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Liaisons étrangères by Alison Lurie
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Liaisons étrangères (original 1984; edition 1997)

by Alison Lurie

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1,4513412,656 (3.67)77
Classic Literature. Fiction. HTML:This Pulitzer Prizeâ??winning novel follows two American academics in Londonâ??a young man and a middle-aged womanâ??as they each fall into unexpected romances.
In her early fifties, Vinnie Miner is the sort of woman no one ever notices, despite her career as an Ivy League professor. She doubts she could get a man's attention if she waved a brightly colored object in front of him. And though she loves her work, her specialtyâ??children's folk rhymesâ??earns little respect from her fellow scholars. Then, alone on a flight to London for a research trip, she sits next to a man she would never have viewed as a potential romantic partner. In a Western-cut suit and a rawhide tie, he is a sanitary engineer from Tulsa, Oklahoma, on a group tour. He's the very opposite of her type, but before Vinnie knows it, she's spending more and more time with him.

Also in London is Vinnie's colleague, a young, handsome English professor whose marriage and self-esteem are both on the rocks. But Fred Turner is also about to find consolationâ??in the arms of the most beautiful actress in England. Stylish and highborn, she introduces Fred to a glamorous, yet eccentric, London scene that he never expected to encounter.

The course of these two relationships makes up the story of Foreign Affairsâ??a finalist for the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award as well as a Pulitzer Prize winner, and an entertaining, poignant tale from the author of The War Between the Tates and The Last Resort, "one of this country's most able and witty novelists" (The New York Times).

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Alison Lurie including rare images from the author's personal… (more)

Member:briconcella
Title:Liaisons étrangères
Authors:Alison Lurie
Info:Rivages (1997), Poche, 425 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:usa gb

Work Information

Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie (1984)

  1. 20
    On Beauty by Zadie Smith (withwill)
  2. 00
    One Fat Englishman by Kingsley Amis (cf66)
    cf66: Due romanzi satirici. Gli inglesi visti dagli americani e gli americani visti dagli inglesi.
  3. 00
    Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis (WSB7)
  4. 00
    Nice Work by David Lodge (shaunie)
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» See also 77 mentions

English (32)  Spanish (1)  French (1)  All languages (34)
Showing 1-5 of 32 (next | show all)
I read this book two or three years ago and what I remember most vividly about it is that Vinnie is followed around by an imaginary dog that represents her self-image (or something like that).

I'm reading Lorrie Moore's [b:Birds of America|19631|Birds of America Stories|Lorrie Moore|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223320940s/19631.jpg|1769] right now and so I decided to look up her bio and found out she was taught by Alison Lurie at Cornell. I was like, Where do I know that name? And then I remembered that I read this back when I had this crazy idea that I would read every Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. ( )
  LibrarianDest | Jan 3, 2024 |
Enjoyed this tremendously but perhaps it is because I could so identify with Vinnie and her depressive imaginary dog who slopes around whenever she’s feeling blue.
Poor Vinnie finds happiness but doesn’t appreciate it, and her fellow academic falls terribly in love with an inappropriate target and both of them are so wonderfully good at procrastination very little work gets done at all.
Lovely, well-rounded characters with serious issues but who feel so very familiar I wanted to sit down with them for a brew. Well, Vinnie anyway.
An excellent read for fans of Britain, academe, and the minute but persistent snobberies we all carry about for no known reason. ( )
  Dabble58 | Nov 11, 2023 |
I KNEW that Mrs. Harris was really Rosemary the second they mentioned her. That never happens, I never see these things coming, and I want to claim victory where I can. ( )
  blueskygreentrees | Jul 30, 2023 |
This book has been in my home library for at least 15 years and when preparing for a recent trip, it seemed to jump out at me - I had to take it with me. What a wonderful read it has been. Two visiting literature professors from the same university are on research grants in London. At first, that seems to be the connection - that, and their extremes of physical attractiveness/unattractiveness. These professors have "affairs" with people who are not typical Londoners and these affairs are disparate in all aspects: one affair is not as it seems, while the other is almost painfully genuine; one is based on false impressions, while the other is authentic and honest; the represented classes are different; and one is based on feelings of entitlement and manipulation, whereas the other is candid and truthful.
The writing and the stories are beautifully done and accurately depict areas well-known to the author: London and academia. The prose is perfectly executed and the dialogue is very well paced.
I wish I had not left it on my bookshelf for so long. ( )
  Kimberlyhi | Apr 15, 2023 |
8440221355
  archivomorero | Dec 15, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 32 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (9 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Lurie, Alisonprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Bayer, OttoÃœbersetzersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Holt, Heleen tenTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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People/Characters
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Epigraph
Dedication
For Diane Johnson
First words
On a cold blowy February day a woman is boarding the ten a. m. flight to London, followed by an invisible dog.
Quotations
After seeing "Fidelio" he remarked that it sure wasn't like real life, but maybe we'd all be better off if when things went wrong we stood around and screamed for a while.
"There's a hell of a lot of learning that isn't in books." "You may be right." In Vinnie's opinion, the extent of this unpublished learning is less than is generally claimed.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Wikipedia in English (1)

Classic Literature. Fiction. HTML:This Pulitzer Prizeâ??winning novel follows two American academics in Londonâ??a young man and a middle-aged womanâ??as they each fall into unexpected romances.
In her early fifties, Vinnie Miner is the sort of woman no one ever notices, despite her career as an Ivy League professor. She doubts she could get a man's attention if she waved a brightly colored object in front of him. And though she loves her work, her specialtyâ??children's folk rhymesâ??earns little respect from her fellow scholars. Then, alone on a flight to London for a research trip, she sits next to a man she would never have viewed as a potential romantic partner. In a Western-cut suit and a rawhide tie, he is a sanitary engineer from Tulsa, Oklahoma, on a group tour. He's the very opposite of her type, but before Vinnie knows it, she's spending more and more time with him.

Also in London is Vinnie's colleague, a young, handsome English professor whose marriage and self-esteem are both on the rocks. But Fred Turner is also about to find consolationâ??in the arms of the most beautiful actress in England. Stylish and highborn, she introduces Fred to a glamorous, yet eccentric, London scene that he never expected to encounter.

The course of these two relationships makes up the story of Foreign Affairsâ??a finalist for the National Book Award and National Book Critics Circle Award as well as a Pulitzer Prize winner, and an entertaining, poignant tale from the author of The War Between the Tates and The Last Resort, "one of this country's most able and witty novelists" (The New York Times).

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Alison Lurie including rare images from the author's personal

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