Crush

September 29, 1997
This quickie first novel of erotica is the kind of sexual romp that goes over well in France, where the author has been called "la nouvelle libertine," but it may not quite light fires here. Thirty-year-old Amelie, with an apartment in Paris, two beautiful daughters and a workaholic husband, is the proverbial bored French housewife (updated version: she's an editor who doesn't like to cook or clean). Amelie has always enjoyed role-playing, trying on new hats in front of a mirror or inventing lies for her husband about how she spent her day. One night in a gas station, she meets David, a 50-ish Moroccan filmmaker. David's foreignness is alluring, but on a weekend trip to Morocco he becomes too much the Mediterranean male, assuming complete control over Amelie, who treasures her freedom (and herself) above all else. As the sensitive and compulsively organized David falls hopelessly in love, Amelie loses interest, leaving him asleep in bed while she enjoys the forbidden pleasures of TV and potato chips (the ultimate French sins!). Lots of explicit sex and atmospherics--from the markets of Marrakech to salad lunches with girlfriends at Cafe Flore--enliven this sexy if unimaginative series of bedroom escapades.