway there, because it'll feel strange and alien to you, which in the end will hurt your self-confidence and hence your image.
Conclusion: read it if you want to learn a few tidbits about life in France (the upper class mind you), but don't expect to learn the secret to French chic.
I'd give this a 3 because despite the failure to answer the main question it was a fast paced piece of fluff (exactly what I was looking for that is), but the fact is that I found errors in some of her lessons and in the end, I was more convinced that this ooh la la! is unable to get unless you're born to it, than I was before I started this book. I guess that defeats the book's purpose:( The author may try to say that having massages, wearing sexy lingerie and organizing dinners with friends will help you achieve your ooh la la!, but what I gathered from her interviews is that self-confidence and high self-esteem are the most important part of the success recipe. How to get these? Read another book:)
As for the lesson in perfumes, I'll tell you what the very savvy and elegant saleslady should have told to the author: never select a perfume unless you've worn it for at least 2 hours, so that the base notes have come out, because these are the ones that will stay with you until the fragrance fades completely. Though you may like the opening of a fragrance, you may find the heart or base of it quite different and not to your taste. And choosing a perfume as your signature based on its name, as the author attempts to do, is not a method any perfume-lover would ever suggest. Also, you should choose a perfume not based on who you want to be, if you're not already halfway there, because it'll feel strange and alien to you, which in the end will hurt your self-confidence and hence your image.
Conclusion: read it if you want to learn a few tidbits about life in France (the upper class mind you), but don't expect to learn the secret to French chic.
May 28, 2013
I have read a few books that promise to expose the secret of the elusive French woman and enlighten us poor non-French souls, but I often feel they are writing about a different kind of French woman than the ones I see on a day to day basis in rural France. Because of this it would be fair to say that this subject interests me, but I am sceptical, especially as I know French women do get fat, just like the rest of us! However, this book was different. Jamie takes us with her on a journey through France where she meets and chats to some fantastic French women and picks up tips and advice on the way. As well as the chic Parisiennes we also meet French women from the provinces and while they all had something different to say on the subject of feeling beautiful, together they gave a real insight into what makes a French woman. I liked the personal feel of this book as Jamie really shared her travels and adventures with us, even when things didn’t quite go to plan.
Thanks for a really thought provoking book Jamie, we are often searching for ‘something’ in life, but this book showed me you don’t always find it where you are expecting to. We have lived in France for nearly nine years and if I’m honest the longer I’m here the more I feel I will never be one of them. However this book made me realise that just through the simple things I love about my life in France and how being here has changed me, I had already found my ‘Ooh La La’. Maybe I am more French than I first thought, although I may need to rethink my lingerie collection to be really accepted.
Thanks for a really thought provoking book Jamie, we are often searching for ‘something’ in life, but this book showed me you don’t always find it where you are expecting to. We have lived in France for nearly nine years and if I’m honest the longer I’m here the more I feel I will never be one of them. However this book made me realise that just through the simple things I love about my life in France and how being here has changed me, I had already found my ‘Ooh La La’. Maybe I am more French than I first thought, although I may need to rethink my lingerie collection to be really accepted.
February 21, 2014
I read this book in snipits at a time. It's basically a woman's journey to France & talking to fabulous French women to find out what gives them their Ooh La La! And the responses surprised me. It's really about taking good care of yourself and feeling beautiful. These women aren't arrogant, but they also aren't insecure.
And I noticed something about myself when I was reading this book, I started to appreciate the beautiful in myself. My skin feels soft, I put on my Chanel #5 (really because Marilyn Monroe wore it), and I started feeling better about myself. I let go of my guilt and focused on what I was doing right. I am on the path to finding my Ooh La La!
The women in the book are delightful. The advice is good, and the chapter of what women do in France after they have a baby is ...... fascinating!!
It made me want to visit Paris.......and even buy a scarf.
I should mention that this is not a kind of book I normally read. The book was a gift from the author who is friends with my father. He told her how I love Paris, and she was very kind to send me a copy. Thank you Jamie Cat Callan!!
