Book Review: Every Frenchman Has One by Olivia de Havilland
Title: Every Frenchman Has One
Author: Olivia de Havilland
Rating: 3/5 cups of coffee
Release date: Reprinted (hardcover) edition: June 28th 2016
Publisher: Crown Archetype (Penguin Random House)
Goodreads' synopsis:
In 1953, Olivia de Havilland—already an Academy Award-winning actress for her roles in To Each His Own and The Heiress—became the heroine of her own real-life love affair. She married a Frenchman, moved to Paris, and planted her standard on the Left Bank of the River Seine. It has been fluttering on both Left and Right Banks with considerable joy and gaiety from that moment on.Still, her transition from Hollywood celebrity to parisienne was anything but easy. And in Every Frenchman Has One, her skirmishes with French customs, French maids, French salesladies, French holidays, French law, French doctors, and above all, the French language, are here set forth in a delightful and amusing memoir of her early years in the “City of Light.”
Paraphrasing Caesar, Ms. de Havilland says, “I came. I saw. I conquered.”
Review:
I'm not very familiar with the actress/hollywood starlet myself except for the fact that she was in Gone With The Wind (which my mother absolutely loved) but the fact that she became a Parisian intrigued me. I love her little misadventures in Paris! Not to mention the witty chapter titles this woman come up with. Genius!
The author was brutally honest through it all which made it fun and hilarious! I love a good book that has a narrator that's writes with no filter. Honesty is the best policy, people! Sadly it was way too short, and I felt like there was more to say than just the crazy mayhem the actress had to undergo during her time as a Parisian. Still, this book was an absolute delight! I wish to get to know more about Olivia, she seems like such an enchanting person (yes her writing gave me that much of an effect) and I hope to read more of her works in the future!
A huge thank you to Crown Archetype for sending this my way!