... gorgeous ... Even when Margot is at her most misguided, the reader aches for her ... Lemoine writes in lush, lyrical prose that perfectly captures the heightened emotion and confusion of being a young woman with a bruised heart and limited experience.
It’s impossible not to love Margot’s delicate mixture of maturity and naïveté; her probing curiosity, as much for culture as for other people; and her tender, minute examinations of inner, and interpersonal, space ... Lemoine’s descriptions are embroidered and sensory, delivering exquisite details ... This is a startling, affecting first book by an author who is confident in her craft, who knows that a loving portrait includes flaws.
Margot is wonderfully portrayed as a young girl teetering on the brink of adulthood ... This thoughtful and beautifully written first novel perfectly portrays the inner life of a teen as she navigates the path to adulthood. It’s hard to put down and highly recommended for readers who love coming-of-age stories.
... cherishably Gallic ... This secondary storyline introduces gothic elements to the narrative, as well as a derivative dimension. Themes of violence and predation lend an undeniable chill to the book’s pages but also import notes of melodrama and predictability that jar with the fresher, insular, incremental process of Margot’s unsentimental education ... this is an evocative and compelling story of young emotions explored and exploited, set in a beguiling, class- and money-conscious French landscape ... an evocative, female-oriented debut, a superior summer read that explores identity, sexuality and attachment during the transition to adulthood. Chic and fluid, it offers a compelling tale, and an immersion that Francophiles in particular may relish.
...absorbing ... The emotional mapping of the novel is intricate and precise, especially when it comes to Margot’s plaintive longing for her father ... A former cookbook editor, Lemoine writes evocatively about food, showing its correlation to Margot’s sense of being nurtured.
Sanaë Lemoine is a writer who trusts her readers. Her stark prose, which readers may need some time to get into its rhythm, is minimally descriptive and relatively unadorned, letting the complexity of the story shine through the characters’ interactions and not so much through acrobatic wording ... In fact, much of the novel has a very cinematic quality to it, in the vein of classic French cinema ... These are the female characters we’ve been waiting for. These women are complicated, nuanced, hypocritical ... The Margot Affair is perfect for Francophiles, fans of literary fiction and explorers of interpersonal relationships.
Lemoine excels at teasing out the ambivalent contours of relationships between teenagers and adults ... Though the novel is largely concerned with Margot’s interior emotional state, it moves at a satisfyingly quick pace, and Lemoine’s prose is visually and emotionally precise ... An engrossing, impressive debut novel that skillfully charts a young Frenchwoman’s coming-of-age.
... sumptuous ... The eclectic cast and rich Parisian backdrop deepen this dramatic exploration of family and the trials of early adulthood. Francophiles and anyone who appreciates an emotionally rewarding story will enjoy Lemoine’s lush, well-crafted tale.
