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311th out of 838 books
—
753 voters
French By Heart: An American Family's Adventures in La Belle France
Can a family of five from deep in the heart of Dixie find happiness smack dab in the middle of France?
French By Heart is the story of an all-American family pulling up stakes and finding a new home in Clermont-Ferrand, a city four hours south of Paris known more for its smoke-spitting factories and car dealerships than for its location in the Auvergne, the lush heartland o...more
French By Heart is the story of an all-American family pulling up stakes and finding a new home in Clermont-Ferrand, a city four hours south of Paris known more for its smoke-spitting factories and car dealerships than for its location in the Auvergne, the lush heartland o...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
April 24th 2007
by Broadway Books
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The authour and her family (husband, 9 yr. old daughter, 7 yr. old son, infant son, and cat) packed up and moved to France for four years when her husband accepted a transfer with his company. They started out in an apartment, then found a house where they could settle down and start their new lives as foreigners trying their best to fit in.
I loved hearing all the details of their daily lives as they adjusted to a new culture. Everything they had taken for granted in their previous lives became...more
I loved hearing all the details of their daily lives as they adjusted to a new culture. Everything they had taken for granted in their previous lives became...more
The Ramseys are moving to France. The family is from South Carolina and has always wanted to move. Not just visit, but move. The kids will go to French schools, they will live French lives, have French friends, the whole kitten caboodle.
And so off they go. The author writes of her family's many experiences and adventures over the four years the family lives in a small town about 4 hours south of Paris. Some are funny, some hurtful and depressing, others uplifting and heartfelt. Through it all th...more
And so off they go. The author writes of her family's many experiences and adventures over the four years the family lives in a small town about 4 hours south of Paris. Some are funny, some hurtful and depressing, others uplifting and heartfelt. Through it all th...more
Becky Ramsey realizes a lifelong dream when she moves her young family from South Carolina to central France. This book is a chronicle of their four years in Clermont-Ferrand where her husband works for Michelin. Happily for the reader, she includes her most embarrassing moments, frustrations with French films, meddling neighbors, and the difficulty of making real friends with French people. While often hilarious, her stories illustrate all too well how hard it is to be a foreigner in France. Li...more
This is a sweet, if somewhat unsubstantial, book about a family who moves from South Carolina to central France. Becky and Todd Ramsey take advantage of a corporate relocation and settle their three young children in Clermont-Ferrand, an industrial town several hours south of Paris. The book tells tales of their four years in this region. There are many fish out of water experiences (Becky doesn't understand the local banks and the local schools, she bungles French expressions and is scandalized...more
I have to agree with Amplotkin about this book. I really, really wanted to love this book. It's about what I've always dreamed of - going to live in France, or Italy or best of all, England. It's one of my favorite genres and I really liked most of the characters a lot. The husband is a bit of a cipher, but everyone is likable and interesting. So why didn't I like it more? I just never got a true 'French' feel from the book. There didn't seem to be any true viewpoint. They could have been living...more
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I picked up this book thinking it would confirm my romantic views of life in the French countryside. It did and it didn't. And I loved it. I like that Rebecca Ramsey is honest and doesn't try to sugarcoat anything. Life as an expat isn't everything it's cracked up to be. I would make a comment about Hemingway but since I haven't read any of his stuff yet it would only be gossip and I gave up gossip for Lent. :]
Each chapter stands on its own as a brief and insightful essay. It's a great style for...more
Each chapter stands on its own as a brief and insightful essay. It's a great style for...more
This was a light and entertaining read that follows the model of the well-meaning fish-out-of-water foreigner trying to surmount the language and cultural barrier. The best of its kind may be David Sedaris's Me Talk Pretty One Day. Though it's hard to top Sedaris and this is a familiar formula, there are quite a few authors (including this one) that still manage to please and amuse and keep everything fresh. Other successes include Paris to the Moon, Beppe Severigni's Ciao, America, A Year in th...more
Not bad, not bad....not the most thrilling book about France....in fact, if you want to learn about France, this is not the book. It is more a book about living abroad and the random things that happen. The author and her family move to Clermont-Ferrand....and this book describes their four years and the adventures (especially with the nextdoor neighbor).
She loves France....and tells the truth, unlike a lot of anglophiles who try to make France sound horrible/perfect.
She loves France....and tells the truth, unlike a lot of anglophiles who try to make France sound horrible/perfect.
A family of five from the heart of Dixie moves to a small town in France for four years (husband's job). It is a charming look at life in belle France with the quirky, nosy neighbor Madame, the schools that seem to do their job but take no prisoners, the stores where you look at the pictures on the food to figure out what it could be, and trying to speak French with a decided drawl. Not earth shattering info, but a quick cozy read.
Greatly enjoyed this book and hope this author goes on to write and/or has written more: I think she is talented! Her family moves to an industrial town in France when her husband's job at Michelin is transferred there for four years. This series of vignettes (roughly chronological) trace their funny introduction to French ways of living, as they gradually become more and more assimilated into life in the town.
