French Exit: A Novel

Described as a 'tragedy of manners', Patrick DeWitt's French Exit joins a formidable library of NY social life sendups stretching back centuries at this point. We're all familiar with the most famous of them, by Tom Wolfe, Dawn Powell, John O'Hara, Dominick Dunne, et alia. My most recent favorite in this genre was Molly Jong-Fast's The Social Climbers Handbook.French Exit is a masterpiece not only of the society genre but of dark humour & darker truths.65-year old social maven of the Upper East Side, Frances Price's grand scandal was finding her husband's body at home, dead by cardiac arrest. She reports the death after returning from a skiing trip.Frances Price is my new favorite female character of all time. Her tongue is a 1,000 times sharper than her inhuman neglect.She's frittered away the estate to the point of homelessness. Scraping together a not insignificant sum in cash, she takes her adult son, largely boarding-schooled, Malcolm and her loyal familiar, the cat named after her late husband, Small Frank, on a trans-Atlantic cruise to their temporary digs, an apartment on Ile Saint Louis in Paris loaned by a friend.Think Leaving Las Vegas as directed by Godard.There is, in fact, a film in post-production. I can only imagine that, among her many memorable roles, Michelle Pfeiffer has been given the role of her lifetime.French Exit goes on my Shelf Of Fame.Thanks, Viia, for this perfect recommendation, NY snark and Gallic rapier-like wit, or rather, DeWitt. 🌹

In many authors’ hands, the story of what happens once the money runs out for a widowed socialite - Frances Price - and her adult son, Malcolm, would be maudlin, depressing, and susceptible to Dunham-esque levels of drama; in deWitt’s hands, it is anything but.Although the plot IS full of tense and terrible moments, the characters who people DeWitt’s little world turn out to be simultaneously vulnerable, grounded, and affable for the reader. Some - like Small Frank, the cat inhabited by Frances’s ex-husband’s spirit - are more obviously hilarious than others, but each of the principals have unexpectedly funny observations and characteristics. They’re a quirky and lovable bunch, and as a result, the undertones of the narrative fairly thrum with a kind of surprising love and gentleness (an observation to which Frances and several other characters would likely take umbrage). But lovable and touching they remain.Overall, I found this book to be one that challenged me to rethink the boundaries of shaping and sharing tragic situations with a reader, what lies at the center of those people who are truly thoughtless but also unexpectedly kind, and the many ways in which one’s worldview and life experiences are shaped largely by the most complicated yet mundane of experiences: family dynamics and first loves.An engaging, thoughtful, and funny book, Patrick DeWitt’s French Exit deserves to be added to your TBR pile with alacrity.

I read in a EW magazine about this novel to be a movie with Michelle Pfiffer so I had to read it right away so see what it will be about. It is an easy and entertaining enough read about her and her son after her husband's death. It really builds a good momentum, until the very end. I really cannot say any more without any spoilers. Probably will see the movie, just to see what they did with it, and to see Michelle.

Liked the little get togethers in Paris.

After reading a couple of chapters, I was all set to dislike this book because of the quirky characters and strange plot. However, I have to admit that I couldn't put the book down precisely for those same reasons. At times, I shook my head in disbelief, but then I would laugh out loud. One definitely gets caught up in the dilemma of these unusual characters, and in the end, the plot made perfect sense. So, if you are in the mood for something really different, read this book.

I refuse to leave bad reviews for authors or any other artists, because art is subjective. But I'm so upset by this book that I'm doing it, against my normal habits. The book is written so well, the characters are so well drawn, but I feel the author betrayed the readers' trust by how he ended the book.I also don't believe in "Trigger Warnings": life is full of crap and you should be ready for anything. But this is another level.THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FROM HERE DOWN.The whole point of this book, the entire plot from the beginning, is the main character's plan to kill herself. And she does kill herself at the end, and the author goes into great detail as to how she does it, how it feels, and it is gruesome and bloody. The worst (is it the worst? There are so many bad parts to this choice) is that he presents the suicide as a nice solution. The main character is happy to have done it. So if someone were feeling suicidal, when they read this book they would not only feel like "hey, yea, see? it's working for her," but they would have INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO DO IT.I'm just distraught. I tweeted in the middle of reading that I was enjoying this book more than I have enjoyed a book in a long time. The characters are all eccentric and I laughed out loud SEVERAL times, and I have a very sophisticated sense of humor. So when he kills off the MAIN CHARACTER at the end of the book it was devastating.Why would you write a book about how suicide is a viable option and will send you into a dreamlike peaceful state? A "rapture" (actual word he used).It wouldn't be so upsetting if the book had been written badly. I could have chalked it up to some idiot who didn't deserve a publishing deal writing a crappy book with a crappy plot. But this author KNEW BETTER. This could've been BRILLIANT and it could've changed lives for the better. An author who writes well can inspire hope JUST by writing well. A good writer can make you feel like life is worth living, trying for that dream job is possible, telling the boy or girl that you love them is vital. A good writer can change the world. But instead, this writer chose to encourage us all to give up and kill ourselves. I find no poetry in this choice, although I can see he was attempting some sort of romantic notion as he has the son coming out of his shell at the end and finding friends. I don't care. I wanted real hope, not hope I have to pick through excrement to find.I mean, he apparently got a movie deal, so he's crying all the way to the bank over my poor review of his book. But Patrick DeWitt, I say this to you directly: you have not just failed me, you have betrayed me, and you didn't have to. I'll never forgive you.

Not much to add to my headline. don’t read if you don’t like quirky

Enjoyed book

Amei!!!!!! Aguardando o lançamento do filme.

Surreal and yet rooted in the present, the characters and their exploits are fondly portrayed. One gets totally wrapped up in it and don’t really want it to end. It’s definitely about the journey, not it’s end.

The characters are not well developed, nor the plot.