And I noticed something about myself when I was reading this book, I started to appreciate the beautiful in myself. My skin feels soft, I put on my Chanel #5 (really because Marilyn Monroe wore it), and I started feeling better about myself. I let go of my guilt and focused on what I was doing right. I am on the path to finding my Ooh La La!
The women in the book are delightful. The advice is good, and the chapter of what women do in France after they have a baby is ...... fascinating!!
It made me want to visit Paris.......and even buy a scarf.
I should mention that this is not a kind of book I normally read. The book was a gift from the author who is friends with my father. He told her how I love Paris, and she was very kind to send me a copy. Thank you Jamie Cat Callan!!
May 19, 2013
French women seem to have a special knack for life's most important things--food, love, raising children. And in matters of beauty and style, they appear to be at an unfair advantage. But the good news is that everything French women know can be learned. . .. French women are not born more attractive than anyone else. They simply learn at a very young age how to feel beautiful, confident, and sexy, inside and out.
February 26, 2014
won my free copy of "OOh, Lala" from Goodreads First Reads!
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much!
January 9, 2021
Hmmm this book was vanilla...
June 6, 2019
Full disclosure - I am a Francophile. I think you have to truly be a Francophile to appreciate this book. Jamie Cat Callan (who clearly worships the French) looks at what makes French women have that mystique of confidence and style through a series of chapters in which she learns the secrets of her various French female friends. Each chapter then has a "French lesson" in which Callan gives readers tips on how to apply what you've learned to your own life. It was a nice fluff book which was exactly what I needed, and I learned a few style tips and a bit of French culture along the way!
September 11, 2014
This book is part memoir and partly a collection of interviews with interesting french women about beauty. It, like all books in the genre, romanticizes the lives of french women: she does not interview Valérie Trierweiler I noticed. Still, the illusion is charming.
Although the book offered fewer practical tips than Lessons from Madame Chic, Callan still provided lots of ideas for cultivating french-inspired beauty. I liked how the book ran a little deeper than many of the how-to books out there. Here are a few of her tips:
Celebrate your femininity. It's OK to be feminine. That doesn't mean you can't run a country or a merger or your household. But you can do it in a lovely outfit and nice makeup. There is power in being a woman. Leave the lumber jacket at home (unless it's a sweet one with a nipped in waist!)
Don't worry about being perfect looking. Take a look at french actresses. Most of them are far from perfect looking but they are still gorgeous. Callan sums up the french approach to beauty: "Take care of yourself. Find a good colour. Don't eat so much. Develop your personality. Dress for yourself."
Bring artistry to everyday life. Callan tells a story of a nurse who took her blood when she found herself in a french hospital. She was so thrilled that she was not left bruised as she often was in the US, that she praised the nurse's skill: "Vous êtes one experte." The nurse disagrees: "Non. Je suis une artiste." If one approaches life as an artist, everything can be made more beautiful: meals, relationships, work, and one's appearance. Callan writes:
"You create your own life. And every day, you have an opportunity to take this piece of human clay and mold it into something that is fine and elegant and pleasing. You get to decide what is beautiful, what looks good on you, and exactly how you will go about letting your own light shine."
Be yourself. If sounds clichéd but it really is sage advice, and Callan provides a lot of anecdotal evidence about the importance of doing just that:
"This is the French woman's secret to ooh la la - she has given herself complete permission to be her unique self. She has completely aligned her outer self with her inner self. This allows for her sense of confidence and mystery. This is what makes her beautiful - whether she is a little overweight or has a slightly crooked nose or is a woman of a certain age."
Although the book offered fewer practical tips than Lessons from Madame Chic, Callan still provided lots of ideas for cultivating french-inspired beauty. I liked how the book ran a little deeper than many of the how-to books out there. Here are a few of her tips:
Celebrate your femininity. It's OK to be feminine. That doesn't mean you can't run a country or a merger or your household. But you can do it in a lovely outfit and nice makeup. There is power in being a woman. Leave the lumber jacket at home (unless it's a sweet one with a nipped in waist!)
