Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

I have read a few of the other reviews about this book not being a real life-changing book about this family's time in France. It does not aim to be such a book, only meant to be a light-hearted look at living in a foreign land and trying your best to live well. I spent three years living in Northern Europe and, as an American, when you first arrive in Europe, the shock of everything being sooo different is enough to contend with, much less trying to integrate immediately. Rebecca's account of going to the doctor and having him examine the patient with no nurse, no gown, and no separate exam room was the exact experience I had, and I found myself laughing out loud and nodding my head as I was reading, completely relating to what she described. Going to the supermarket and using your dictionary to figure out what animal your meat is from? Having the natives stare at you in public because they hear you speaking english? All accurate things that happen. If you REALLY want to know what the day-to-day living is like for an American in Europe, then this book is a pretty good representation.

Imagine your husband taking a job transfer from dependable Greer, South Carolina to LeBelle, France. Now imagine taking your three young children, your English to French dictionary and your cat. The adventure only begins when you get there, meet your neighbors, learn the customs but you know you are home when September 11th strikes and your new French neighbors are there for you. And just when you think you are truly French, you find out you have so much more to learn. This is Rebecca's true adventure complete with quirky characters and laugh out loud moments. And don't forget Madame Mallet a grandma character that will rival anything Janet Evanovich can throw at you. There is a sequel being written that will encompass their first year back in the states, can't wait to read it.

"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!

Most families of five-plus-cat (and including a baby) wouldn't find themselves moving from the deep south of the US of A to France for four years. Most stay-home moms probably wouldn't find themselves navigating a new continent after just one week while hubby is off on a business trip. And surely hardly anyone would have the chops to write about it all and get a book deal.

But Becky Ramsey isn't just anyone. She's an amazing writer, clearly an intelligent human being with a self-deprecating sense of humor, a full-time mom, a regular blogger, and a good-natured observer of the world and its peoples, even when they are a little too close for comfort in her own tres francaise front yard. Becky is also one of my blog friends (disclaimer here about the good review to follow), and I was thrilled when she asked me to review her book for Vintage Indie and sent me an autographed copy.

Free copy aside, I promised her and myself that I'd be as brutally honest in my review as she was in describing how it felt when her overbearing French neighbor of four years pointed out that Becky was getting a little "poochy" in the tummy. I'm not sure of the French word for poochy! But apparently horror with an extra pound or two is a universal problem that knows no language barrier.

This is just a darling story, a darling book. Let me say that from the beginning. Whether you choose it because of a love of France, a curiosity about international living or travel, an interest in first-time books, or for the charming memoir or even the charming cover, you can't help but enjoy it.

I was aghast at a couple of the reviews on Amazon, by readers who apparently take things much too seriously. Although the Ramseys were relocated from Greer, South Carolina to Clermont-Ferrand, France for four years for her husband's job with Michelin, the book is hardly intended to be either a Michelin travel guide or a handbook for displaced families.

It's just a charming memoir, people. Lighten up! What I enjoyed most about the book is that because of some of the unbelievable hazards of the language barrier, customs that don't translate `across the pond,' and the concept of a `nosey neighbor' which translates all too well, the story reads like it could have been written by Everywoman, or Everymom. I could totally picture myself in Rebecca's "clunky black clogs" among the tres chic soccer moms at the French schoolyard.

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It also reads like great fiction, a great comedy or farce, a play, and I kept having to remind myself to stop looking for a plot or a resolution and to remind myself this was not only non-fiction, but written by someone with a face and a name. Someone I know! That made it extra fun.

But even if you are not familiar with the Ramsey family or the `Wonders' blog, you'll be able to empathize with the language and custom gaffes that follow shipping your belongings (cat and piano included) `cross country or halfway around the world to settle into a rental house.

Moms can relate to settling two kids into elementary school along with a baby in a stroller, never mind the haughty French teachers, haughty French moms and the food and language barriers she and her kids must navigate.

There were plenty of heart-tugging moments in the book, and again, I had to remind myself: THIS ISN'T FICTION! It is written that well. It sucks you in, and with Rebecca's friendly, cozy style and excellent imagery you are easily transported into her world across the way.

As a daydreamer who lusts after Paris, I welcomed the less-than-romantic, yet realistic view of France. It was good to read a book set there that did not include eating crusty bread at outdoor cafes while admiring handsome strangers. Once again, the power of this non-fiction work is the fact that it is non-fiction, yet it is delivered in such a charming (there's a French sentiment), folksy way.

Call it what you will: memoir, travel guide, diary, essay, travelogue. French By Heart is for me a novel, un-novel novel. I'm thrilled for anyone who can get published, and this time I am thrilled to not only count the author as a friend but also thrilled to recommend this book to anyone.

Fast moving memoir about a young family from Greer, South Carolina moving to France as her husband has a job transfer with Michelin. Rebecca Ramsey writes short, descriptive chapters about her family of five's stay in another country that lasted four years and how it felt to 'fit in'. I found it most interesting how the cultures were different yet similar and how life ebbs and flows with this mother of three. I was sad when they left and would love to know that she keeps in touch with her nosy neighbor!