How did you feel about the author's portrayal of the two American characters?

I found the author portrayed the two Americans as very brash and lacking in polish. Did anyone else find that to be the case?

I think that the way the American's were portrayed may have been the way foreigners would have looked at Americans at the time. I thought Paul was represented okay, he wasn't overly impressed with Tanya's background and would pursue love. He was a journalist in Paris, that would make him a free spirit.

I agree with katherinep. This is probably the way they are regarded in Paris

I think that's the way Europeans thought about Americans back then and, in fact, still do today. And by some European standards it's certainly true! Americans don't have much use for formality and I think that really would have rankled the French back then, especially the high society people.