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rebeccabateman's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 Stars
I have an embarrassing predilection for books describing the ingenue immersion into Parisian life. When I see the cover with a french scene on the bookstore shelf, I can't refrain from picking it up and buying it. And they are generally horrible drivel.
But this one was refreshingly intelligent. Sure, Sarah begins the book with a fair amount of complaining about her perceived difficulties, but I began to realize I would probably be doing my own fair share were I in the same circumstances, and I decided to cut her a break and appreciate her realistic non-sugarcoated experiences. Sarah's training as a journalist insures writing that is strong and articulate, and her observations are tender and personable.
To clarify, this isn't a romance. The subtitle "Love and a New Life in Paris" is misleading for the reader. With very few PDAs, Sarah could very easily have been moving in with a tolerable cousin. Instead, she takes on topics such as feminism (or lack of) in France, the down-to-earth nature of a top haute couture designer, concerns with the refugee and homeless populations, and the never-ending fragility of Parisian self-confidence.
Almost French is a light, enjoyable read, but not an escapist story. If nothing else, it might dissuade the Francophile from wanting to run off to live in Paris, thinking more about paperwork and protocol rather than baguettes and berets.
I have an embarrassing predilection for books describing the ingenue immersion into Parisian life. When I see the cover with a french scene on the bookstore shelf, I can't refrain from picking it up and buying it. And they are generally horrible drivel.
But this one was refreshingly intelligent. Sure, Sarah begins the book with a fair amount of complaining about her perceived difficulties, but I began to realize I would probably be doing my own fair share were I in the same circumstances, and I decided to cut her a break and appreciate her realistic non-sugarcoated experiences. Sarah's training as a journalist insures writing that is strong and articulate, and her observations are tender and personable.
To clarify, this isn't a romance. The subtitle "Love and a New Life in Paris" is misleading for the reader. With very few PDAs, Sarah could very easily have been moving in with a tolerable cousin. Instead, she takes on topics such as feminism (or lack of) in France, the down-to-earth nature of a top haute couture designer, concerns with the refugee and homeless populations, and the never-ending fragility of Parisian self-confidence.
Almost French is a light, enjoyable read, but not an escapist story. If nothing else, it might dissuade the Francophile from wanting to run off to live in Paris, thinking more about paperwork and protocol rather than baguettes and berets.
thebibliophileblonde's review against another edition
1.0
I honestly do not think I've read anything so vapid and devoid of life. Ironic, as the tagline promises "love and a new life."
klauhau's review against another edition
4.0
I've read two books now about Australians living in France and I still can't believe how much I relate to their experiences. We are different, but the same.
susannes_pagesofcrime's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable book, one that inspired me to try and write my similar story....Haven't tried it yet!
_sarahco's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 ⭐
Some parts of this memoir are a bit dull, some are much more interesting. I liked the chapters about French culture and experiences and encounters with French people and places more than the chapters that detailed things like exactly how she moved house and exactly how she got a window put in in a previously unwindowed wall.
Some parts of this memoir are a bit dull, some are much more interesting. I liked the chapters about French culture and experiences and encounters with French people and places more than the chapters that detailed things like exactly how she moved house and exactly how she got a window put in in a previously unwindowed wall.
ashleyhorning's review against another edition
2.0
I love travel memoirs. I especially love travel memoirs when it's set in Paris, France. Which is why I was so surprised at how uninterested I became during my read through Almost French.
Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris is exactly how it sounds. A young woman in her late twenties settles down in Paris with a Frenchman on a whim. Triumphs and trials ensue. Learning the language, social differences and accepting her new, different life from Australia is of course difficult at first but rewarding in the end when she overcomes them all. At first her career struggles but then it soars. When she first arrives in France she finds it difficult to make friends but by the end of the novel she's volunteering in soup kitchens.
While parts of the novel were interesting, I always love to learn and understand new cultures and their habits, I found it hard to understand the actual point or plot of the book. There was no climax or resolution. In the end her and her Frenchman get married but even that is lacking the excitement a usual wedding entails.
