Book Review: Civilisation Française, A Novel by Mary Fleming

This is a lovely book. I can’t say much about the plot without spoiling it — but I can say that this is a rich human story about love, friendship, growing up — and la civilization française.

It’s also about tolerance and forgiveness, and compassion and understanding — and maturity. 

And it is about finding your own right path. 

These themes are explored through the stories of several of the main characters, not just the protagonist — Lily, a young American woman who has grown up in the UK and has come to Paris to follow a nine-month course of study on French civilization at the Sorbonne primarily because she doesn’t know what else to do with her life. 

She finds herself living in a sprawling old hotel particulier on the Place des Vosges as an assistant to the housekeeper for a bitter old American woman who is going blind. The place is haunted not with actual ghosts, but with the hints of sad memories that are mostly concealed, but traces of which are visible nonetheless, in this mostly empty house.

The story is told from two points of view, in the form of alternating journal entries written by the old woman and the young one, often (but not always) covering the same events from their different perspectives. 

As the story unfolds, details of the painful pasts of these three women — the old woman, the housekeeper, and the young woman — are gradually revealed, bit by bit. And as the plot advances, the story turns surprisingly — at least for me it was surprising — into what I am inclined to call an unusual kind of love story. 

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This love story is not a passionate tale of romance. It is about how — if they try hard enough — people can find a way to forgive each other their weaknesses, help build each other’s strengths, and not only survive emotional pain, but truly heal from it. And how they can then move on from there to find peace, and even joy in their lives — each in their own unique way.

For me, the main lesson to draw from this story is that it’s never too late — or too early, for that matter — to heal from deep wounds. To at least attempt to understand those who have wounded us, and to forgive. And in that painful process to find — eventually — the great gifts of wisdom, compassion, and peace.

In my opinion, that makes this not only a good story; it is an inspiring one.

Purchase a copy of Civilisation Française at your favorite independent bookstore, like the Red Wheelbarrow or Shakespeare & Company in Paris. The book is also available through online shops like Bookshop.org.