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 ...
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Sep 27, 2007
Lolab
rated it: 
The author, an Australian television journalist, on a whim, heads to Paris to stay with a man, a French lawyer, that she's met only twice. The book is billed as a love story, though we actually see very little of Frederic, her future husband, other than brief caricatured appearances - after picking her up at the airport, he effortlessly whips up an elegant lunch, setting the table with crystal knife rests and an antique silver bowl filled with flowers. While contemplating the opulent table setti
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Apr 01, 2009
Elizabeth
rated it: 
Kirsten gave this to me for the plane ride.
I enjoyed Turnbull's interpretation of life in France. I also liked how she was able to find a line between her own traditions and the traditions of her adopted home. It was refreshing to see that she neither tried to cling to heritage, nor entirely embrace her new location.
The one chapter that I didn't agree with was her section devoted to French women. She argued that their ways were uptight and unnatural. I've grown up with More...
I enjoyed Turnbull's interpretation of life in France. I also liked how she was able to find a line between her own traditions and the traditions of her adopted home. It was refreshing to see that she neither tried to cling to heritage, nor entirely embrace her new location.
The one chapter that I didn't agree with was her section devoted to French women. She argued that their ways were uptight and unnatural. I've grown up with More...
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Jul 24, 2010
Nikki
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Much, much better than the last book I read on Paris. The differences were that, in the last one, most of the major issues facing the author were because of her own stupidity. This one, she goes more into the major cultural differences that she found in the way the French live. Even though she was Australian, you could definitely relate to the Anglo-Saxon mindset she went to France with, which seems the same whether you are American, English, Canadian, or Australian. The same differences wer
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Jun 20, 2008
Sarah
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This book gets a big fat "eh" from me. I really WANTED to like it. It's a memoir of a young Australian woman (indeterminately aged) who moves to Paris to be with this guy and she ends up staying and discovering true French and Parisian culture. Sounds good, right?
I found it hard to identify with the author and never felt like I was close to her, truly understood where she was coming from, or found that she was particularly likable. All of which I think are important wh More...
I found it hard to identify with the author and never felt like I was close to her, truly understood where she was coming from, or found that she was particularly likable. All of which I think are important wh More...
Aug 18, 2008
Fran
rated it:
I really enjoyed this. It was pleasant and interesting reading and explained so many quirks about my own personality that I never realized were traits passed down from my predominantly Parisian, French family. Also made me glad I have enough Anglo-Saxon blood in me to balance it out. Surprisingly it also became the catalyst that made me decide to pick up my French lessons again after dropping them 20 years ago. Anyone looking for a TRUE inside view of French culture, both good and bad should re
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Nov 06, 2011
Karen
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As a nearly-lifelong Francophile, I couldn't wait to read this book by Aussie journalist Sarah Turnbull. In fact, I opened it the night I picked it up at Half-Price Books, even though I have stacks of "to-read next" books waiting! Turnbull met a French man in Beirut, then quit her job and followed him to live--with him--in France. You never really get to know her well enough to understand why she would do such a thing--they'd only met twice and hardly knew each other--but the relation
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Aug 02, 2011
Far
rated it:
Funny, Light and in places very "Aussie".
I was immediatley taken in and felt a 'kindred spirit' had written the book. I don't laugh out loud a lot when reading, but there were many parts I so identified with that I couldn't help myself. Loved the "travel journal" feel as well as the fact that there is a coherent and binding story underneath.
While there is plenty of detail to let you know where you are & what's happening, the author has not been heavy handed or "fluffy More...
I was immediatley taken in and felt a 'kindred spirit' had written the book. I don't laugh out loud a lot when reading, but there were many parts I so identified with that I couldn't help myself. Loved the "travel journal" feel as well as the fact that there is a coherent and binding story underneath.
While there is plenty of detail to let you know where you are & what's happening, the author has not been heavy handed or "fluffy More...
Jul 30, 2011
Rebecca
rated it:
I loved this book!! I googled the author to see if she had written anymore books and she hasn't, which was annoying to find out! Girl from Australia is on her "year abroad" in in the early 1990's in Eastern Europe where she meets a Frenchmen and promptly drops everything and visits him in Paris and never leaves. I liked how dated this book was. There was hardly a mention of visa issues, which in today's world would annoy me, but since it takes place in the 90's, I got over it. Also, I
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Jun 12, 2011
Laura
rated it:
I emigrated in 2007 to Germany, and I read this after I had been here less than a year. Though the cultures are really quite different her descriptions of loneliness and the mistakes she made really connected with me.
My original review, as posted on my blog, follows.
"I think the gifts I remember most are the books that are given with lots of thought. Even better if they're used, I figure. It's still a good gift even if you have to return it after.
A few stand o More...
My original review, as posted on my blog, follows.
