i've never read colette before. that's why i got the book. i enjoyed it. ( )

At first appearances, the short novella is cute, light fare seeped in the richness of the Gilded Age in France. It soon turns into a witty satire of love and relationships.

Raised by her grandmother, Gigi is a girl on the verge of womanhood who is being primed for a life as a courtesan. She comes from generations of courtesans, with their own moral system and rules, of which Gigi must learn in her lessons with her Aunt Alicia. The hypocricy and silliness of these lessons is not lost on Gigi, and her greatest joy is childishly teasing Gaston, a family friend who often pays a call on her grandmother. They interact so easily, that Gigi's family makes plans for Gaston to be Gigi's first lover. After hesitation on both sides, they decide to give it a try - with disasterous results. But the novel resolves itself sweetly, like a delectable bonbon.

Gigi's transformation is astounding: from a rough-around-the-edges, tomboyish child to an elegant lady in love. She becomes wiser when she realizes that the artifices taught by her Aunt Alicia repulse Gaston, and resolves to love him as she is. Gaston, on the other hand, is a bored tycoon who finds happiness away from the upper crust's hypocrisy at Gigi's more humble home. He is horrified when Gigi adopts the mannerisms of his past lovers and spurns her, but soon realizes that he needs her. Gigi is his anchor in a duplicitous world, and he learns he cannot turn her into just another one of his lovers. ( )

Wonderful short fiction piece about a young Parisian girl at the turn of the century who wants more from her life than to be a courtesan, much to the dismay of her elderly aunt and grandmother.

Small. But perfect. Avoid the danger of nostalgia. ( )