Don't worry about being perfect looking. Take a look at french actresses. Most of them are far from perfect looking but they are still gorgeous. Callan sums up the french approach to beauty: "Take care of yourself. Find a good colour. Don't eat so much. Develop your personality. Dress for yourself."
Bring artistry to everyday life. Callan tells a story of a nurse who took her blood when she found herself in a french hospital. She was so thrilled that she was not left bruised as she often was in the US, that she praised the nurse's skill: "Vous êtes one experte." The nurse disagrees: "Non. Je suis une artiste." If one approaches life as an artist, everything can be made more beautiful: meals, relationships, work, and one's appearance. Callan writes:
"You create your own life. And every day, you have an opportunity to take this piece of human clay and mold it into something that is fine and elegant and pleasing. You get to decide what is beautiful, what looks good on you, and exactly how you will go about letting your own light shine."
Be yourself. If sounds clichéd but it really is sage advice, and Callan provides a lot of anecdotal evidence about the importance of doing just that:
"This is the French woman's secret to ooh la la - she has given herself complete permission to be her unique self. She has completely aligned her outer self with her inner self. This allows for her sense of confidence and mystery. This is what makes her beautiful - whether she is a little overweight or has a slightly crooked nose or is a woman of a certain age."
May 9, 2013
I was lucky to receive an advanced reader copy of Jamie Cat Callan's delightful book Ooh La La: French Women's Secrets to Feeling Beautiful Everyday. Part memoir, part self-improvement guide, Jamie's charming voice sings off the page. Seriously, it's like reading a book written by your best friend-- one you go to advice for. From sex to lingerie to finding the perfect perfume, Jamie is honest and open, no subject taboo. While it's clear Jamie certainly has an affinity for all things French, and we meet so many wonderful people on Jamie's quest to capture her Ooh La La, what I really like about her book is it's all about self-empowerment, how we women all have our own Ooh La La no matter what country we come from, no matter our size, no matter our age. Even better- you don't need to take a trip to Paris to find your Ooh La La;it rests within you.
January 24, 2014
Interesting insight to the way in which French women view themselves and women in general. Also interesting the read about the general French attitude towards health, fashion, aging and beauty as compared to the American attitude. They are quite different. I loved reading about how French women take care of themselves after childbirth and the special things they do during this time to refresh and rejuvenate themselves - I wish I would have had my babies in France after reading this. Loved the Parisian shop references and the attitude towards shopping.
February 10, 2017
Listened to this during the commute and it really made me think about my beauty regimen from a new perspective. It's a great reminder to consider taking care of my appearance from a stance of self-love, and to think about the colors, silhouettes, fragrances, etc that are a match for my individual personality and body type. I've started making subtle adjustments and have already received a lot of comments on what's working. It's nice to embrace my best qualities and find a way to enhance or bring them out!
March 17, 2014
I have to say. Really? This was probably the most self-involved book I've ever read. I literally can't handle it. Every chapter starts out the exact same way: she met ___(Insert famous French person here)____ and that woman imparted some kind of self-actualizing advice. Like, "French women appreciate their perfume" and did you know "French people don't do plastic!"? Well they don't. And in case you forget, this author will tell you ten times.
December 16, 2014
Ooh la la. As a woman about to leave behind my twenties, I also find myself wanting to leave behind the bad habits of being young. Pretty much jumping from one fashion to another, or not really knowing what suits me. This book isn't about how to give yourself a makeover, instead it is about finding out who your true self is and embracing her. Maybe that means finding your signature scent or wearing your favorite color every day. I liked that.
February 27, 2017
I simply love French people. I love their language, the way they speak, the gestures they use, how they look, their attitude and the way they make me feel about myself.
This book made me realize WHY I always liked that, and brought me closer to their brain and the way they think.
Also, I am a big fan of quotes, so I loved the ones at the beginning of each chapter.
It was a relaxing, nice read.
This book made me realize WHY I always liked that, and brought me closer to their brain and the way they think.
Also, I am a big fan of quotes, so I loved the ones at the beginning of each chapter.
It was a relaxing, nice read.
