French By Heart: An American Family's Adventures in La Belle France [Paperback]

Rebecca S. Ramsey (Author)

Book Description

Release date: April 24, 2007

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 of France dotted with crumbling castles and sunflower fields. The Ramseys are not jet-setters; they’re a regular family with big-hearted and rambunctious kids. Quickly their lives go from covered-dish suppers to smoky dinner parties with heated polemics, from being surrounded by Southern hospitality to receiving funny looks if the children play in the yard without shoes.

A charming tale with world-class characters, French By Heart reads like letters from your funniest friend. More than just a slice of life in France, it’s a heartwarming account of a family coming of age and learning what “home sweet home” really means.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

First-time author Ramsey adopts a sweet but never cloying tone to tell the charming story of her family's four-year stint in Clermont-Ferrand, France. Ramsey, a young mother of three whose husband's company relocates them to France, recounts what it feels like to sell the family home in South Carolina, say good-bye to everyone you know and move overseas. Rather than tell the story chronologically, Ramsey links the narrative to everyday events recalling the pitfalls and petite triumphs inherent in each encounter. Moreover, because the family's command of French is minimal, routine tasks often become embarrassing lessons. Ultimately, Ramsey and her family embrace their adopted country's language and customs. Entering a bookstore, she finds herself surrounded by graceful young women in high heels, short skirts and stylish leather blazers, while she is "standing there in my big red field jacket and clunky black clogs… like a frumpy giant." Ramsey acknowledges telling "the whole truth, even when it makes me look ridiculous"—and this results in an endearing memoir. (Apr.)
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From Booklist

This account of contemporary life among the French eschews the glamour of Paris and Provence for one of France's more prosaic quarters. The Ramsey family abandons the comforts of Greer, South Carolina, to pursue a job opportunity in Clermont-Ferrand, a grimy industrial city in France's Massif Central known chiefly for the headquarters of the Michelin Tire Company. The Ramseys transport their household to France, including their small children, a cat, and even a piano. With her husband ensconced at his office, Ramsey must cope with everyday life's challenges. Struggling with an unfamiliar tongue and with quick-to-judge Auvergnats, Ramsey consistently embarrasses herself with malaprops. Even a simple visit to the local bank frustrates as she struggles with a mystifying, intimidating security system. Incorrigibly American, Ramsey appreciates the tiny neighborhood shops beloved by both natives and tourists, but she nevertheless finds herself irresistibly drawn to the local American-inspired supermarket with its one-stop efficiency. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Broadway Books (April 24, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 076792522X
• ISBN-13: 978-0767925228
• Product Dimensions: 0.7 x 5.2 x 7.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #331,721 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny, Heartwarming Memoir about France April 24, 2007

By Alison

Format:Paperback

French By Heart is all that a travel memoir should be. Not only does it transport you to France, but it's funny, charming, and reads like a good novel. You won't be able to put it down!

This book follows the true story of the Ramsey family, who move from the deep South to the heart of France when the husband is transferred there for work. They even bring their piano and their aging cat!

And as you watch them acclimate, you fall in love with the Ramsey family, their quixotic French neighbors, and life in la belle France.

If you love travel memoirs or books about France, this is next up on your reading list. It's the best travel memoir I've read in a very long time.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brought Back Memories! April 27, 2007

By J. Kittel

Format:Paperback

I could not put this book down! I am a fellow Michelin wife who has also lived in France. I do not know Rebecca Ramsey; but I really enjoyed this book. It brought back a lot of memories.

Whether you have lived in France or not this is one of those books where it is enjoyable to read about someone's experiences living in a foreign country, especially with small children. I'm always trying to find books about expats in different countries, but this one hit closest to home. I'm happy to see a Michelin wife has written about her life in France. Good for you Rebecca Ramsey!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Sweet, but a little unsubstantial April 9, 2010

By E. Lacey

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

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 by the nudity on TV), but the heart of this story lies closer to home. The Ramseys rent a house next to a nosy retiree, the ever-present Madame Mallet. Soon, Madame Mallet is spying on them, engaging them in conversation every time they step out their front door and handing out helpful tips on everything from child rearing to gardening. Laughter and tears follow.

While this book doesn't offer the kind of soul-searching narrative found in other books of its kind (the magnificent "Paris to the Moon" comes to mind), it offers up sweet and charming anecdotes that string together nicely. The reader doesn't get a real sense of how France changed the Ramseys, or challenged any of their preconceived ideas about quality of life. However, the author does manage to convey her great love for the little things- a particular furniture shop, a French circus poster, and above all, her quirky neighbors. In the end, it is the friendship with Madame Mallet that forms the heart of this book and leaves the reader feeling emotional at its conclusion. This is a worthwhile read, but not the best of this genre.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Book For Summer Reading June 23, 2007

By William Sieredzki

Format:Paperback

In France, one would call this a very good "summer" book - light and lots of good stories. The text is lively and it is easy to picture the people and the events. For example, the first day of school where the teachers call the students and march them into the school, or the search for the circus poster where I can imagine the French driver stares as Becky tries to pull a poster from a pole. The stories are told clearly from a love of France - they make fun of French people, but in a nice way. Americans are not left out, as Becky correctly points out "You can always tell an American by white tennis shoes."

