Cis H. (californiadreamin) reviewed Mastering the Art of French Eating: Lessons in Food and Love from a Year in Paris on + 273 more book reviews
I really wanted to enjoy this book! I've only visited Paris once and totally fell in love with the city: the people, architecture, food, museums, even how they drive! So I truly expected this book to take me into aspects of the food scene that I missed. Yes, we ate in cafes and delightful restaurants but I want to learn where the foods originated, why chefs have been mastering certain dishes for decades, where the ingredients are purchased, etc.
Sadly, Ann Mah needs an editor for this book. She skips around with her story of how she ended up in Paris alone. Just as I was trying to enjoy chapter on crepes, here comes the story of her husband being assigned to Iraq for a year, leaving her ALL ALONE in Paris. Good grief, I read about his departure already, move on to the food!! Her constant whining about being ALONE was tiresome. Get on with it, woman! Enjoy the year of exploring, you're not in a Third World Country. Besides, you spent seven weeks in French immersion classes, it's not like you can't understand or speak their language.
The other annoying aspect of her writing was the too frequent use of whole sentences in French. Often I can decipher the meaning of a French word of two just from context. But when there are two or three sentences, I'm sitting with Google, translating.
Even skipping chapters, I just couldn't enjoy this book. I hope someone who knows French will. Or someone who doesn't mind constantly reading, "I'm alone in Paris, poor me."
Sadly, Ann Mah needs an editor for this book. She skips around with her story of how she ended up in Paris alone. Just as I was trying to enjoy chapter on crepes, here comes the story of her husband being assigned to Iraq for a year, leaving her ALL ALONE in Paris. Good grief, I read about his departure already, move on to the food!! Her constant whining about being ALONE was tiresome. Get on with it, woman! Enjoy the year of exploring, you're not in a Third World Country. Besides, you spent seven weeks in French immersion classes, it's not like you can't understand or speak their language.
The other annoying aspect of her writing was the too frequent use of whole sentences in French. Often I can decipher the meaning of a French word of two just from context. But when there are two or three sentences, I'm sitting with Google, translating.
Even skipping chapters, I just couldn't enjoy this book. I hope someone who knows French will. Or someone who doesn't mind constantly reading, "I'm alone in Paris, poor me."
