Words in a French Life: Lessons in Love and Language from the South of France (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780743287296)

Imagine a former French major getting vocabulary tips from her young children! That was the experience of Kristin Espinasse, an American who fell in love with a Frenchman and moved to his country to marry him and start a family. When her children began speaking the language, she found herself falling in love with it all over again. To relate the stories of her sometimes bumpy, often comic, and always poignant assimilation, she created a blog called "French Word a Day," drawing more admirers than she ever could have imagined.

With an approach that is as charming as it is practical, Espinasse shares her story through the everyday French words and phrases that never seem to make it to American classrooms. "Comptoir" ("counter") is a piece about the intricacies of grocery shopping in France, and "Linge" ("laundry") swoons over the wonderful scent the laundry has after being hung out in the French countryside while "Toquade" ("crush") tells of Espinasse's young son, who begins piling gel onto his hair before school each morning when he becomes smitten with a girl in class.

Steeped in French culture but experienced through American eyes, Words in a French Life will delight armchair travelers, Francophiles, and mothers everywhere.

Author: Kristin Espinasse
ISBN-10: 0743287290
ISBN-13: 9780743287296
Publisher: Touchstone Books
Language: English
Published: 05/01/2007
Pages: 304
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.54lbs
Size: 7.50h x 5.95w x 0.78d