LE DIVORCE

LE DIVORCE has all the elements of a visit to a foreign city--excitement, beauty, intrigue, confusion, dangerS At first, this novel seems overwhelming as it establishes its identity: Is it a romance? A mystery? A travel guide to Paris? A social commentary? In truth, the novel is all of these and more, and Johnson deftly weaves all these pieces together. Suzanne Toren becomes narrator Isabel Walker, a young woman in Paris tending her pregnant stepsister, Roxy, who has been abandoned by her French husband. Isabel is a realistic character--awed by prestige, moderately selfish, and snidely labeled "typically American" by her new French acquaintances. Toren delivers the story with candor and a lovely rendering of French phrases. This novel is satisfying and unique. L.B.F. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: JUN/JUL 01]