Friday, May 15, 2009

Book Review: Foreign Tongue-A Novel of Life & Love in Paris

Author:       Vanina Marsot

Publisher:    Harper Collins

ISBN:          978-0-06-167366-5

Website:      Click HERE

Type:         Fiction

Pages:        365 Trade Paperback

Purchase:    $10.97 @ Amazon.com (HERE)

The Story

“Paris, the storybook capital of romance—of strolls down cobblestone streets and kisses by the Seine—may not be the ideal location to mend a wounded heart. But pragmatic professional writer Anna, who has been unlucky in love in L.A., has come here with keys to her aunt’s empty apartment. Bilingual and blessed with dual citizenship, she seeks solace in the delectable pastries, in the company of old friends, and in her exciting new job: translating a mysterious, erotic French novel by an anonymous author. ”

Intrigued by the story, and drawn in by the mystery behind the book, Anna soon finds herself among the city’s literati—and in the arms of an alluring Parisian—as she resolves to explore who she is . . . in both cultures.”

(Above excerpt is from the back cover of Foreign Tongue)

The Review

One of my favorite lines in the book is:

“Heartbreak in French is chagrin d’amour.  It means a disappointment in love, and it’s like food poisoning: everyone knows what it is and sympathizes.  it’s probably covered under the state’s socialized medicine umbrella.”

This story is one of Anna, whose heartbreak swept her away to her second home/nation, France.  Anna is running away from a man who broke her heart by cheating on her with another woman.  In Paris, she finds an interim job in translating an erotic book from French to English.  She hooks up with old friends and works on mending her broken heart.  And, what’s the best fix for that?  A new man!  And, that’s precisely what Anna ends up with… Olivier.  However, soon enough, Olivier lets her down just as her ex-boyfriend Timothy had.  From that place of even deeper pain, Anna must rebirth herself as would Phoenix from the flames.

There were many ways that I could relate to Anna in this novel.  At one point in the story, Anna states:

“… I watched the light from the flames play on his profile, and thought about how much I liked him.  If I put aside my neurotic tendency to overthink every situation, things would be fine.  I had to tell him.  Right away.” 

Being an overly neurotic thinker, myself, I could relate with Anna and how she dealt with rebuilding the pieces of heart and mind.  

This book is filled with French text.  I was one of those who chose Spanish rather than French in high school.  Therefore, I have absolutely NO familiarity with the language.  Therefore, the French verbiage in the story lost me unless Marsot explained them in English immediately thereafter.  In over 1/2 of the cases, she did.  However, there is another 1/2 that I simply did not understand.  I did, however, enjoy the descriptions of Paris, France and its wonderful food and delicacies. 

The ending of the book was not what I had hoped for.  There was a neat little twist in the ending, however for a good portion of the book I had already figured out the majority of the ending… so it wasn’t a big surprise.  However, I wanted something more after the book ended.  I’m not sure what… because Marsot did tie up “loose ends” with the characters.  It’s just the way that I think I felt when the book was over.  I was sad and I just wanted to see Anna in a different light.  I didn’t.

I wanted to share one more line in the book that I really liked.  It’s at the end of the story and Anna is visiting a “medicine man”/psychic to help her with her nightmares:

“Sometimes the world is too much to bear,” he said.  “This pain, it can take up residence in the hidden part of your mind, your dreams.”

No kidding!  My dreams hold me captive more than I’d like to admit!

On Sher’s “Out of Ten Scale:”

I did like this book, however I didn’t love it.  There are many parts of it that are written so beautifully.  In addition, there are some racy sections and some humorous ones.  The book did elicit feelings from me and I was definitely attached to the story.  For the genre:Fiction, I shall rate this read an 8 OUT OF 10. 

My heartfelt thanks to Lisa for letting me borrow this book. 

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