"I think the gifts I remember most are the books that are given with lots of thought. Even better if they're used, I figure. It's still a good gift even if you have to return it after.
A few stand o More...
Jan 22, 2011
Rebekah
rated it:
C’est vrai — I read a lot of memoirs about girls who move to Paris. I suppose it is just testament to some kind of universal dream that so many memoirs are written on the same subject, and yet I pick up all of them. To me, this is ultimate escapist reading.
Delightfully, this was my book club’s January pick … and I didn’t even pick it (though I might have advocated for it a little bit.)
There isn’t too much to tell by way of sheer plot that is original – Turnbull meets More...
Delightfully, this was my book club’s January pick … and I didn’t even pick it (though I might have advocated for it a little bit.)
There isn’t too much to tell by way of sheer plot that is original – Turnbull meets More...
Sep 27, 2010
Teresa
rated it:
Turnbull s story of getting used to life as an Australian expat in Paris is an entertaining one, and she tells it with humor and affection. Although she does at times get frustrated with the formality of many French parties and the expectation that you must always look your best, she eventually comes to see why some might prefer this attitude over Australian casualness. She also learns to accept that although she might be willing to adopt some French customs, she ll still always be an outsider
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Jan 22, 2010
Crystal
rated it: 
This is the best I've read so far of the "moved-to-France-adjusting-to-cultural-differences" genre. Sarah, the Australian TV journalist, goes "walk-about" in Europe, meets a Frenchman in Romania, and then accepts an invitation from him to visit Paris. She goes and the rest is history, which this book chronicles. She covers the cuisine, the fashion, the dog mania, the trying to make friends, and many other situations. I particularly loved her description of the bafflement at
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Dec 10, 2009
kingshearte
rated it:
"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
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May 14, 2009
Erin
rated it:
Almost French tells the story of Sarah Turnbull, an Australian journalist who makes an impulsive decision to move to Paris after falling for a Frenchman while on assignment in Bucharest. This book chronicles her fish-out-of-water experience as an Aussie in Paris, and how she comes to love and appreciate this beautiful but frustrating city. As months stretch into years, Sarah delves deeper into the history and culture of Paris. She makes decisions about what she will and won't do to fit in wit
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Jan 04, 2010
Anne
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Sarah Turnbull is a journalist from Australia who meets an enchanting French gentleman at a party. Shortly thereafter, he invites her to visit him in Paris...and eight years later, she's still there. Almost French is Turnbull's foray into French society, and her exploration of how much one can and should give up in the name of love. As Turnbull learns a new language and tries to fit in with her boyfriend Fred's seemingly snooty friends, she also struggles to find herself in a foreign land where
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Nov 01, 2009
Brenda (Lansdowne)
rated it:
What I learned.....
... Parisians are rude and pompous
... It is difficult to make friends with French women because they are more interested in men
and perceive other women as competition.
... bureaucracy is a pain in the butt
... Paris not only has the Louvre but it also has homeless people and giant size rats
... haute coutre only serves 2,000 women in the world who can afford it, and they are gene More...
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Jul 22, 2011
Ape
rated it:
Now, I've never been to France, let alone lived there, but there were bits in this that I recognised and sympathised with, because I have lived abroad for a few years, so I think there's some common experiences for being in a country that you've not grown up in. The language problems, the feelings of isolation, the problems with burocracy and a system that doesn't want to be particularly helpful, and in the end, a feeling that you don't truely belong in either your home country, or where you are
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Feb 02, 2009
Renee
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I gobbled this book down whole. Unlike so many of a similar genre it is unpretentious and very honest; very human, in a good sense. Turnbull is surprised to find herself visiting a Frenchman she's barely met in Paris. Despite and perhaps because of misunderstandings and explanations about their very different cultures (she is Australian), she settles in Paris with him and by the end, not only loves the city but gives fascinating cultural and critical remarks about everything from fashion and foo
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Feb 10, 2010
Beejay
rated it:
As delicious as a mararoon from Laduree, and as charming as a canal-side village in Burgundy, for Francophiles forced to live so far away in the Antipodes, this lovely, oft-times hilarious, little book - taken, naturally, with a generous glass of red - provides a delightful interlude. Do yourself a favour, set yourself up with some wine, some cheese and just enjoy. Bon appetit.
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May 28, 2009
Helynne
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Australian journalist Sarah Turnbull took a big chance diving into French society the way she did--and it panned out! She had left her job as a television reporter in Sydney to travel around Europe for a year, and while in Bucharest, Romania, she met a charming Frenchman named Frederic. Though she didn't know Frederic very well yet, she accepted his invitation to come visit him in Paris, and right away, they began living together, and Turnbull began adapting to her new life of being "
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Sep 06, 2007
Natalie
rated it:
This book is slow at times and doesn't always go into a lot of detail on this woman's relationship but it's about the author who moves to paris for a man and how she adapts to life in a strange country that's she's only visited a few times. Good love story as well as having a lot of history of paris incorporated into it...
