Book Discuss

Australian journalist Sarah is spending a year or so in Europe working and traveling, when she meets Parisian Frederic in Budapest. What starts out as a short visit ends up being a complete change of life as she moves in with Frederic and struggles to start a new life. In Almost French, Sarah looks at her expat life and the struggles she went through to start a new job, find friends and fit in with the Parisian lifestyle. Much of it she loved, but there were many things she struggled with. She had a hard time understanding why she couldn’t make friends with the women, except other expats, and it turns out French women are always looking at the other women as competition. The French are very big on the appearance of everything, the beauty, that’s why they always dress and are never seen in jogging pants or torn, dirty clothes. Sarah talks about the crazy bureaucracy but also the joy the French take in circumventing it. Sarah writes in great detail her experiences of starting a new life and all the things she’s got to learn, what she changes, what she doesn’t, the compromises with Frederic, the frustrations and the fun times. I enjoyed reading about her experiences but became frustrated with the strictness and attitude of the French and was hoping Sarah would give it all up for the easy times of Australia, but she doesn’t, she stays and marries Frederic.