Literary Crush: Etienne St. Clair from “Anna and the French Kiss” by Stephanie Perkins

Art by the incomparable Simini Blocker

It’s no secret that we are Stephanie Perkins fans and we love her books. We have also swooned over her male protagonists and we were in shock when we realized that although we had written about our love for Cricket, we had somehow never posted about our equal love of Etienne St. Clair.  Of course, one can debate over who they prefer (Sandie and I have actually had this debate), but the truth is that St. Clair is amazing and he deserves all the accolades that are due him.

Name: Etienne St. Clair

Age: 18

What does he look like? He has messy, dark brown hair that is both long and short at the same time.  It’s artist hair.  Musician hair.  Beautiful hair.  He also has lovely teeth  and big, brown eyes.  St. Clair is short, but he doesn’t carry himself like many short guys.  They can be shy or defensive, but St. Clair is confident and friendly.  His parents are French and American, but he grew up in London and speaks with a British accent, which makes him all the more endearing.  He is the kind of guy that all the girls turn their heads to look at, but he is an equally amazing person.

What does he do? He’s a senior at the School of America in Paris.  He loves History and is an awesome tour guide of Paris.

Who does he love?  Anna, of course.

Why him? There is so much to St. Clair.  From the first morning when he helps Anna order breakfast, it’s obvious that he is incredible .  He easily includes Anna in their group of friends and helps her with her transition to Paris.  Even though he has feelings for Anna, he doensn’t acts on them because he has a girlfriend and Anna is confused over someone from home.  Instead, Anna and St. Clair (only she calls him Etienne) develop a great friendship.  He shows her the sights in Paris, including places off the beaten path.  When he finds out that Anna loves movies he takes her to a theater that shows old films.  When it’s Thanksgiving, he tries to help her have a special night despite the fact that the holiday is not celebrated in France.  When they each go home for Christmas he calls her and texts her constantly and tries to help her through a rough time.  Only when their friendship grows into more that it really becomes complicated and they both have choices to make.   To top it all off, he speaks with a British accent…sigh. How can any girl resist Etienne St. Claire? 

Swoon Worthy Quotes

“If you ask me to kiss you, I will,” he says.
His fingers stroke the inside of my wrists, and I burst into flames.
“Kiss me,” I say.
He does.”

“I don’t care what he thinks. Only what you think.” He holds me tighter. “Like if you think I need to stop biting my nails.”
“You’ve worn your pinkies to nubs,” I say cheerfully.
“Or if I need to start ironing my bed spread.”
“I DO NOT IRON MY BED SPREAD.”
“You do. And I love it.”

“I trail my fingers across his cheek. He stays perfectly still for me. “Please stop apologizing, Étienne.”“Say my name again,” he whispers.I close my eyes and lean forward. “Étienne.”He takes my hands into his.Those perfect hands, that fit mine just so. “Anna?”Our foreheads touch. “Yes?”“Will you please tell me you love me? I’m dying here.”And then we’re laughing. And then I’m in his arms, and we’re kissing, at first quickly—to make up for lost time—and then slowly, because we have allthe time in the world. And his lips are soft and honey sweet, and the careful, passionate way he moves them against my own says that he savors the way Itaste, too.And in between kisses, I tell him I love him.Again and again and again.”

“His eyes lock on mine.”Anna,I promise that I will never leave you.”
My heart pounds in response. And Étienne knows it,because he takes my hand and holds it against his chest,to show me how hard his heart is pounding,too.”

Comments

comments