Fool's Gold

I would have put it in the academic satire category but strictly speaking it doesn't belong there because the only character to hold a college teaching job gets fired on the first page (two characters go back to graduate school on the last page). Then she goes off to the South of France with her family to write a book. Her children discover a pre-Roman Celtic treasure. Her daughter gets abducted by a child molester. Her husband enters a bicycle race. It is brilliantly witty about such subjects as eco-feminism and intellectual francophilia but alo carried along by a strong intriguing plot. Wonderful light but intelligent enertainment.

I wish I had written this book. Fool's Gold is one of the best contemporary novels that I have read. It describes the extremely realistic (or were they) adventures of a NYC family who attempt to rediscover themselves in the South of France by renting a villa that turns out to be right next to a major highway. The chain of events that are described in this witty, funny novel seem totally plausible but tend to point out that our fantasies are never really as exciting as our realities. Don't forget to ponder the last sentence in the book. It will keep you smiling for days. A perfect read.

Fool's Gold is witty, amusing, engaging--full of characters whose foibles and self-absorption you will recognize. From the much put-upon children to the clueless parents, there is a cast of American and French characters that will make you laugh out loud. You can read it in one sitting on a rainy weekend, and it will keep you smiling long after you've finished.

I picked up Fool's Gold last Friday about 7:00 p.m. and emerged about 3:00 a.m., bleary-eyed. What a delight! Besides skewering the pretensions of Americans, New Yorkers, would-be artists, philosophers, writers, boomers, travelers who don't consider themselves tourists, parents who are more concerned with ART than with LIFE, and assorted windbags from the worlds of art, Smith writes like a pro and fills her book with enough twists and turns to hook the reader until a slam-bang ending. Lots of fun.

This book is wickedly witty and very, very, very funny. Whether her subject is how to get a teaching gig at the "Malcolm College of Knowledge, Where Northern New Jersey Learns What Earns" or how to make thousands of hand-painted postcards of Provence in fifteen minutes a day, Smith shows us the absurd underbelly of our post-postmodern universe and gets a laugh-out-loud at least once a page.I loved this book. I'd race through a chapter to get through the treasure hunt twists and turns of the plot, then go back and read it again slowly to enjoy the sharp jokes in every sentence. This is a must-read if you love to hate or hate to love art and art criticism, France and French vacations, relationships and marriage, children and capitalism, or Barbie and--well, Barbie stands alone. Highest recommendation!