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La ricerca del grande amore. Quello vero, l'unico, il solo che ci sorprende e ci afferra proprio quando non ce l'aspettiamo. Angelina si trova improvvisamente davanti l'amante perfetto. Un giorno, una porta, una mano che si posa sulla sua per aiutarla ad aprirla, un ascensore, due occhi scuri penetranti, un sorriso carezzevole e la vita cambia, ti spinge a "buttarti su di lui, a perderti nel suo calore, a mangiarlo". Ma quest'uomo così buono, così pronto ad amare, così palesemente innamorato, è davvero reale o si tratta invece dell'amante ideale, dell'eterno mito che tutte le donne sognano?
- GenresFrance
224 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2001
8 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Pancol
82 books579 followersKatherine Pancol moved from Casablanca to France when she was five. She studied literature and initially became a French and Latin teacher, before turning to journalism. While working for Paris-Match and Cosmopolitan, she is noticed by an intuitive publisher who encourages her to begin writing. Following the success of her first novel Moi D'abord (Me First) in 1979, Pancol moves to New York City where she spends the next decade pursuing creative writing and screenwriting classes at Columbia University while producing three more novels La Barbare in 1981, Scarlett, si possible and Les hommes cruels ne courent pas les rues.
Influenced by the American way of life, her style becomes even more enjoyable, action packed and fast paced.
Pancol's insights into human psychology, and particularly women, are amazingly accurate and her sense of details often shaded with wry humor. Her gift to lift people's spirits while providing great entertainment has been key to her success, inspiring many women to dare to be themselves while keeping a positive relationship with life itself.
Her novel The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles (published in 2006) has been a huge success in France, where it sold more than one million copies and received the "Prix de Maison de la Presse, 2006" for largest distribution in France. Katherine Pancol was awarded "Best author 2007" by Gorodets Publishing (Moscow). The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles was the 6th best sold book in France in 2008 (Le Figaro Littéraire). The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles is already being translated into Russian, Chinese, Ukrainian, Polish, Italian, Korean, Vietnamese and Norwegian.
Katherine Pancol is divorced and has two grown children. She lives in Paris, France where she is currently writing the third sequel to The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles.
Pancol updates her blog every week on her web-site (http://www.katherine-pancol.com). - from Wikipedia
Influenced by the American way of life, her style becomes even more enjoyable, action packed and fast paced.
Pancol's insights into human psychology, and particularly women, are amazingly accurate and her sense of details often shaded with wry humor. Her gift to lift people's spirits while providing great entertainment has been key to her success, inspiring many women to dare to be themselves while keeping a positive relationship with life itself.
Her novel The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles (published in 2006) has been a huge success in France, where it sold more than one million copies and received the "Prix de Maison de la Presse, 2006" for largest distribution in France. Katherine Pancol was awarded "Best author 2007" by Gorodets Publishing (Moscow). The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles was the 6th best sold book in France in 2008 (Le Figaro Littéraire). The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles is already being translated into Russian, Chinese, Ukrainian, Polish, Italian, Korean, Vietnamese and Norwegian.
Katherine Pancol is divorced and has two grown children. She lives in Paris, France where she is currently writing the third sequel to The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles.
Pancol updates her blog every week on her web-site (http://www.katherine-pancol.com). - from Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 10, 2019
There. I found it. This is the worst book I have ever read in my life.
The writing style was just weird. Almost 300 pages of stream of consciousness of five different characters, and not a single quotation mark.
Also, I think that ellipsis are lame in texts. Let alone in books. How can I read hundreds of pages... when every sentence... ends with three little dreamy dots...?
The protagonists were unbelievable - and not even in the likeable and quirky way The wonderful world of Amelie was unrealistic. This was just plain weird.
For those of you who haven't read it, it tells the story of Angelina and Mann, who randomly meet in an elevator and madly fall in love. But Angelina hides a secret and her brooding alpha male can't live without knowing the truth, so he investigates, stalks Angelina's friend ecc ecc. She finds out, freaks out and becomes a nun.
And that's only half of the plot.
The other half is random flashbacks about the characters, stuff about Island and a poster child with a serious Oedipus's complex and weird quotes from pretentious poems. I feel like the author didn't have a real plan in mind.
