She has lived in Paris, working for The New York Times, only since 2002 I moved there in 1983 and returned to America in 1998. Typically, the French (for whom philosophy is a high school requirement) can brachiate from abstraction to abstraction and might become disgruntled when we Americans say, “Give me an example.” Sciolino, on the contrary, proceeds from colorful detail to revealing detail, gently informing even as she entertains.įull disclosure: The Book Review editors asked if I knew Sciolino before assigning me this review. The French pride themselves on conversing on a lofty plane when Americans start exchanging anecdotes or matching experiences, many French people raise an eyebrow and ask, “Eh, alors?” (What’s your point?) They want to know the principle that can be drawn from all this real-life trivia. Elaine Sciolino is a graceful, companionable writer, someone who speaks about France in the most enjoyably American way.
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