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A review by house_of_hannah
Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris by Sarah Turnbull
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.