But kudos to her, cause she managed to put in one book everything that I hate in terms of plot: here I found instalove, cheese all around and every possible kind of cliches ever written (amnesia, runaway bride, meet cute in elevator, car accident, and I could go on).
I am so glad I am finally done.
I have suffered enough in this life to read one more page of this stuff.
The writing style was just weird. Almost 300 pages of stream of consciousness of five different characters, and not a single quotation mark.
Also, I think that ellipsis are lame in texts. Let alone in books. How can I read hundreds of pages... when every sentence... ends with three little dreamy dots...?
The protagonists were unbelievable - and not even in the likeable and quirky way The wonderful world of Amelie was unrealistic. This was just plain weird.
For those of you who haven't read it, it tells the story of Angelina and Mann, who randomly meet in an elevator and madly fall in love. But Angelina hides a secret and her brooding alpha male can't live without knowing the truth, so he investigates, stalks Angelina's friend ecc ecc. She finds out, freaks out and becomes a nun.
And that's only half of the plot.
The other half is random flashbacks about the characters, stuff about Island and a poster child with a serious Oedipus's complex and weird quotes from pretentious poems. I feel like the author didn't have a real plan in mind.
But kudos to her, cause she managed to put in one book everything that I hate in terms of plot: here I found instalove, cheese all around and every possible kind of cliches ever written (amnesia, runaway bride, meet cute in elevator, car accident, and I could go on).
I am so glad I am finally done.
I have suffered enough in this life to read one more page of this stuff.
June 10, 2013
I did not know anything about this book when i bought it except that it was written by Katherine Pancol and that it was about love (nothing surprising here).
This story is about Mann and Angelina, two unearthly persons who meet in an elevator and vow to love each other for ever, greatly, unconditionally. Why is it a 300+ pages book then? Because both protagonists have a past, with secrets, pain, passion, wounds in it and which needs to be explored.
Why can't Angelina love freely? Where does Mann's fervour come from? Why is their love how it is? This is the book plot.
The tone of the book is very smooth, it's so mellow that if i didn't know the author's other works, i would have thought it was a parody. It's spellbinding, almost sickening. But after the first pages you get used of it (with some of your good will).
You'll also need to adapt to the writing style : it feels like the story is quickly whispered in your ears, like a child secret - not so important, but not negligible either.
The story goes dancing between each characters' life, slowly revealing what we need to know about the main couple, it has a bit of suspense that get us hooked. This is the best part of this book, you actually want to know what happened/will happen even if you're reluctant to this type of love story.
The love story itself is enchanting, it makes you throw any barriers you've dressed up against romanticism and love and sweetness. It demands you to let go and to dip into it, to believe, to let yourself be carried up and away without restraint.
The characters are likeable, a bit dramatic i'll say, but then again, it's from the hand of Pancol.
Here is all i can say about the the book itself. It doesn't seem that bad, does it? Nevertheless I couldn't bring myself to like it for mostly 3 reasons :
- unrealistic plot twists :
- clichés : It is to be expected to have a bit of cliché in a love story but i expect of Pancol to be more than the regular chick flick author so i felt insulted by them.
- exageration : Angelina and Mann don't live and love like other humans, i get it. But what refrained Angelina's from loving fully and without guilt appeared childish and ridiculous to me. Then again, the characters themselves are different from regular people - it's what the book is about- but my common self could only look at them condescendingly. It was all a bit too artistic to me.
My rating while reading went back and forth from 1,5 to 2,5. I'll settle for 2 stars out of 5. This story is what it is meant to be, without concession. I know some people out there will find it to be the most beautiful thing they ever read, but it wasn't it for me.
This story is about Mann and Angelina, two unearthly persons who meet in an elevator and vow to love each other for ever, greatly, unconditionally. Why is it a 300+ pages book then? Because both protagonists have a past, with secrets, pain, passion, wounds in it and which needs to be explored.
Why can't Angelina love freely? Where does Mann's fervour come from? Why is their love how it is? This is the book plot.
The tone of the book is very smooth, it's so mellow that if i didn't know the author's other works, i would have thought it was a parody. It's spellbinding, almost sickening. But after the first pages you get used of it (with some of your good will).
You'll also need to adapt to the writing style : it feels like the story is quickly whispered in your ears, like a child secret - not so important, but not negligible either.
