When in French: Love in a Second Language
A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
DOES ‘I LOVE YOU’ EVEN MEAN THE SAME THING AS ‘JE T’AIME’?
When Lauren Collins met a Frenchman at a party one night in London, she had no idea that she would one day wake up to find herself married to him, living in Geneva.
Feeling almost voiceless in French-speaking Switzerland, Lauren was no longer able to order a salad, let alone talk to her husband’s parents. But a language barrier was no match for love…
A smart, funny and thoughtful look at how language shapes our lives, When in French shows what happens when two languages, and two very different cultures, collide.
”'I love Lauren Collins’s writing: as sparkling as Champagne and as nourishing as the most perfect French meal” - Hadley Freeman
”'Lauren Collins understands everything about language, love, time and place.This is a brilliant book” - India Knight
”'I devoured Lauren Collins’s sharp, funny tale of bilingual romance and learning to speak French. Part acerbic love letter to that language and part meditation on language itself, When in French is so charming it made me want to learn French too” - Adelle Waldman, author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.
”'Nobody is more observant of fine details, or more curious about the big picture … Collins makes the world seem like a bigger, more effervescent, more intoxicating place” - Elif Batuman, author of The Possessed
”'When in French is a celebration both of the weird and compendious ingenuity of language, and of the value of maintaining a spirit of linguistic and emotional inquiry” - Observer
”'A thoughtful, beautifully written meditation on the art of language and intimacy” - New York Times
‘I would recommend Lauren Collins’ lovely memoir to anyone who has ever tried and failed to learn French…a highly engaging primer on language…and a touching and funny love story’ Guardian -
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