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crtney's review against another edition
3.0
A generally interesting book about a women who spends 10 years living in France. I enjoyed the first half of the book more than I did the second but I really couldn't say why that was--perhaps it began to feel a bit long and repetitive. It did make me want to visit Paris. However, Paris has become just about the last place I would choose to live.
everydayreading's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting story about a woman who spends over a decade living and working in Paris with her boyfriend/husband.
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
3.0
I came into this book really thinking I was going to enjoy it. I have seen it talked about on many expat Facebook groups, so I headed down to the library to give it a try. Unfortunately, the author comes off as extremely whiny at times, which made me want to put down the book more than once.
In the first few chapters I rather liked how she talked about her travels and how she stuck to being herself despite how fashion conscience Paris is. However, that quickly changes to her needing to be a "true Parisian". Where in the beginning it was a story about culture differences, falling in love, and finding where you belong in a new place, this book quickly turns into a play by play of how she transformed every aspect of her life to be as French as possible.
I give this three stars strictly because of the first part of the book. The chapter where she decides she hates that she lives just outside of Paris instead of right in the center is when she started to lose me. The attitude of, "I NEED to live in Paris, I NEED to have a fancy dog, I NEED to have expensive clothes," drove me crazy. She relied way too much on what she viewed as "Parisian" to determine her happiness.
I think another thing that brings this book down a bit is that fact that most of the events take place in the 90s to very early 2000s. I read quite a few passages out loud to my French husband, and we both agree that times have changed on many things. It's a dated book now, so I don't think recent expats are going to get what they're looking for from this book.
The last thing that surprised me is that she doesn't even talk about her marriage until the Epilogue. It made the story feel unfinished with a very abrupt ending.
In the first few chapters I rather liked how she talked about her travels and how she stuck to being herself despite how fashion conscience Paris is. However, that quickly changes to her needing to be a "true Parisian". Where in the beginning it was a story about culture differences, falling in love, and finding where you belong in a new place, this book quickly turns into a play by play of how she transformed every aspect of her life to be as French as possible.
I give this three stars strictly because of the first part of the book. The chapter where she decides she hates that she lives just outside of Paris instead of right in the center is when she started to lose me. The attitude of, "I NEED to live in Paris, I NEED to have a fancy dog, I NEED to have expensive clothes," drove me crazy. She relied way too much on what she viewed as "Parisian" to determine her happiness.
I think another thing that brings this book down a bit is that fact that most of the events take place in the 90s to very early 2000s. I read quite a few passages out loud to my French husband, and we both agree that times have changed on many things. It's a dated book now, so I don't think recent expats are going to get what they're looking for from this book.
The last thing that surprised me is that she doesn't even talk about her marriage until the Epilogue. It made the story feel unfinished with a very abrupt ending.
sarahsponda's review against another edition
4.0
I've read quite a few of these "English-speaking women in France" books. This one is the best of the lot!
gracer's review against another edition
3.0
I read this book while visiting my (Australian) cousin Ana, who lived in Paris with her French husband. I myself was on exchange at the time and this book was perfect reading at the time, when we were relating and comparing our experiences with France.
foxwoods's review against another edition
4.0
sydney woman moves to paris, this is about her adjusting to french life and her observations of the cultural differences.
i don't usually read non-fiction but this kept my interest. it made me want to live in paris (maybe. it will have to fight melbourne for it) and it also made me want to only shop at independent food stores with good quality food (local high quality baker, deli, cheese shop, pasta shop, grocery, etc).
worth reading.
i don't usually read non-fiction but this kept my interest. it made me want to live in paris (maybe. it will have to fight melbourne for it) and it also made me want to only shop at independent food stores with good quality food (local high quality baker, deli, cheese shop, pasta shop, grocery, etc).
worth reading.
kathryn08's review against another edition
3.0
3.5★ The idea of living in France sounds lovely, but in reality, I think I’d probably be lucky to manage living there for any more than a month!! There are just too many things that would drive me batty - the bureaucracy, the queues, the competitiveness between women which results in a lack of friendliness, just the general effort involved in living each day in a culture which involves a completely different perspective compared to the Australian way of life, as the author found out… I know there are compensations - great chocolate, pastries, and baguettes, being able to walk along the Champs Elysees and go to the Louvre and Luxembourg Gardens daily, to name a few, but I don’t think they’d make up for the mental and emotional toll it would take to change my attitude and way of thinking!
Thanks to Sarah for doing it, and writing about it, to make me realise that even if I ever get around to learning the French language, learning the French way of life and living it every day is another matter altogether!!
