Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris
by Sarah Turnbull
Overview
From the Publisher
"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 journalist does her best to fit in, although her conversation, her laugh, and even her wardrobe advertise her foreigner status." As she navigates the highs and lows of this strange new world, from life in a bustling quartier and surviving Parisian dinner parties to covering the haute couture fashion shows and discovering the hard way the paradoxes of French culture, little by little Sarah falls under its spell, maddening, mysterious, and charged with that French specialty - seduction.
My thoughts
This book gets mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it! I've read countless travel essays written by Americans overseas, but how often do we get to read travel essays by non-Americans traveling somewhere other than the US? It was a delightful spin on a travel journal! I loved it from the moment I discovered the author was Australian!
As a person who loves Australia and wants desperately to visit, and as a person who hasn't yet made it to France either, the book was full of intrigue for me because I can put my future self in her shoes. I love her perceptions of cultural differences. Yes, it may be offensive to some but I challenge anyone to fit seamlessly into a foreign culture right off the bat, particularly the French culture. I think Sarah Turnbull is courageous and brave, and I think she must have very good wit to be able to survive her endoctrination into French society.
I learned a lot from reading this book and I had a good time at it!
Favorite Passage
Poised to slice into a chevre on my plate, I notice the rind is wriggling with maggots. Unfazed, Jean-Michel is shaving off his crawling crust. Revulsion rises in my throat and I try to overcome it, not wanting to offend. No one else appears shocked. So I copy Jean-Michel, telling myself that I've eaten worse.
I wipe some cheese onto my bread and bite.
The table erupts in peals of delighted laughter. It had been a test, and quite unwittingly I'd passed with flying colors. Even Jean-Michel is impressed. "An American would never have done that," he remarks admiringly.
