Foreign Tongue: A Novel of Life and Love in Paris [Paperback]

Vanina Marsot (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 14, 2009

Paris, the storybook capital of romance—of strolls down cobblestone streets and kisses by the Seine—may not be the ideal location to mend a wounded heart. But pragmatic professional writer Anna, who has been unlucky in love in L.A., has come here with keys to her aunt's empty apartment. Bilingual and blessed with dual citizenship, she seeks solace in the delectable pastries, in the company of old friends, and in her exciting new job: translating a mysterious, erotic French novel by an anonymous author.

Intrigued by the story, and drawn in by the mystery behind the book, Anna soon finds herself among the city's literati—and in the arms of an alluring Parisian—as she resolves to explore who she is . . . in both cultures.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Few streets have been more hungrily plumbed for romance than those of Paris, and Marsot's debut is no exception. Fluent in English and French, Anna leaves Los Angeles for Paris after breaking up with her boyfriend. She devotes her time to translating an erotic French novel into English and, at times, Anna's voice mirrors the tedium she ascribes to the task. Her frequent expositions on the nature of translation become miniature lessons on idiom, nuance and linguistics, ironically delivered with greater passion than the erotic scenes themselves, which fall flat. Though the plot generates a series of questions—will Anna end up with actor Olivier? will she keep her job despite her disgruntled editor? whose work is she translating?—Marsot is more interested in Anna's inner tumult. Despite Anna and Olivier's somewhat textbook love affair, the increasingly complex relationship between Anna and elderly bachelor Bunny helps shore up the novel. The stunning descriptions of Parisian food and social life will certainly satisfy Francophiles. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

Anna, a copywriter for an entertainment public relations firm, leaves her life in Los Angeles behind after discovering that her boyfriend has been having an affair. A citizen of the United States and France, she decides to fly to Paris to recover from the shock of his infidelity. Anna eventually secures work translating an erotic French novel by an anonymous author and finds herself once again falling in love, this time with an attractive French director. All the while, however, she becomes increasingly intent on discovering the author’s identity and exploring the linguistic intersection between French and English. Through her search, Anna finally comes to terms with her French and American backgrounds and her heartbreak. A final plot twist is sure to surprise readers. --Katherine Boyle

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial; 1 Original edition (April 14, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061673668
• ISBN-13: 978-0061673665
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #420,496 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Cairo to a French father and an Egyptian mother, Vanina Marsot was raised in Cairo, Paris, and Los Angeles. Bilingual in English and French, she grew up in an academic household that instilled in her a keen passion for travel. After completing her undergraduate degree at Swarthmore, she moved to Paris, where she worked at Jean-Paul Gaultier, managed and taught courses at a photography school, and taught English to business executives. Eventually she returned to Los Angeles, where she worked at Paramount Pictures. While toiling in the Hollywood vortex, she began to write fiction. She left Paramount to obtain an MFA from Bennington College, completing a collection of short stories. While spending time in Paris researching her first novel, Foreign Tongue, she began translating French feature films and TV shows into English. She now writes and translates full-time and lives in Los Angeles and Paris.
Find her online at: www.vaninamarsot.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A multi-layered mille-feuilles of a book!, April 23, 2009

By 

Paris Silton - See all my reviews

This review is from: Foreign Tongue: A Novel of Life and Love in Paris (Paperback)

"Foreign Tongue" is the story of a young woman, Anna, who has both American and French citizenship. She has left California for Paris to nurse a broken heart. While there, she finds work translating an erotic novel, which ushers her into literary circles and possibly, the arms of a new lover. It may sound lighthearted, but as its layers unfold, it becomes a chiaroscuro of suspense, passion, intellect and rich imagery.

READ THIS BOOK!! It's so good that I had to force myself to STOP reading it because then it would be over! I've sent copies to several friends so we can talk (and talk and talk) about it.

Vanina Marsot, the author, is fearless. She is willing to lay herself open, to allow herself to be exposed, as the best of actors do. At the same time, she is brilliant and worldly. This combination makes the book at once raw and sophisticated.

It's truly a perfect book, satisfying one fully in mind, soul, heart and libido in the way that Thai spices are meant to touch all the taste buds. The discussions on language link the two cultures together, yet show their fascinating differences, providing food for the mind. The soul is in the friendships, the characters and how Anna goes deep to find connection, clarity and meaning. The heart is engaged by the love that Anna has for her friends, her lovers, her city; for words and language and for the cultural duality inside of her. She is both part of the two cultures, yet apart, and her aloneness tugs at one's heart. Then there's the libido! She surrenders herself again to love with such joy. Her Parisian lover is described so sensuously that you can actually breathe in his smell. There's a wonderful contrast between the luscious descriptions of sex and love and the almost clinical musings on the meanings and sounds of sexual terms and how they must be translated.

The writing floored me. I had to tag some of the descriptions. Like the French confections that Anna delights in, the descriptions of which made me salivate, I need to return for another taste! Here's one: "My thoughts went to Timothy, the way a tongue searches out a painful tooth, stupidly and relentlessly." Another describes how the chairs in a picture window are "lit like a Hurrell model". In another, Marsot notes how the afternoon light casts "spindly Giacometti shadows behind the pedestrians." That's probably my favorite. Marsot somehow achieves a literary voice that is both economic and rich.

It MUST become a movie because it is begging to live visually. The food, the places, the clothing that the characters wear -- it is all so vibrant. Like New York is for "Sex and the City", Paris is a main character for "Foreign Tongue". Yet in "Foreign Tongue", it is even more so, because Paris is humanized, made accessible. SATC did that in the early years, back when the clothes came from boutiques. When the designer labels started popping out all over, it lost some of that, some of its vulnerability.

The characters are perfectly drawn. They are unique, piquing our interest, yet recognizable, so you want to move in closer.

Enjoy this multi-layered mille-feuilles of a book!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Almost as good as a trip to Paris, May 2, 2009

By 

Fred Coleman (Paris, France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Foreign Tongue: A Novel of Life and Love in Paris (Paperback)

As a former Paris bureau chief for Newsweek who never left the place
it was a great pleasure for me to read a book that gets it just right on the French, their language, their culture and lifestyle, their charm and their foibles and how all that plays with American counterparts. Vanina
Marsot has written an insightful and funny book. She knows Paris inside out. If you read one book on France this year, read this one.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Paris Escape, May 13, 2009

By 

Virginia Woolf (Los Angeles, California) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Foreign Tongue: A Novel of Life and Love in Paris (Paperback)

A provocative romp! An unexpected trip to Paris! Meeting interesting new people and remembering what single love felt like. Reading Foreign Tongue was all of this and more for me - a septuagenarian. And then the chance to enjoy the nuances of the language I used to speak and know so well. It was plainly and simply a great surprise.
The book was also full of intrigue and interesting insights and metaphors, interweaving two stories very skillfully. I really didn't want it to end.[ASIN:0061673668 Foreign Tongue:A Novel of Life and Love in Paris]