Samantha Dunn

Failing Paris. Samantha Dunn. 1999. What I loved about this little novel were the descriptions of the 5th and 6th arrondissements of Paris and the occasional insights into the differences between the French and Americans. Other than that it is a depressing picture of lost youth. Sabine, “Bean,” is a student, and she is living proof that you take yourself wherever you go. She is an emotional wreck. She has found herself pregnant and is planning to have an abortion. Her life is Paris is as bleak as was her life in New Mexico. She has stopped going to class and is posing for a dirty old man to earn money for her abortion. As she wanders around Paris reflecting on her life, she meets a young man who may be her salvation. Novel ends just when if should begin.… (mais)

Excellent book, really well written. After being stomped on by her horse, Samantha Dunn has plenty of time to think of things as she stays off of the leg that basically had to be pieced back together. Of course she feels some self-pity, I think that is a natural thing, but she doesn't wallow in it, she uses it to make herself realize what she's doing and why. Samantha Dunn walks away from her accident (with a limp) but as her leg has healed, she also heals the parts of her life and heart that were broken.… (mais)