For a book that seemingly focuses on love, there was very little to do with that in the book. The connection between the author and her lover/Frenchman/husband was never clearly explained and it always almost seemed as if they were just roommates. I had to assume they liked each other as they had bought a house and a dog together but at the same time there was no real connection between the two. I felt that during the first part of the book, when the author struggled with her French language skills, that could have been used to better explain their connection to each other and then that could have been connected throughout the book. Mostly I felt a bigger, stronger connection between the author and her dog rather than her husband.
I suppose when one considers moving to a country that has not been their own growing up and you do not know the language one would imagine hard times to come. That said, I'm not really sure what the author was trying to do here with the book other than saying, "yeah that's happened to me too" and then rattles on with a story to relate.
Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris is exactly how it sounds. A young woman in her late twenties settles down in Paris with a Frenchman on a whim. Triumphs and trials ensue. Learning the language, social differences and accepting her new, different life from Australia is of course difficult at first but rewarding in the end when she overcomes them all. At first her career struggles but then it soars. When she first arrives in France she finds it difficult to make friends but by the end of the novel she's volunteering in soup kitchens.
While parts of the novel were interesting, I always love to learn and understand new cultures and their habits, I found it hard to understand the actual point or plot of the book. There was no climax or resolution. In the end her and her Frenchman get married but even that is lacking the excitement a usual wedding entails.
For a book that seemingly focuses on love, there was very little to do with that in the book. The connection between the author and her lover/Frenchman/husband was never clearly explained and it always almost seemed as if they were just roommates. I had to assume they liked each other as they had bought a house and a dog together but at the same time there was no real connection between the two. I felt that during the first part of the book, when the author struggled with her French language skills, that could have been used to better explain their connection to each other and then that could have been connected throughout the book. Mostly I felt a bigger, stronger connection between the author and her dog rather than her husband.
I suppose when one considers moving to a country that has not been their own growing up and you do not know the language one would imagine hard times to come. That said, I'm not really sure what the author was trying to do here with the book other than saying, "yeah that's happened to me too" and then rattles on with a story to relate.
miamccarroll's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Lovely story on how the author navigates life in Paris, I felt at times it got a bit repetitive and she came of rather whiny about how hard she found parisian life, but made me really want to travel to Paris!!
jasminegraber's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
margreads's review against another edition
4.0
Unlike a lot of us, including those of us that participate in the Paris In July event, freelance journalist Sarah Turnbull wasn’t all that desperate to visit France when she was spending a year backpacking through Europe back in the mid 90s. She was mainly spending her time in the eastern European countries. In her travels, she meets a French lawyer named Frederic a couple of times and when he asks her to come and visit him in Paris, she agrees.
What starts out as a week long visit turns into a month long holiday affair and then into more and, after a brief separation while Sarah finishes her travels, she moves to Paris to be with Fred. Moving to a different country requires adjustments for anyone, let alone when there is a different language and very different cultural values involved. For a relatively laid back Aussie, the rules that permeate French society are difficult to understand let alone to follow, and that is before you throw the fact that Sarah needs to learn the language quickly and to find a way to break into the freelance journalism market so that she can start to earn some income. Being a freelance journalist means that she must work from home which is a way that the author is isolated from others, and she must find ways to counteract this loneliness.
To read my full review head to
http://www.theintrepidreader.com/2013/07/almost-french-by-sarah-turnbull.html
What starts out as a week long visit turns into a month long holiday affair and then into more and, after a brief separation while Sarah finishes her travels, she moves to Paris to be with Fred. Moving to a different country requires adjustments for anyone, let alone when there is a different language and very different cultural values involved. For a relatively laid back Aussie, the rules that permeate French society are difficult to understand let alone to follow, and that is before you throw the fact that Sarah needs to learn the language quickly and to find a way to break into the freelance journalism market so that she can start to earn some income. Being a freelance journalist means that she must work from home which is a way that the author is isolated from others, and she must find ways to counteract this loneliness.
To read my full review head to
http://www.theintrepidreader.com/2013/07/almost-french-by-sarah-turnbull.html