Katherine Pancol

this was not too bad at all -- a bit of escapist, entertaining fun that didn't require a lot of brain power (which is just what i need at the moment with my reading). i am glad that, before going in to this read, i knew this was the first book in a series (The Slow Waltz of Turtles and Les écureuils de Central Park sont tristes le lundi - which is not yet in english). i was a bit surprised that one of the main plot points -- joséphine agrees to write a novel under her sister iris' name -- show more took a long time to get to in the book (173 pages). things are left a bit loose at the end, and it definitely left me with the 'more to come' feeling. pancol does have a lot going on in this novel (possibly too much) with different characters and storylines. i am curious if they all go somewhere throughout the series, or if certain things will be left behind in book #1. show less

The Yellow Eyes of Crocodiles begins when Josphine’s husband runs away with his mistress to run a crocodile farm in Kenya. He leaves shy, bookish Josephine short on money and confidence. Her much bolder sister Iris takes advantage by getting Josephine to write a book that will be published under Iris’s name while Josephine pockets the proceeds. Fortunately, in the aftermath of her husband’s departure, Josephine will begin to gain the courage to stand on her own.

The Yellow Eyes of show more Crocodiles describes a wide variety of romantic relationships. While that could lead to a book that was just fluffy drama, in Katherine Pancol’s hands it became an intelligent study of human nature. In the author interview at the back of the book, Pancol describes her belief that the plot of a book should flow directly from the characters’ fully imagined personalities. Her book embodied this philosophy, with a beautifully believable, character-driven plot. In that way, it reminded me very much of Someone Else’s Love Story. The author does a great job balancing the many plots her characters find themselves embroiled in. It wasn’t difficult to keep track of relationships and I cared how each and every story was going to play out.

The author’s ability to describe a scene was very impressive. In some books, enough details are shared that it becomes impossible to get an impression of the whole scene. Pancol does an incredible job selecting just the details that convey the character of a scene or a person. The initial scene of this book gave me one of the most vivid mental images I’ve ever gotten from a book. The few words kept in the original French added to the atmosphere. I also enjoyed the details to she chose to share about Josephine’s book writing process. It was just enough to give a general idea of the story and of how it related to Josephine’s life. I think the length of this book and the time it covered was also important for conveying Josephine’s character growth. She changes very gradually and believably. I couldn’t help rooting for her.

As someone who likes happy endings, I liked that things wrapped up with everyone I liked apparently going to get what they wanted. I would have liked a slightly more tied up ending though. For instance, a neighbor has a fascinating secret that’s never connected to the rest of the book. It’s also not entirely clear what’s going to happen next for some of the characters. Fortunately, there are two more books! Hopefully they’ll be translated too, because I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

This review first published on Doing Dewey. show less

Josephine's husband is not great and Iris (Josephine's sister) is incredibly self-centered. Both of these people use Josephine's kindness against her, but she eventually realizes that she's better than both of them.

I enjoyed the zany and varied cast of characters here. There were a lot of different story lines happening that all connected in some way (it was like reading Love Actually).

I definitely enjoyed...I mean I finished it and that seems to be quite a task for me lately. I'm curious to show more see if the other books in this series are published in the US because I want to know what happens to a couple of these characters. show less

Wow! What I read, not only I enjoyed the book, and I would love to know when the other two books of the series will be translated into English. I don't know French, and I'd love to know what happens with the characters.
This is a fast-paced, funny, and poignant story, and as with the best stories, I couldn't wait to find out what happens next. The story is delightfully engaging and clever, with multiple storylines that keep the reader wanting more. There were some of the most unforgettable show more fictional characters I've ever read. This novel was a totally new reading experience - because the characters were so FRENCH. Meaning that they have their own way about them - from fashion, food to beliefs on marriage, and mistresses. I found myself laughing out loud, gasping with surprise, wanting to smack a few of these characters, feeling deeply sympathetic to Josephine, and also deeply respecting her even when she seemed like her whole world of family and friends were walking all over her. There were numerous surprises in this novel - characters who seem to be one way turned out to be completely different. Circumstances seemed to point to one impression but end up being completely different. I loved that.

At the end of it, this edition of the book has an interview with the author that answers questions about writing. She has some good tips that can help all of the people who write or want to publish their writing. show less