I almost hated to give this a two since Rebecca seems to be a good writer. It is just that living in France seemed to her like she moved to the next county. She became obsessed with the old lady next door and seemed to spend very little time exploring France and the different culture. At least she figured out that wearing white tennis shoes would be weird in France. I bet she was happy to get back home.
I enjoy travel memoirs and this was an easy one to read while on vacation in Washington state. It traces a family's adjustment to life in France over a 4-year period. When her husband is transferred by his employer, Michelin, wife Rebecca Ramsey leaves her life in NC for a life in France, with 3 children (one, a baby) in tow! The memoir centers mostly on the children's adjustments and the eccentric neighbors in their new town. A fun, if light travel memoir.
Lovely simple American family uprooted to a suburb of Paris as husband continues to climb the corporate ladder at Michelin Tires. The children acclimate; the mother struggles with the language; the children are amused! You know when you've been accepted when your French neighbors laugh out loud and allow you to use their first names!
This was written by a very intelligent woman who followed her husband's career path to Clermont-Ferrand, France. These are absolutely true and accurate accounts of how wonderful french people can be when you meet them on their own terms and turf. It was certainly not easy, as you can see, but then nothing worthwhile ever is.
Out of all the expats-in-France books I've ever read, this one is probably the most disappointing. I mean, is she even really trying? It doesn't seem like she tried very hard to find much out about France before her family moved there -- some of the things that surprised her were ideas that I'd come across in various books about France before. Add her somewhat gleeful ignorance about France to a marked hesitance to get too introspective, and there's just not enough here to be interesting.
Then Ma...more
Then Ma...more
I really enjoyed reading this! It was a quick, light read and made me want to hop a plane with my family and settle somewhere else in the world for a few years (I confess, that has always been a dream to live somewhere else for a year or two). It's the true story of a southern family moving to France, to a village south of Paris, for 4 years. They rent a home, go to French schools, learn to navigate the culture and life, with mishaps here and there. I loved how honest the author was! She is a gr...more
A job transfer sends Ramsey and her husband and three young children off to France. The countryside is beautiful, but the people are…well, irascible. Her new neighbors drive her insane with her meddlesomeness. And yet Ramsey learns to love this new world, even the irritating intrusiveness of her neighbors.
A story about a Southern family of five who move to Southern France for four years. Very witty, Rebecca Ramsey makes us fall in love with the old bat who lives next door. She is adept at pointing out differences in cultures without making one seem better than the other. Quite good and an easy read.
True story: Charming book written by a stay-at-home Mom of 3. Her hubby works for a company. He is offered the chance to work in France for 4 years and the family takes the adventure on. Written in vignettes that tie the 4 years together. Honest and straightforward. Great storytelling.
I was hoping for more. It seems almost the entire book is about Ramsey's spéciale neighbor, Madame Mallet. Ramsey seemed too preoccupied with this lady and what she thought of her. There's all of France to enjoy, and she keeps going on about her neighbor? Disappointing.
Absolutely LOVED this book. I finished it within three days which is unusual for me. I felt that it completely transported me to France through it's visual writing and description. I'm now sad that the book is done. No more "trips" to France through Rebecca Ramsey's book.
This was a really cute book. I liked that it was a simple story with no weird stuff or tragedies. It was a refreshing story of a family that moves to France for a job for 4 years. It was fascinating to read of the families transition to French life.
This was a story about a family, just a regular family. It wasn't even particularly French in its theme. These people could have been anywhere 'different' than their home and it would have been the same story.
Don't mistake me, I liked the characters. Just wanted it to be more about France.
Don't mistake me, I liked the characters. Just wanted it to be more about France.
Read for French II Honors. Loved it, and you will too if interested in the differences between American and French culture. It's non-fiction, and I simply love the children and how they react to the French way of life.
Borrowed from Ricardi.
Borrowed from Ricardi.
I really enjoyed this book. It's a memoir of a South Carolina's four-year adventure in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Warmly and honestly written, I particularly enjoyed the saucy neighbor, but then I have a partiality for old French ladies.
Charming tale of real-life in France as seen through an American family living in a small village. Love the stories and Rebecca seems very genuine and relate-able, which is refreshing. A must-read for anyone who loves France.
A frothy confection of a book that showed a family that didn't really assimilate to France but transferred their suburban lifestyle to a small French village, despite their condescending attitude toward Uncle Grant.
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More like 2.5 or 2.75 stars. Pretty good but not what I was expecting and there was just a bit much about Madame Mallet. I did like in the end that Becky finally learned Madame's first name.
This was a very charming memoir of family life overseas. I liked learning what it is like to live in a small French village, as opposed to Paris, where most travel books set in France take place.
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| South Carolina soccer mom meets life in France. | 1 | 2 | Aug 18, 2007 06:44pm |
