Search - Almost French: Love And A New Life In Paris

Loved this true story. It provides insite about how French people think and behave, why they seem snobby to English speakers in particular. Very entertaining story of culture clashes.

A charming story about an Australian falling in love with a Frenchman and adjusting to life in Paris. A very enjoyable book!

I thought this was a great book. I love France and have visited there a lot, so this was a really interesting look inside their culture and thoughts of tourists.

This account of a 20-plus Australian woman's adventures as she tried to adjust to Parisian ways is both insightful and funny. Having taken a year off from her job with a TV network, Turnbull moved to Paris to be with her new lover, Frederic. She found that the French weren't interested in making new friends; were unwilling to discuss their jobs, hobbies, or much of anything except the food they were eating, planning to eat, or had eaten; and they wished to socialize in mixed groups-no girls' night out for them. But Frederic, with patience and aplomb, helped her overcome these obstacles, depicted in a series of vignettes that sketch many of the fascinations and foibles of becoming "almost French." She detested visiting Frederic's family in northern France, with its rainy, cold beaches, but finally warmed to his home, and was accepted by them. The couple's marriage was almost an anticlimax after a hilarious birthday celebration for 80 at the old home. This clash of cultures is, ultimately, a love story.
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL REVIEW

A bestseller in Turnbull's native Australia, this cute firsthand look at the hardships of settling into a city infamously chilly to outsiders gives a glimpse of the true nature of Parisians and daily life in their gorgeous city. Though Turnbull tells readers less about love than new life, it was in falling for a Frenchman that the journalist found herself moving to Paris, for a few months that stretched into years. The cultural relationship is challenging enough, leaving aside the more intimate personal story (though readers do learn enough about Turnbull's now husband to understand her decision to stay), and she writes of finding work, making friends, surviving dinner parties and adapting to the rhythms and pace of life with a Parisian boyfriend with humor and a developing sense of wisdom. Of the struggle to adapt to her new home in the mid-1990s, the author writes, "I've discovered a million details that matter to me-details that define me as non-French" no matter how much she tries to assimilate, while over time she grows to appreciate some perplexing aspects of French culture, as "[e]veryday incidences elevate into moments of clarity simply because they would never, ever happen in your old home," from developing her confrontational side enough to defend herself (in French) from rude remarks to receiving advice from "a terribly chic blonde who advises me to use eye-makeup remover on Maddie's [Turnbull's dog's] leaky eyes." This is an engaging, endearing view of the people and places of France.

I loved this book...I could hear the sounds, taste the smells....!

I really enjoyed this author's view of her integration into French culture/society. Her opinions and experiences are more accurate, truthful and realistic than other books that I have read of this genre. For those that love "all things French" this is a good book to read. I appreciate her honesty and candor.

Fun!

A spirited young woman journalist finds adventure and love in Paris; true story set in mid 1990s for armchair travelers or those who have been or will be visitors to Paris

If you liked "A Year In Provence" you''ll love this book.Sarah takes a chance at life with a man she meets and falls in love with. She moves to Paris to be with him. You'll learn about culture clashes and navigating life in a foreign country---and it's funny too!

An interesting perception of what the French think of non-French who decide to live in their country.

Very amusing.

Charming tru story of a spirited young woman who finds adventure and the love of her life in Paris.

A memoir of an Australian woman who moves to Paris on a whim and ends up marrying a Frenchman. It describes the travails of being a foreigner in France, particularly in Paris, where fitting in is all that matters and nearly impossible.

A journalist in her late twenties meets a Frenchman in Romania and is invited to visit him for two weeks in Paris. Her French and his English both leave much to be desired and it is painful to try to live in a French society that generally makes her feel invisible, but eventually the charm of Frederic, Paris, and France itself win out and she settles down there happily. On the way are some very interesting insights about the French and some very funny gaffes that were not funny to the author at the time.