May 7, 2016
This is a wonderful weekend read. It's whimsical, will make you laugh and smile. After finishing the novel I put more effort into my grooming routine. I also went shopping for some fantastic unmentionables that make me feel beautiful no matter what I'm wearing, be it a dress or pajamas. Jamie reminds us to embrace our femininity and be joyful about it. C'est tres jolie.
October 23, 2019
This is a blend of information on French women's beauty habits and of a travelogue. I found that the travelogue part cluttered up the efficiency and impact of the beauty tips. It felt like a lot of the text was added in to just fill up a publisher's page requirement, however it does not add any value.
November 2, 2015
Fun weekend read
I enjoy travelogues and personal development books, and I enjoyed the author's personal anecdotes and ultimate message. It meshed well with the journey I'm on as a thirty something woman.
I enjoy travelogues and personal development books, and I enjoyed the author's personal anecdotes and ultimate message. It meshed well with the journey I'm on as a thirty something woman.
April 12, 2016
I enjoyed this. Not so much because of the beauty advice (although there is some) but more because I am a big Francophile and enjoyed her narrative and discussions with women of a certain age. i am one of those women now and am still trying to figure it out.
June 4, 2013
i did finish it. but i don't recommend. nothing inspiring or revelational.
May 25, 2016
A must read for Francophiles! Especially people like me who find the French women extremely alluring and inspiring.
January 8, 2017
Fun book to read if you are wanting to dive into the french culture.
December 22, 2019
I have read (and enjoyed) several of Jamie Cat Callan's books, and this one is no exception.
May 26, 2024
I have the ability to read books about well to-do women traveling and completely separate myself from their personal insufferability (see: my infatuation for Eat, Pray, Love). It is a great quality I have that helps me to read books like this and just ignore the narrator and how strange she is for the most part.
This is the first of Callan’s books I’ve read, and I have learned a lot about her. Like how she exclusively writes about France and French people, because her family lineage from the 1600s leads to France. And she is very infatuated with the idea of being French. All French people are so dreamy to her. They’re perfect. Everything in France is better.
And look, I get being infatuated with certain countries and cultures. I love a lot of aspects about Europe and definitely get lost in dreaming about it (hence why I pick up books like this one). But the bikini wax in France is probably the same as in the US. The romanticizing of every single aspect of France, down to breaking a leg on the cobblestone streets in a kitten heel, is a little laughable. It’s a bit much.
I also couldn’t shake the feeling that some of Callan’s interviewees were also picking up on this idealism and romanticism of French people, putting them on a pedestal that didn’t exist. Obviously there are unfashionable French people. Why is this an awakening for the author?? Especially because she goes to France twice a year every year. There’s also quite short responses from many interviewees at the end of the book when they’re told what their “French secrets” are for losing weight and staying healthy/pretty. Everyone’s response was to eat less fatty foods, more fruits & vegetables and exercise. So no, there’s no “French secret” to losing weight, believe it or not.
However, Callan’s descriptions of France and her traipsing through people’s homes and neighborhoods sounded fun and definitely transported me to France. Which is really what I was looking for when I picked up this novel, so it’s mostly a winner for me.
This is the first of Callan’s books I’ve read, and I have learned a lot about her. Like how she exclusively writes about France and French people, because her family lineage from the 1600s leads to France. And she is very infatuated with the idea of being French. All French people are so dreamy to her. They’re perfect. Everything in France is better.
And look, I get being infatuated with certain countries and cultures. I love a lot of aspects about Europe and definitely get lost in dreaming about it (hence why I pick up books like this one). But the bikini wax in France is probably the same as in the US. The romanticizing of every single aspect of France, down to breaking a leg on the cobblestone streets in a kitten heel, is a little laughable. It’s a bit much.
I also couldn’t shake the feeling that some of Callan’s interviewees were also picking up on this idealism and romanticism of French people, putting them on a pedestal that didn’t exist. Obviously there are unfashionable French people. Why is this an awakening for the author?? Especially because she goes to France twice a year every year. There’s also quite short responses from many interviewees at the end of the book when they’re told what their “French secrets” are for losing weight and staying healthy/pretty. Everyone’s response was to eat less fatty foods, more fruits & vegetables and exercise. So no, there’s no “French secret” to losing weight, believe it or not.