Thanks to Sarah for doing it, and writing about it, to make me realise that even if I ever get around to learning the French language, learning the French way of life and living it every day is another matter altogether!!
emscji's review against another edition
3.0
4/24/11: Sarah Turnbull a young Australian journalist, comes to Paris to live with a French lawyer whom she'd fallen in love with. This is the story of the six years of her acculturation, which begins, well, inauspiciously, but ends up (not surprisingly) happily. The first half, the part where everything she tries to do seems like a failure, is accurate, and often hilarious, but also comes across as a bit whiny, superficial, and also repetitive.
But the second half gets more interesting, as the narrator begins to explore and wrestle with some deeper questions about cultural differences. As she becomes comfortable herself with her new home and country, she can grapple with more complex ideas: the role of women in French culture and politics; the contradictory nature of French bureaucracy and rules; the reasons behind the alien nature of a formal dinner party. Having barely scratched the surface of these cultural differences over the last eight months, I found these chapters fascinating and helpful. (Though it is still amazing to think that one guide for ex-pats trying to get along at a French dinner party gives the advice: "Pretend you're a chair. Then, when noone talks to you, you won't have hurt feelings. Who would talk to a chair?")
Turnbull's writing is journalistic--a bit speedy, every so often a bit sloppy, but easy and fun to read. And it's nice to have an Aussie viewpoint, rather than an American, as it made me push myself out of an American mindset just a bit. I mean, we're all Anglos to the French, but we know the shades of difference!
But the second half gets more interesting, as the narrator begins to explore and wrestle with some deeper questions about cultural differences. As she becomes comfortable herself with her new home and country, she can grapple with more complex ideas: the role of women in French culture and politics; the contradictory nature of French bureaucracy and rules; the reasons behind the alien nature of a formal dinner party. Having barely scratched the surface of these cultural differences over the last eight months, I found these chapters fascinating and helpful. (Though it is still amazing to think that one guide for ex-pats trying to get along at a French dinner party gives the advice: "Pretend you're a chair. Then, when noone talks to you, you won't have hurt feelings. Who would talk to a chair?")
Turnbull's writing is journalistic--a bit speedy, every so often a bit sloppy, but easy and fun to read. And it's nice to have an Aussie viewpoint, rather than an American, as it made me push myself out of an American mindset just a bit. I mean, we're all Anglos to the French, but we know the shades of difference!
albatrossonhalfpointe's review against another edition
3.0
"A delightful, fresh twist on the travel memoir, Almost French takes us on a tour that is fraught with culture clashes but rife with deadpan humor. Sarah Turnbull's stint in Paris was only supposed to last a week. Chance had brought Sarah and Frederic together in Bucharest, and on impulse she decided to take him up on his offer to visit him in the world's most romantic city. Sacrificing Vegemite for vichyssoise, the feisty Sydney journalist does her best to fit in, although her conversation, her laugh, and even her wardrobe advertise her foreigner status."
Before I worked in the Social Sciences department at Chapters, I hadn't really read much non-fiction, aside from whatever was required for school. But working there, I encountered a lot more of it, and much of it looked interesting. I especially found myself perusing the biography section fairly regularly, and found a lot of interesting-looking stuff. The bios of famous people didn't really interest me, but there are lots of stories of ordinary people who have lived interesting lives, or done interesting things, and those were the ones that always drew my attention. This was one of those. Girl visits Paris, and finds herself staying, having fallen in love with both a man and the city. But there are all kinds of obstacles and culture clashes and so on and so forth. And Sarah Turnbull does a really good job of telling them in a very entertaining way.
She tells her story more in vignettes, almost, rather than in a strictly linear fashion, and normally I don't much care for that. But it really worked for this story, and allowed her to focus each chapter on some aspect of life in Paris, like settling in, moving to a new apartment, shopping, meeting people, getting a dog, covering fashion shows, etc. And she succeeded in painting a fascinating portrait of the city and its people, and even made me snicker out loud at times, despite being on a bus full of people. Gotta love a writer who can do that. :)
Before I worked in the Social Sciences department at Chapters, I hadn't really read much non-fiction, aside from whatever was required for school. But working there, I encountered a lot more of it, and much of it looked interesting. I especially found myself perusing the biography section fairly regularly, and found a lot of interesting-looking stuff. The bios of famous people didn't really interest me, but there are lots of stories of ordinary people who have lived interesting lives, or done interesting things, and those were the ones that always drew my attention. This was one of those. Girl visits Paris, and finds herself staying, having fallen in love with both a man and the city. But there are all kinds of obstacles and culture clashes and so on and so forth. And Sarah Turnbull does a really good job of telling them in a very entertaining way.
She tells her story more in vignettes, almost, rather than in a strictly linear fashion, and normally I don't much care for that. But it really worked for this story, and allowed her to focus each chapter on some aspect of life in Paris, like settling in, moving to a new apartment, shopping, meeting people, getting a dog, covering fashion shows, etc. And she succeeded in painting a fascinating portrait of the city and its people, and even made me snicker out loud at times, despite being on a bus full of people. Gotta love a writer who can do that. :)