L'Affaire

"Johnson is more droll than Henry James, to whom she's been compared, and she's as witty as a modern-day Voltaire. Vraiment, L'Affaire, c'est irresistible!"--Publishers Weekly

Amy Hawkins, a Palo Alto girl who made herself a dot-com fortune, goes to France to get a sheen of sophistication and, perhaps, to have an affair that will ruffle her all-too-steady heart. She starts her quest in a glamorous resort in the French Alps, amid an assortment of aristocrats and ski enthusiasts. But when two of the hotel's guests are swept away by an avalanche, Adrian's children--young, old, legitimate, illegitimate--assemble to protect their interests, feuding under the competing laws of the British, American, and French systems.

Amy, already suspect because she is American, steps in to assist, and unintentionally sets in motion a series of events that spotlight ancient national differences, customs, and laws. Filled with love, sex, death, and travel, L'Affaire is National Book Award finalist Diane Johnson at her very best.

Author: Diane Johnson
Publisher: Plume Books
Published: 08/31/2004
Pages: 340
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.00h x 5.32w x 0.76d
ISBN: 9780452285637

Review Citation(s):
New York Times 10/03/2004 pg. 34

About the Author
Diane Johnson is the author of the bestselling novel Le Divorce, a National Book Award finalist, as well as many other novels, including Persian Nights, Health and Happiness, Lying Low, The Shadow Knows, and Burning. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Persian Nights, and she co-authored the screenplay to The Shining with Stanley Kubrick. She divides her time between San Francisco and Paris.