However, Callan’s descriptions of France and her traipsing through people’s homes and neighborhoods sounded fun and definitely transported me to France. Which is really what I was looking for when I picked up this novel, so it’s mostly a winner for me.
August 20, 2025
Certainly one of the worse Francophile lifestyle books I’ve read. This author says early on that she’s looking for one easy exotic secret to feeling effortlessly sexy and beautiful in the way of the Frenchwoman stereotype, the elusive panacea she calls “ooh la la”. Obviously, there is no “one simple trick,” which any adult woman should be able to tell you, and it seems very unlikely that real women in France feel like our American Frenchwoman media image every day. Still, the author chases the secret like a beauty writer version of the Northwest Passage. The premise is inherently flawed.
The book is comprised of a collection of anecdotes following the author’s friends and research subjects, all of whom have their own little pleasures and strategies to feel beautiful. It’s bubbly, it’s light, it’s the kind of shallow that should be thoughtlessly fun to read—but it is ignorant enough to be unpleasant. It is romantic and whimsical…but whimsy only gets you so far in a book that ostensibly focuses on the author’s research. Even when recounting specific beauty tips from her interviews, she comes across as terrifically clueless.
She is also disdainful of American culture and starry-eyed over French culture, which is not uncommon in books like this but which rubs me the wrong way. America has flaws, of course, but there is beauty and connection here, too. Also, I find it quite annoying when authors flatten the entire real-life country of France, with all its history and conflict and tradition and vibrancy, into romantic perfection.
Am I looking in the wrong place for three-dimensional thought? Yeah, probably. The book is just so darn shallow, and most of the tips won’t even be novel to a woman who was interested enough to pick the book up in the first place. The selling point of this type of book is the discussion of cultural differences through the lens of the author’s experience, and that is very poorly done in this book.
The book is comprised of a collection of anecdotes following the author’s friends and research subjects, all of whom have their own little pleasures and strategies to feel beautiful. It’s bubbly, it’s light, it’s the kind of shallow that should be thoughtlessly fun to read—but it is ignorant enough to be unpleasant. It is romantic and whimsical…but whimsy only gets you so far in a book that ostensibly focuses on the author’s research. Even when recounting specific beauty tips from her interviews, she comes across as terrifically clueless.
She is also disdainful of American culture and starry-eyed over French culture, which is not uncommon in books like this but which rubs me the wrong way. America has flaws, of course, but there is beauty and connection here, too. Also, I find it quite annoying when authors flatten the entire real-life country of France, with all its history and conflict and tradition and vibrancy, into romantic perfection.
Am I looking in the wrong place for three-dimensional thought? Yeah, probably. The book is just so darn shallow, and most of the tips won’t even be novel to a woman who was interested enough to pick the book up in the first place. The selling point of this type of book is the discussion of cultural differences through the lens of the author’s experience, and that is very poorly done in this book.
February 5, 2022
This book is so sad ~ a middle-aged American woman so desperate to be told who she is by strangers. The few French women she actually speaks to while writing this book (most are American expats in France) try in vain to tell her that the « secret » she is searching for is simply knowing yourself enough to be confident. But this seems to go right over her head as she writes multiple times that she just wants to be adopted by a French woman and told what to wear, how to behave, etc. It’s really quite a frustrating read.
That being said, on another level, I understand Callan’s feeling of missing something. As Americans, it really does feel like we have lost so much of our culture by being mixed into this « melting pot ». I feel like we’ve been done a great disservice by our great grandparents and this story articulates well the accumulated after-effects of this cultural neglect.
That being said, on another level, I understand Callan’s feeling of missing something. As Americans, it really does feel like we have lost so much of our culture by being mixed into this « melting pot ». I feel like we’ve been done a great disservice by our great grandparents and this story articulates well the accumulated after-effects of this cultural neglect.
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