|
Almost French: Love And A New Life In Paris | 
| Author: Sarah Turnbull
Category: Book
List Price: $13.00
Buy New: $6.95
You Save: $6.05 (47%)
New (6) Used (10) from $4.02
Avg. Customer Rating:  74 reviews
Sales Rank: 684160
Format: Bargain Price
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 304
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.9
ASIN: B000CDG8EW
Publication Date: August 5, 2004
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
The charming true story of a spirited young woman who finds adventure--and the love of her life--in Paris.
"This isn't like me. I'm not the sort of girl who crosses continents to meet up with a man she hardly knows. Paris hadn't even been part of my travel plan..."
A delightful, fresh twist on the travel memoir, Almost French takes us on a tour that is fraught with culture clashes but rife with deadpan humor. 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 Sydney journalist does her best to fit in, although her conversation, her laugh, and even her wardrobe advertise her foreigner status.
But as she navigates the highs and lows of this strange new world, from life in a bustling quatier and surviving Parisian dinner parties to covering the haute couture fashion shows and discovering the hard way the paradoxes of France today, little by little Sarah falls under its spell: maddening, mysterious, and charged with that French specialty-seduction.
An entertaining tale of being a fish out of water, Almost French is an enthralling read as Sarah Turnbull leads us on a magical tour of this seductive place-and culture-that has captured her heart.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 69 more reviews...
It's a very good pick! August 26, 2008
I loved it, simply because Sarah Turnbull captivates the reality of so many people who end up living in another country and even though they start a new life, with new people and new meaning around them, is never quite the same... You find yourself in the new place wishing you were somewhere else, and when you return to your country you wish you were back in the other one. It explains the struggle of culture integration and the differences that may seem to drive you crazy, but in the end those things become part of your every day life. The book inspired me to make the best out of my personal situation, I felt so identified with her and so encouraged to embrace who I am and at the same time embrace my new life in another country. I loved it!
 very real August 25, 2008
Our family lived in France from 1992-1995. Though it has been a few years now, all the memories of trying to adjust, fit in, make sense of France and the French, came flowing back through my mind as I read Sarah's book. Very well written, easy and enjoyable to read, she nails the frustrations, the puzzlements, and the occasional delights of living in this special European country.
French life July 27, 2008
I really enjoyed this book. The author gives the reader
a taste of what it is to live in Paris. I highly recommend
this book for anyone who is interested in France, Paris,
culture, or people.
Delighting in ALMOST FRENCH December 11, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is not a book I would have picked up on my own; and I only grudgingly ordered it from amazon.com because it was the selection for out next Book Club meeting. I'm loving it! I'm only a tiny way into it and am enjoying the chuckles that are ellicted throughout; well, so far, anyway. Turnbull writes very well, she has a marvelous sense of humor, and she is able to laugh at her own foibles. Can't wait to finish the book, can't wait for our meeting.
 Almost incomplete December 6, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The French are a fascinating people, their culture sometimes mysterious, sometimes frustrating. Having lived in France for a while myself, I was very drawn to this story of a young woman living and loving in Paris and other parts of the country. Having first gone to Paris on a whim (since she was in Europe anyway, and the young man who invited her was so attractive, why not?), she then decides to stay. It does seem remarkable that someone would do that in these days of madmen and terrorists.
Her story starts out somewhat disjointed and jerky and parts of it continue that way. There are gaps in time that aren't quite transitioned. And some events are incomplete. For instance, when her friend Sue comes to visit from London, the reader expects a life changing or confirming event. The build up to it certainly leads one to think that this is a big part of the entire experience. However, Sue comes, leaves, and that's that. We're given no reaction on her part to Frederic, the French lover, no discussion between the two on Sarah's decision to stay in Paris, nothing.
Sarah's visits with Frederic and some of his friends are, of course, awkward. Unless one has experienced the same thing, it is difficult to believe how important things are in social intercourse, but how no one ever thinks to explain them ahead of time. Being Australian, Sarah had certain expectations when it came to dinner and parties, but the French people she met had different expectations. It always seemed that she was expected to conform to their expectations, but whether that was only her perception is not clear. Perhaps she should have learned from the first and following experiences to ask more questions each succeeding time.
The edition of the book that I read is the 2002 edition, published either in Australia or Great Britain and I do not know if the 2004 edition was edited differently. I'd hoped to enjoy this book and to learn how to enjoy living in another country. The most important lesson seems to be to try to not have expectations.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