The story goes dancing between each characters' life, slowly revealing what we need to know about the main couple, it has a bit of suspense that get us hooked. This is the best part of this book, you actually want to know what happened/will happen even if you're reluctant to this type of love story.
The love story itself is enchanting, it makes you throw any barriers you've dressed up against romanticism and love and sweetness. It demands you to let go and to dip into it, to believe, to let yourself be carried up and away without restraint.
The characters are likeable, a bit dramatic i'll say, but then again, it's from the hand of Pancol.
Here is all i can say about the the book itself. It doesn't seem that bad, does it? Nevertheless I couldn't bring myself to like it for mostly 3 reasons :
- unrealistic plot twists :
- clichés : It is to be expected to have a bit of cliché in a love story but i expect of Pancol to be more than the regular chick flick author so i felt insulted by them.
- exageration : Angelina and Mann don't live and love like other humans, i get it. But what refrained Angelina's from loving fully and without guilt appeared childish and ridiculous to me. Then again, the characters themselves are different from regular people - it's what the book is about- but my common self could only look at them condescendingly. It was all a bit too artistic to me.
My rating while reading went back and forth from 1,5 to 2,5. I'll settle for 2 stars out of 5. This story is what it is meant to be, without concession. I know some people out there will find it to be the most beautiful thing they ever read, but it wasn't it for me.
December 27, 2016
Noioso, verboso, macchinoso ... una lettura faticosissima che non lascia niente
June 15, 2023
L'histoire n'est pas vraiment originale, elle ne sort pas du lot, c'est juste un énième roman d'amour comme j'aime les lire. J'aime les longues déclarations amoureuses pleines de métaphores, les élans de tendresse, lire sur des pages entières des promesses d'amour éternel.
On a tous nos faiblesses, moi c'est les romans d'amour. C'est les seuls à qui je pardonnerais une trame narrative trop facile :)
On a tous nos faiblesses, moi c'est les romans d'amour. C'est les seuls à qui je pardonnerais une trame narrative trop facile :)
March 3, 2015
What - was - that?
- The writing style....peculiar (Different point of views, you are lost with the thoughts of...someone, but you don't know who!). Sometimes the author uses "She", "He", "I", but you have to guess who is thinking. Oh and often you think you understand, but what really happen in the book is: the character is having a dream or is thinking deeply. SO FRUSTRATING
- The story....cliché
- The characters.....Mmh ok why not!
Did i want to know the end?.....No, I didn't care
Do I recommend this book?.....No, sorry, Katherine Pancol but I'm not used to your writing style. Perhaps if I was, I would be delighted with the story.
Not for me at all.
- The writing style....peculiar (Different point of views, you are lost with the thoughts of...someone, but you don't know who!). Sometimes the author uses "She", "He", "I", but you have to guess who is thinking. Oh and often you think you understand, but what really happen in the book is: the character is having a dream or is thinking deeply. SO FRUSTRATING
- The story....cliché
- The characters.....Mmh ok why not!
Did i want to know the end?.....No, I didn't care
Do I recommend this book?.....No, sorry, Katherine Pancol but I'm not used to your writing style. Perhaps if I was, I would be delighted with the story.
Not for me at all.
March 7, 2021
Ce livre m'a charmée. C'est une belle histoire, très poétique. Le style d'écriture est particulier, ça peu paraitre un peu étrange au départ, mais c'est justement ce côté inhabituel qui lui donne beaucoup de charme. En tous cas, c'est vraiment très bien écrit et très beau!
May 10, 2023
Pire livre que j’ai lu de ma vie, écrit super bizarrement, le plot n’a aucun sens, je suis même pas sure qu’il y est vraiment un plot. Bref un mal de tête, et je suis tellement contente de l’avoir enfin terminé.
May 30, 2025
Ero quasi riuscita a passare sopra allo stile di scrittura. Non sono abituata leggere libri scritti in stile flusso di coscienza. Mi ci è voluta qualche pagina per entrare nel mood giusto...ma la trama è brutta e i personaggi mi fanno venire l'orticaria!
Angelina è una donna che si fa trasportare dalla vita (non in modo positivo, secondo me). Non pianta mai i piedi, non prende mai una decisione.
Mann è uno che si crede chissà chi solo perché riesce a conquistare un sacco di donne.
Despax mi è piaciuto.
