French Trysts: Secrets of a Courtesan

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French Trysts:  Secrets of a Courtesan
Kirsten Lobe
2007

The Summary

For Alexandra, Paris is the city of her dreams.  Now residing in France, earning her doctorate and living with her boyfriend, Laurent, she's tickled at the opportunity to explore and live in such a beautiful city.

However, when Laurent abruptly leaves and breaks her heart, Alexandra's life is turned upside-down - and when the opportunity presents itself to meet a powerful, dynamic man, Alexandra can hardly resist, even if he is married.

Thus, she abruptly finds herself playing the unique role of courtesan to some very rich - very, very rich - and powerful men.

The Good

Kirsten Lobe's novel is intriguing.  As I've made only a few literary forays into the lives and minds of courtesans, I find Alexandra's story interesting.  How she copes with her new-found sexual prowess and juggles her non-traditional "obligations," so to speak, adds a little appeal to her narrative.

Another point I enjoyed:  Alexandra's descriptions of her surroundings.  When Alexandra takes it into her head to offer a description of a specific location, her asides are frequently rich with detail.  During her tenure as courtesan, she visits some beautiful places, which I find are appealingly described.

The Bad

Although I enjoyed Alexandra's descriptions, I found her personal narrative grievously lacking.  For a Ph.D. hopeful, her story leaves something to be desired.  Her eloquence only reaches so far, apparently, and her emotional appeal was virtually nonexistent, and I really don't think it has anything to do with her roots as a small-town American girl.

There is also an element of repetitiveness that makes French Trysts frustrating.  Yes, we know Alexandra is in awe of her unexpected influence over powerful men and we know she is "one very lucky girl" for the unexpected opportunities she has to visit beautiful places, but we don't need to be reminded in every single chapter.

She's trying far too hard to justify her new lifestyle.

Additionally, Alexandra makes her mark as a sexually precocious and dynamic individual; however, she uses up her quota of surprising her readers by overusing her flippant attitude and indulging in frequent asides about her sexual escapades.  It's less amusing and racy, more vulgar and tiresome (and I might even be so bold as to call it trite).

The Ugly

Alexandra has no filter:  absolute candor is her policy.  Discretion is kicked to the curb.

So, when she mentions an orgy at the beginning of the novel, you can bet she'll eventually share every detail.  Likewise, she fashions a running "tip-sheet" for courtesans and logs the unique observations she makes, which means she's sharing a lot of intimate information about herself and her partners.

Thus, if you find heaps of sexual content (she talks about an orgy on the first page, for crying out loud) and strong language unappealing (yes, there's quite a lot of that going around, too.  Alexandra is exceedingly fond of a four letter word beginning with "F"), I don't think I would recommend French Trysts.