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May 31, 2011
Janean
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For once a Westerner ‘gets’ the French and explains them to the rest of us. Susan may not be American, but her impression of the Parisians is similar to other expatriates I’ve read about. During her many years as a girlfriend (and later wife) of a Parisian, she slowly discovers answers to the mysteries brought up in French by Heart. Why is it so hard to make friends with French women? Why is there no war between the sexes in France? How should one behave at a Parisian dinner party? Why are Fren
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Mar 11, 2011
S.M.
rated it:
A light, easy read that I found I could relate to.
I don't normally read memoirs. This one was given to me by my flatmate. The tale is an Australian woman's struggle to adapt to the life and attitudes of Paris.
Though I didn't move to Paris, there were many passages in the book that I could relate to. Most notably, the open, frank manner of Australians, versus, well, other cultures.
More than once, my blunt manner has gotten me into some trouble over here in C More...
I don't normally read memoirs. This one was given to me by my flatmate. The tale is an Australian woman's struggle to adapt to the life and attitudes of Paris.
Though I didn't move to Paris, there were many passages in the book that I could relate to. Most notably, the open, frank manner of Australians, versus, well, other cultures.
More than once, my blunt manner has gotten me into some trouble over here in C More...
Oct 29, 2011
Jill
rated it:
This story of an Australian woman who meets and falls in love with a Frenchman, almost immediately moving to Paris to live with him, is a great illustration of what it's like to be an ex-patriate (particularly coming from a country with a relatively short history and moving to a place with a deep and rich history). The culture clash is evident and reminded me of my own experience living in Japan (a place of long history filled with tradition) as an American (from a place with a much more hetero
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Aug 04, 2010
Jenny
rated it: 
Very repetitive, not very well-written, boring at times. I really wouldn't recommend this unless you are someone who is infatuated with Paris and Parisians, which I am not.
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Nov 21, 2008
Lisa
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It took me too long to read this. I enjoyed parts of it, but thought the story about an Austrilian female journalist moving in with a French man she met for only a couple of days was not plausible, if just risky. A better story would have been if she woke up the second day with this man (who strangely doesn't appear much in the book, given that he's responsible for her major life-changing move to France)and discovered that he had a secret wife hidden in the attic. Oh wait, that's another book.
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Aug 04, 2011
Jinni
rated it:
I read this before and at the beginning of my trip to France and it was very insightful. Even though I was only visiting for 10 days, not living there like the author, it was interesting to get the perspective of a foreigner trying to submerse herself in French culture. A lot of the insights Turnball has I also read in a couple of guide books so it was easy to trust her experiences. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone traveling to France who wants a view of life outside of the to
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Jul 25, 2009
Chel
rated it:
Dymocks $22.95
Autobiography of Australian journalist who falls in love with a Frenchman. Sarah, the ex-pat living in France is trying to understand the idiosyncratic and highly 'proper' Gaellic race.
Descriptions are highly colourful, humour incidental and writing style informal. Sarah's understanding of the French arrogance and their mannerisms make this book a great 'guide' for the would be traveller. I would read again before a trip to France.
I enjoyed the writing More...
Autobiography of Australian journalist who falls in love with a Frenchman. Sarah, the ex-pat living in France is trying to understand the idiosyncratic and highly 'proper' Gaellic race.
Descriptions are highly colourful, humour incidental and writing style informal. Sarah's understanding of the French arrogance and their mannerisms make this book a great 'guide' for the would be traveller. I would read again before a trip to France.
I enjoyed the writing More...
Nov 17, 2009
Angi
rated it:
I didn't quite finish with this. I got half way through the book and was just not that interested. I ended up falling asleep twice. Don't get me wrong. It's not really that it is boring. The author talks about her life in France, and her adjustment, and I enjoyed that and felt liked I learned a lot more about France. There were even some laugh out loud parts. I didn't really connect with the author and she didn't talk to us much about her relationship with her husband so I felt a bit isolated fr
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Jul 25, 2009
Andria
rated it:
This is a fascinating book that taught me more about the French then all of my years taking French in high school and college. Turnbull is frank, but respectful, about her life in Paris as an expatriate. It certainly made me want to go to Paris again.
I would have given this book 5 stars, but I felt the subtitle of the book is misleading. I thought she would share more of the love story that lead her to settle permanently in Paris, but there was almost nothing about how they fell i More...
I would have given this book 5 stars, but I felt the subtitle of the book is misleading. I thought she would share more of the love story that lead her to settle permanently in Paris, but there was almost nothing about how they fell i More...
