Successful 30-year-old novelist Amelie, newly moved to Paris, is searching for someone to share her great passion in life - drinking Champagne.
She finds a friend in a younger woman who attends one of her bookshop signings, the enigmatic Petronille.
United by their mutual love of books and bubbly, they embark upon a series of alcoholic adventures - which include behaving badly in public and a hilarious skiing trip involving drinking fizz while hurtling downhill on the piste.
Belgian author of 23 bestselling novels, Amelie Nothomb's simple and very French style crackles with sly humour and satire while providing an astute analysis of female friendships, though this slim novella's ending comes as a shock.
