Review of Foreign Affairs

Foreign Affairs by Alison Lurie

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


As the novel begins Virginia Miller (Vinnie) is flying to London to begin some academic research for a new book. Already there is a Fred Turner, a fellow faculty member at their American university, who is there to conduct his own literary research. The two are acquaintances, not friends, and I assumed that the novel would bring them together, in the way suggested by the title, Foreign Affairs
The resulting plot that unfolds holds many surprises, skillfully foreshadowed. It also leads to great insight into the contrasting characters of the visiting Americans and the native Londoners. In the first chapters, I became impatient with the characters who were less than likable. Additionally, there is much discussion and dialog of social interaction that seemed pointless, although later developments showed otherwise.
The author was a faculty member at Cornell University, and she clearly knows her subject matter.



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