English as a Second Language [Paperback]

Megan Crane (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2004

In this wickedly funny first novel-think Legally Blonde in Oxford-a young New York woman exchanges her corporate job for a year of books, blokes, beers, and new best friends in graduate school in England.


Alexandra Brennan is fed up with her dead end New York City job-and even more fed up of running into her smug ex-boyfriend. So when he crosses the line by telling her that she'll never get into graduate school in the United Kingdom, that's precisely what she does.


Armed with imported cigarettes and extra strength coffee, Alex leaves home and crosses the Atlantic to face all that Great Britain and grad school have to offer, including ill-considered romantic interludes, a red-headed nemesis with intellectual pretensions and ulterior motives, a preponderance of eighties music, and more books than she can possibly read in a year. What she discovers, however, is that instead of running away from home - she may have actually found it.


With a cheeky sense of humor and terrific cast of characters, ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE is a funny and irreverent novel about a young woman's misadventures on the path to adulthood.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Heads up, world: British university students drink a lot. That's the main conclusion reached by first-timer Crane in this novel about a 20-something American student forging new friendships, swilling lager, kissing boys and generally behaving as if a master's degree is the furthest thing from her mind. When a smug, repulsive ex-boyfriend tells paralegal Alex Brennan that she could never get into grad school in England, she promptly applies, gets accepted and hops onto a plane. She arrives at a small northern university to discover a hideous campus, dreary weather, a gorgeous yet unapproachable professor and a social life that revolves around drinking pints in the double digits and nursing the resulting hangovers. Housemates Cristina and Melanie aid in reconnaissance missions to spy on Sean the professorial hottie, and drinking buddies Toby and Jason hover in the background in various stages of inebriation. Jealous and paranoid fellow student Suzanne embroils Alex in competition over grades, men and anything else she can think of. Meanwhile, the papers are piling up, and Toby's starting to look sort of attractive. Crane, herself a former university student in England, gets points for energy and effort, but this is an awkward jumble of a book with a familiar "Just shut up and kiss me" conclusion.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

After several postcollege years working as a legal assistant, Alex Brennan realizes she doesn't know what she wants to do with her life. Her solution is the perennially popular option of going to graduate school. She chooses Oxford because her ex-boyfriend tells her she won't be accepted. It turns out he was right, so she opts for a different university in the north of England and begins her master's studies in English. Alex settles in very quickly, making friends with her housemates and an enemy of another American student, a neurotic woman who likes to force intimacy by spilling her guts to anyone within earshot. Countless pints and late nights later, Alex eventually manages to get a degree and is forced to decide whether she wants her move to England to be a year-long adventure or the beginning of a new life. Debut novelist Crane keeps things very light in this breezy but accurate take on twentysomethings who thought adult life began after college but find that the transition can take a bit longer. Beth Leistensnider
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446692867
• ISBN-13: 978-0446692861
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.8 x 8.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #975,209 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Megan Crane is a New Jersey native who had great plans to star on Broadway, preferably in Evita, just like Patti LuPone. Sadly, her inability to wow audiences with her singing voice required a back up plan. Accordingly, she graduated from Vassar College and got her MA and PhD in literature from the University of York in England. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on AIDS literature, mostly so she could wallow in her obsession with the remarkable multi-media artist David Wojnarowicz and her idol, the bitter and hilarious David Feinberg. After many years in the rain and subject to the whim of seasons, she followed the sun to Los Angeles, where she lives with a dog, a cat, two crazy kittens, and an artist named Jeff. She is still plotting her Broadway debut.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Missing something, December 27, 2005

By 

Amanda Richards (Georgetown, Guyana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: English as a Second Language (Paperback)

Alex Brennan moves to the UK to read for a Masters degree in English, because firstly, she's bored in New York and secondly, she decides to defy an ex-boyfriend who said she couldn't do it. She can't get into Oxford, so she takes a loan from her father and sets off for another university, where she proceeds to drink and smoke herself into oblivion.

This novel is about that year of excess, and while it is entertaining in parts, and so very British in humor, you never get deep inside any of the unlikable characters, so you don't get a sense of why they're doing the things they do. Alex herself seems extremely immature for a 26 year old woman with prior work experience, and how she survived the year is anybody's guess.

This novel is about alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, casual relationships, stalkers, nutcases and immature behavior, and while it's easy to read, alcoholism in the UK seems to be the central theme.

Funny in places, but mostly shallow and bitter.


Amanda Richards, December 27, 2005

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wasn't in it for the love story..., June 3, 2006

By 

shan (aina hanau) - See all my reviews

This review is from: English as a Second Language (Paperback)

I loved this book precisely because it wasn't about finding love. It was the story of Alex Brennan finding out who she was and what she wanted to do with her life. I loved Alex because her personality resonated with me...and because at 26 she's turned her life upside down and hauled her ass across the pond! Her humor and wit is amazing and I found myself unable to put this book down...laughing out loud so many times. I love the development of the friendship with Alex and two other dormmates...so many times I have sat around with my girls and bs'ed like that. I LOVED this book because it wasn't about finding love like other chick lit stories...it was about finding herself. And that is what made this book so incredibly satisfying. Oh, and the funny drunken happenings are pretty hilarious too!! :)

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Taking a Chance, December 5, 2004

By 

KatyaW - See all my reviews

This review is from: English as a Second Language (Paperback)

English as a Second Language is the perfect example of how a young person's life can change if they take a chance. The story focuses on Alex Brennan, a 26-year-old New York girl, who is sick of her dead-end job. This all changes when she decides to apply for a Master's degree program in England, mainly to prove to an ex-boyfriend that she can do it. When she is accepted, she realizes that this is her chance to get out of the rut she is stuck in and find her place in life.
The novel is a light read filled with witty and hilarious dialogue. Since the author, Megan Crane, spent five years in Britain studying at a university, her experiences portray British life and the challenges and stresses of being a student in a foreign country. "The day outside was rainy and cold. Welcome to England I thought. I was still exhausted and stranded in a foreign country, away from everyone I had ever known."(Pg3) The novel's British phrases and diverse characters keep the reader laughing out loud as well as intrigued.
Life can be confusing in your twenties and many people can relate to this. I loved this book because I could identify with Alex. We are both struggling to find our place in life and I have always wanted to study in England. Alex's journey is difficult. "But I didn't know where I wanted to go, or what I wanted to do when I got there. I had dreams, but they were vague things with no real substance. My whole life was fill-in-the-blank."(Pg8) Never the less she learned that when she took a chance, her life did change and she found a place where she belonged. "I shoved my hands into my pockets and watched them-the fools and the drunks that God was supposed to watch over with special interest, the ones I knew so well in so many surprising ways. I was one of them, I thought, and grinned."(Pg277)
English as a Second Language is perfect for anyone in their twenties confused about where they belong in life. It is also a good book for those who are thinking about studying abroad. When looking for something new and exciting in life, or a change of routine, I recommend reading this book. With the realistic characters and the great sense of humor this book provides, you'll never want to put it down.