Douglas Kennedy – Isabelle in the Afternoon – Review

Although not a big fan of the “love story” as a readable genre, after reading Kennedy for well over 20 years, his latest novel, Isabelle in the Afternoon, is an entrancing tale of a man's journey in the complexities of relationships and the variables of love.

Sam is our narrator. A boy just out of high school in the early 70's, decides to travel to Paris without knowing the language, and by chance, meets an older, sophisticated French woman at a book launch in the heart of the city. Isabelle is not necessarily a “stunner,” but a beautiful woman who exudes intelligence and charm. Once they exchange numbers, Sam curries up the courage to call her, where they meet at her apartment, to begin a closed, deeply sensuous relationship with stringent rules.

Isabelle is married to a distinguished financier, a wealthy man, who she remains devoted to for a variety of understandable reasons. Their relationship is one of security coupled with a shared tragedy, when Isabelle loses a child due to cot death. She is comfortable with her marriage and has the ability to compartmentalize her marriage, her work, and her young American lover.

Sam is too young and falls in love with the older woman, and finds it difficult to understand this arrangement. Similar to many young men his age, he is reactive, quick to judge, and possessive. That said, Sam manages to hold the majority of his immaturity at bay. He accepts their afternoon rendezvous, but we discover that Isabelle, too, has fallen in love with the lad. However, as life demands and sometimes dictates, Sam returns to the States to attend university and later Law school.

We move through Sam's life where Isabelle is never far from his mind. Sam meets other women along his journey. Indeed he finally marries a fellow lawyer. However, before his marriage, Isabelle comes to Boston, where they embrace their pure passionate connection once again. Although their love is real, it isn't “practical.” Thus they move back to their self-created lives.

Kennedy is a sensitive writer and appears to have a deep understanding of the human heart and the pitfalls and challenges of commitment in long term relationships. He also grasps the vagaries of life and how “best-laid plans,” more often or not, never eventuate, and tragedy can befall one at the turn of a dime. He writes:

When things fall apart; the center truly does not hold. Life can have

an absolute veneer of relative stability. Of calm assuredness. Smooth

sailing and all that. And then something goes seriously askew; the veneer is

shown to be eggshell thin, and all comes asunder with a speed that leaves

you thinking: there are no certainties in life. Only the desperate music

of happenstance.

Isabelle in the Afternoon is not just a “love story,” but an exploration of the human condition. The novel is also a bold statement on relationships that true love exists and can last an entire lifetime.