If you are an American who plans on living in France for a few years this book is a must read - these are some of the surprises in store for you. If you have ties to France, you will laugh along as Becky relates her tales that you should easily relate to. And if you are neither, the book will be a fun introduction into French culture.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A quick summer read August 23, 2007

By Dizziey

Format:Paperback

In "French By Heart: An American Family's Adventures in La Belle France" Rebecca Ramsey chronicled her adventure living in France for four years after her husband, Todd was relocated due to work. The couple sold their house in Greer, South Carolina and together with their three children and cat, they were eager for their new home in France. Most of the book focused on Rebecca's attempt to learn French, absorb the culture, and basically adjust to living in France. In addition, her children were unfamiliar with the language and it took a lot of adjusment for them to study at a French school. The family lived across from Madame Mallet, an old French lady who took it upon herself to educate Rebecca and her family on proper French manners.

This was an average read for me. The author focused a lot on her conversations and irritation with Madame Mallet and even though it was somewhat interesting at the beginning of the book, it was a little dull for towards the end. If you are looking for travelogue type read, "French by Heart" would not be the right choice as the author spent little time writing on her travels. Instead, the book dealt primarily with the family adjusting to living in a foreign country.

14 of 20 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars promising approach but falls short October 25, 2007

By mikemac9

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

"French By Heart" falls into a less crowded genre of travel books. Two overworked themes are "My Summer House Overseas -- Troubles Making It Liveable", and "Moving Abroad After Marrying A Foreigner -- Adjusting To A Strange Place". This book falls into the category of those spending a few years abroad, and while remaining fundamentally American want to make the most of their experience. There are a few other books in this genre I've read and preferred to this book; I'll mention them at the end of the review.

"French By Heart" starts off very promising. The family is moving to France for the husband's job at Michelin, and they've decided for the full immersion experience. Unlike many ex-pats who cluster together and try make France disappear, Rebecca Ramsey and her husband deliberately decide on a small village with no other Americans. The writing at this point is bright and witty. In fact her young son Ben gets off some of the most amusing lines of the book as he reacts to the news the family is going to France.

The disappointing thing to me is that the book went downhill from there. As with many neophyte writers, Ramsey puts too many adjectives in her sentences as she tries to convey to the reader the wonder around her. It's the verbal equivalent of Baroque art, a little over the top and just as difficult to comprehend. One appreciates skillful writers after encountering writing like this, realizing in retrospect what a delight it is to read someone who captures the experience with a few deftly chosen words instead of sentences so jammed with descriptives they are difficult to read.

Not only was the writing style disappointing, so too the content. A little village in France, someone dying to take part in it.... As she writes, "Could we be French too, just for a little while?" The reader might be forgiven for assuming at this point that Ramsey intends to adopt the values, mores, and habits of those in her rural village. Well, she doesn't. I'm not sure after reading the book what it is that Ramsey loves about France. It's not the small shops and village life, since Ramsey shops at the local supermarket and has hardly a mention of local festivals and events. Aren't small villages supposed to be filled with them? The bulk of the book details her interactions with the elderly misanthrope who lives next-door, a lady who criticizes everything about Ramsey and her family. One or two chapters was enough to get the point across.

Missing from the book is much of what I hoped to find in the story of an American family endeavoring to adapt to life in France. We learn little of the school except parents aren't welcome to visit and of a field trip Ramsey helps chaperone. What were her kids learning, how did it differ from the States, how did they get along with the other native kids? Nary a word, just chapter upon chapter about the miserable lady next door. And even though this is her story and not her husbands, what of his job? Surely after 4 years she has some stories to relate how working life is different in France than here. Missing too are stories to bring the small village to life, of the small shops, churches, parks, buildings, and people that presumably led the family to choose to live in a small village.

Interesting to me was how someone can be face-to-face with something, even relate stories about it, and yet fail to see it. Ramsey professes to want to adapt French ways and take part in French culture, yet she somehow fails to see that her children are not making the cut. Several times she reports being chided by the French for the way her children behave. She reports how well-mannered the French children she meets are. Yet the thought never seems to strike her that perhaps childhood behavior is under parental control and not the result of French genes or some vaccination.

My guess is that this work is a diary turned into a book. Keeping a diary isn't a bad thing, its just that it tends to focus on the day-to-day events and not the bigger picture. The day to day events in Ms. Ramsey's life were her run-ins with the crabby neighbor, and I think Ms. Ramsey never stepped back from her diary to reflect on the overall experience when she was turning it into a book. So the book is filled with those day-to-day experiences rather than the story of a family in France. I'd also guess she started the diary when she moved to France, because the best writing of the book by far are the earlier chapters where she's probably reconstructing the decision to move from memory rather than from the pages of a diary.

In the end I'd say this is a decent book. Not unreadable by any means, but not the first one I'd reach for if I wanted to give someone who likes France a good book to read. For expat stories, let me recommend two other titles. These 2 books are by professional writers, and while it is no disrespect to Ramsey since this is her first book, the difference shows. "Paris to the Moon" by Gopnik is a delightful story of a family spending a few years in Paris that really brings the experience alive. "From Here, You Can't See Paris" by Sanders is what this book wants to be; the author spends a year in a French village and captures the local people and town in a way Ramsey's book simply can't. And Sanders immerses himself in the rural life; no supermarkets for him! Read more ›