A review by travelling_bookworm
Paris Match: The Fine Art of Becoming Everyday French by John von Sothen
3.0
"Paris was my kind of town, cold and cynical, and Anais is as Parisian as they get."
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It is not a secret that the French have their own way of doing things, and the Parisians even more so. It is a culture of its own, where you adapt to the new social rules of the urban jungle of contradictions, or you perish trying.
For starters, is there anything more Parisian than being a foreigner who hates other foreigners?
Von Sothen has succeeded in portraying what it feels to be an expat in France with all the good, the bad, and the hilarious. His stories are told in a surprisingly honest, open, and sometimes even self-deprecating way. Although it might be a bit snobbish, and completely lacking in self-awareness at times, it is also very funny, emotional, and for a past Parisian like me, an irresistible stroll down the memory lane. After all, as the author's charming wife Anais has said, "On critique bien, ce qu'on aime le mieux."
(I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.)
--
It is not a secret that the French have their own way of doing things, and the Parisians even more so. It is a culture of its own, where you adapt to the new social rules of the urban jungle of contradictions, or you perish trying.
For starters, is there anything more Parisian than being a foreigner who hates other foreigners?
Von Sothen has succeeded in portraying what it feels to be an expat in France with all the good, the bad, and the hilarious. His stories are told in a surprisingly honest, open, and sometimes even self-deprecating way. Although it might be a bit snobbish, and completely lacking in self-awareness at times, it is also very funny, emotional, and for a past Parisian like me, an irresistible stroll down the memory lane. After all, as the author's charming wife Anais has said, "On critique bien, ce qu'on aime le mieux."
(I received a free review copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest unedited feedback.)