Three Weeks in Paris

Four women, once best friends but now enemies, are reunited years later at a celebration in Paris and must confront the feelings of hurt and betrayal that caused them to part ways. Kate Burton gives an exceptional performance narrating this story of love, friendship, and forgiveness. Burton effortlessly switches from an American accent to the Scots, Italian, and French accents of this international cast. Her energy is apparent with each character as she depicts each individual's feelings of desperation and joy. Although listeners are kept waiting to learn the event that caused the rift, they'll be too caught up in these lives to care. K.M.D. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine


Four elegant and successful women, former students at Anya Sedgwick's Parisian School of Decorative Arts, rediscover the joys of Paris in springtime when they return to help their former headmistress celebrate her eighty-fifth birthday. As the title suggests, it takes only three short weeks for each to find the solution to a seemingly insoluble romantic problem. A combination of the author's careful physical descriptions and the narrator's skillful accents (Italian, Scots, Texan, French, and British) calls forth the glory of the City of Lights. Rosenblat excels as a quick-change voice artist, and her theatrical sense of pacing transforms a quiet read into an absorbing listening experience. E.V. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

February 11, 2002
The bestselling grande dame of popular women's fiction is back with her 18th book, after The Triumph of Katie Byrne. Replete with mystery, romance, secrets and conflict, Bradford's latest examines the lives of four women, alumni of an exclusive arts school in Paris, who must confront their stormy pasts when they are invited to attend a special birthday party. Anya Sedgwick, the indomitable doyenne of the school, wants her four favorite pupils to repair their destroyed friendship and help celebrate her 85th birthday. With the exception of Anya, however, none of the protagonists are the sparkling, unforgettable characters Bradford is usually so adept at crafting. Three of the four women, at the apex of their careers only seven years out of school, seem to blend into each other despite their disparate backgrounds. Alexandra is a renowned set designer; Kay has become a successful couturier; Jessica is a top interior designer; and Maria, whose biggest challenge is to lose a considerable amount of weight before the reunion, is slogging away at the family textile business, with a promising painting career on the side. There is some pathos in Kay's background, but the author glosses over the trauma of early sexual abuse; in fact, most of the tensions in the book are glossed over. Even the spat that tore the four apart is a trifle. But Bradford's knack for depicting elegant surroundings and happy-ever-after romance should satisfy most of her fans.

Four elegant and successful women, former students at Anya Sedgwick's Parisian School of Decorative Arts, rediscover the joys of Paris in springtime when they return to help their former headmistress celebrate her eighty-fifth birthday. As the title suggests, it takes only three short weeks for each to find the solution to a seemingly insoluble romantic problem. A combination of the author's careful physical descriptions and the narrator's skillful accents (Italian, Scots, Texan, French, and British) calls forth the glory of the City of Lights. Rosenblat excels as a quick-change voice artist, and her theatrical sense of pacing transforms a quiet read into an absorbing listening experience. E.V. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine