Customer Reviews

I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do): Living in a Small Village in Brittany

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Foolishly, I thought I would read a chapter to see what this book was like, only to find myself sliding through the first half dozen chapters unable to stop, laughing aloud, as if caught in a Chaplinesque journey of an Everyman in France, a Twain's Innocent Abroad in Brittany.
To read this book is to become for a few delightful hours one's own Jacques Tati as one bumbles through a personal "Mr Hulot's Holiday" trying to fit in in France. To give this book is to give the gift of an interlude of a few hour's delight marked by laughter.
The writing itself is seamless and transparent; the reading, a pleasure trip; the main flaw, an ending that arrives too soon.

This is the funniest book in recent memory. I burst out laughing while reading in a restaurant, and after I got home, I continued reading, and laughed till my sides ached (the chapter about the insurance agent). But people shouldn't go immediately to that chapter; it is necessary (as they say in France) that one reads the earlier chapters first to set the scene and build up to it to get the full effect. I was sorry when the book ended, but it's such a gem that probably going on further would've detracted from the overall effect.
The one point the author overlooked is in considering the people of the village French - don't ever forget that Brittany is CELTIC. I'm kind of curious as to how the author would make out in Paris. . .

Taking a Bill Bryson approach, Greenside describes his culture shock at buying a house and living in a small town in France. While his lack of speaking French and unfamiliarity with French culture provide some of his disjointedness, much of it seems to come from two more common sources that having nothing to do with France 1) small town life and 2) home ownership. Most of the cultural problems he encounters are due mainly to his lack of speaking the language rather than from true cultural diffrences. The few cultural diffrences he does highlight are the best parts of the book. I wish he had explored these true diffrences more. One further annoyance, in the last few chapters he uses a lot of French dialogue without translation, leaving the reader baffled as to what the point of those converations was. An OK read, but not as culturally enlightening as I thought it might be.

A laugh out loud read about the trials and tribulations of a very American man finding his way in a small French village. If you've ever spent time in any small French village, you will recognize the characters and remember, as Greenside does, with fondness, the people, the place, the whole experience of being an American abroad.

Trying to set any bias aside (my friend here in NY is the author's niece) I was happily suprised by the humorous writings of her uncle who I swear I have never met (although I was once called on my friend's cell thinking she was calling her uncle of the same name, but I digress) but would like to one day. The book is a fun tale of a true life visit to France becoming a lifelong adventure. The descriptions of incidents are at times hilarious and I only can imagine there were many other events that could have, and should have, been included. It also gave me a new look on the "true" French and the kindness of their ways (except if you're British). As I was told this was a "good read" it truly turned out to be just that. Wonderful and a must read for anyone considering moving to the quieter regions of France. (Similar in style to "Desiring Paradise" by Schlesinger on the trials and joy of moving to St. John, VI). My only tiny problem, as the author's experience progresses so does his occasional use of French quotes increase without translation which lost me for one or two lines here and there.

Author Mark Greenside has written a delightful and insightful description of his experiences living in a small French village. Greenside's portrayals of his French neighbors belie the usual stereotypes and will make even those who dislike the French also want to go live in Brittany. Greenside's ability to make the reader laugh out loud (but always at himself, never at the expense of others) coupled with his open heart provides a very good reason to gift this little gem to any friend for any reason.

Finally a book that really explains how it is to live in France and with the French. Greenside is very witty and so perceptive at times that I laughed out loud and had to then read those parts to my husband. We are Americans who divide our time between life in a tiny village in lower Normandy (quite close to Brittany if you don't know the area) and also equally in a central Paris apartment. Because we live in extremely different cultural situations here between sophisticated big city and country village it makes us even more aware of the way people react. We are always astonished at the critical things said about the French because we cannot find a single instance of anything but helpfulness and politeness with all we come into contact with, and we have lived here for 10 years. We have had many of the very same things happen to us as Greenside so not only is the book is absolutely true to life, but it is funny and heartwarming as well. Great combination and I hated to see the book end. Has anyone written a book like this about Paris and Parisians yet? Please do.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I LIKE THIS MAN. His humor is understated and takes you by surprise many times. He paints vivid word pictures that stick in your mind days, weeks, months after you read them. If I had a tour guide for my trip to France, I would select this man.

I must confess that I do not read a lot of travel books, but I was impressed with I'll Never be French (no matter what I do): Living in a Small Village in Brittany. Despite the lengthy title, the book is actually a rather brief literary romance between a man and his coastal French town. Against Greenside's best efforts, he and a girlfriend plan a vacation to France. The relationship doesn't last, but Greenside's growing affection for Brittany and the populace does. In the rashest move of his forty some years, Greenside is coerced into the purchase of a house. Comical miscommunications, anxiety, and miraculous good fortune ensue.

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was the total debunking of the myth that the French hate Americans. Total. Debunking. Instead the charming and ridiculously polite strangers, neighbors and friends that Greenside meets, go above and beyond to help him out. They come across as near saints because it turns out that Greenside needs a lot of help. Self styled throughout the book as an incompetent, he spends a few chapters of the book in dirty ripped pants, repeatedly falling out of his window and buying things he has no way of paying for. Greenside effectively bumbles his way through life in France reconciling his bi-continental lifestyles. He compares himself to a three year old an apt description that endears himself to the reader and French alike.

It's worth noting that Greenside speaks and understands very little French. And his way of communicating such frustration with the reader, is to include a lot of French dialogue that he doesn't translate. So unless you have a working knowledge of French, Greenside leaves you as lost in the conversation as he was. While it is an effective technique and does incorporate the reader, it can also be irritating to traverse.

Injected with humor, I'll Never be French, transports with its descriptions. For those of us who will never make it Brittany, or who have been and are interested in Greenside's take, it is a delightful arm chair travel experience. Diane Johnson of L'Affaire, Le Mariage and Le Divorce fame calls it, "one of the nicest of the trillions of books about France." And I'd agree with that.

Ah! I've been dreaming of reading a moving-and-starting-over book for ages and, at last, one arrives.

I liked this book, too. Greenside has just the right mix of enchantment and perplexity with the French that makes for a lovely story. Greenside comes to France with a girlfriend but the trip is not a happy one for the couple; they break up and everyone looks set to go home. Yet something about the village in Brittany makes him fall in love with the place and, before he knows it, he has borrowed money from his mother and bought a disaster of a home in France.

A few annoyances: Greenside is almost fifty, mind you, and he has to borrow money from his mother to buy his first house. Gracious. And, second, a note to Mr. Greenside: Athough we may long to go live in France, be aware that we nevertheless do not all speak French. Occasional translations and assistance from context clues would be helpful to intermingle with long conversations in French.