My boyfriend at the time, also a student at McGill, was traveling through Europe with his friends and we kept meeting in various cities along the way.

When I was 19, I backpacked through Europe with three good friends from McGill (sorry, not you, Judy). I See London, I See France was absolutely inspired by a real trip. As I was reading it, I kept wondering if this book is based on your own experience (i.e. This new novel seems particularly Canadian, with mentions of many Canadian places and people. The novel, for young adults and adults alike, is Mlynowski’s 30th book, and tells the tale of a young woman who escapes her mother’s claustrophobic house in order to travel through Europe where she finds friendship, love and herself.įull disclosure: I was Mlynowski’s childhood friend, studying Yiddish grammar and Venn diagrams alongside her at Bialik High School in Montreal. (Oct.In her new offering, I See London, I See France, author Sarah Mlynowski uses her signature humorous style to address topics that are darker and more serious than her previous work. When Allie is asked if she could be pregnant after a bout of nausea, she thinks, 'Maybe it is morning sickness and I'm carrying Jesus II.' Jodine considers her roommates 'a munchkin and a truck driver.' While making a list of past sexual partners, Emma asks her roomies, 'Can I have another piece of paper?' A fourth narrator, in omniscient third-person, is not always as funny as intended, but reminds the reader of important plot points ('Do you remember the effect alcohol has on her when she gets drunk? She's like a librarian in a porno movie.') Mlynowski delivers a solid if formulaic roommate caper. Each character takes her turn telling the story in alternating chapters, and the reader never mistakes one voice for another. Somehow, the new roommates must devise a plan to replace their kitchen, which has burned to a crisp. Mlynowski, following last year's Milkrun, delivers another fun piece of fluff about post-college 20-somethings trying to figure it all out as they struggle with fledgling careers, the opposite sex and financial woes. The question is: can this odd trio can live together in a Toronto apartment without driving one another crazy? The answer is probably not, but what they can do is build friendships none of them ever anticipated. Jodine is a responsible law student who makes efficiency an art form. Emma is a free-spirited fashion editor's assistant who parties with a vengeance.

Allie is a perky 22-year old virgin with a hopeless crush.

Fishbowl sarah mlynowski