Non capisco come tutti possano avere problemi di memoria. Nessuno riconosce nessuno. Cioè tu, donna forte che hai tirato su tua figlia da sola, facendoti spedire cartoline da complici, non riconosci l'uomo che hai sposato e che è scomparso poco dopo il matrimonio? Lui lo capisco di più: ha subito un trauma.
Angelina che non riconosce le compagne di scuola e ha 27 anni...
Non parliamo del finale, per carità. Sarò io che ho un'avversione per le storie d'amore senza senso, ma questa? Se non avessi promesso ad una collega di farle sapere cosa ne pensavo, non credo che l'avrei finito davvero.
Angelina è una donna che si fa trasportare dalla vita (non in modo positivo, secondo me). Non pianta mai i piedi, non prende mai una decisione.
Mann è uno che si crede chissà chi solo perché riesce a conquistare un sacco di donne.
Despax mi è piaciuto.
Non capisco come tutti possano avere problemi di memoria. Nessuno riconosce nessuno. Cioè tu, donna forte che hai tirato su tua figlia da sola, facendoti spedire cartoline da complici, non riconosci l'uomo che hai sposato e che è scomparso poco dopo il matrimonio? Lui lo capisco di più: ha subito un trauma.
Angelina che non riconosce le compagne di scuola e ha 27 anni...
Non parliamo del finale, per carità. Sarò io che ho un'avversione per le storie d'amore senza senso, ma questa? Se non avessi promesso ad una collega di farle sapere cosa ne pensavo, non credo che l'avrei finito davvero.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 27, 2025
Ce livre est une perle ! Un trésor, qui plus est écrit par une femme. Ce n'est pas une midinette qui crie un livre de midinette, ici : vous trouverez courage, sens des mots profonds, une conquête des sentiments, avec de toutes nos vulnérabilités. Ce livre est peut-être à classer parmi les plus grands livres, les plus grands livres écrivent bien souvent par des hommes, pour le moins reconnu. C'est une surprise ici, parce que j'avais déjà lu d'autres livres bien plus récents de l'auteure. Et là, je dois l'avouer, j'ai été toute coitee. Une belle surprise. Ne vous laissez surtout pas embrigader par le titre, en pensant à une caricature ; au lieu de quoi, la caricature pourrait bien être vous-même !
July 13, 2021
Katherine Pancol a une plume inimitable, aussi brute qu'envoutante. Elle n'a pas son pareil pour parler d'amour. Je l'aime, je l'aime, je l'aime. Chacun de ses romans est un enchantement, mais celui-ci se place particulièrement haut dans mon coeur.
Je remarque que la plupart des avis négatifs proviennent de personnes ayant lu le livre traduit dans d'autres langues, et non en français. Cela ne m'étonne pas vraiment. J'ai du mal à imaginer qu'une traduction puisse être à la hauteur. Je ne dénigre pas le travail colossal des traducteurs, mais selon moi seule Pancol peut faire du Pancol. Et c'est ce que j'aime chez elle. Personne ne manie les mots comme elle.
Je remarque que la plupart des avis négatifs proviennent de personnes ayant lu le livre traduit dans d'autres langues, et non en français. Cela ne m'étonne pas vraiment. J'ai du mal à imaginer qu'une traduction puisse être à la hauteur. Je ne dénigre pas le travail colossal des traducteurs, mais selon moi seule Pancol peut faire du Pancol. Et c'est ce que j'aime chez elle. Personne ne manie les mots comme elle.
September 1, 2025
Ce livre m’a laissée très perplexe: l’histoire est tirée par les cheveux, l'intrigue décevante. une fois le livre terminé, une sensation de "tout ça pour ça !". Je ne suis certainement pas la bonne lectrice pour ce type de roman et pourtant j'avais apprécié sa trilogie (Crocodile / Tortue / Ecureuil) il y a 10 ans. Pour moi, le rendez vous est manqué. Le point positif: une écriture poétique.
November 23, 2020
Storia molto particolare, dove si intrecciano le vicende di parecchie persone ed ognuno di essere ne è il narratore. Molte sono le citazioni di poesie ed è come se i protagonisti vivessero sospesi e solo alcune parti di loro vengono messe in luce dall'autrice.
January 22, 2018
Pancol addiction is well underway :)))
July 27, 2011
Beau suspens pour une belle histoire
July 15, 2014
J'ai aimé moyennement.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews