When in French: Love in a Second Language - Hardcover

Collins, Lauren

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0008100594 ISBN 13: 9780008100599

Publisher: Fourth Estate, 2016

Synopsis

A NEW YORK TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

‘Talking to you in English’, he said, ‘is like touching you with gloves.’

A language barrier is no match for love. New Yorker journalist Lauren Collins discovers this first-hand when, in her early thirties, she moves to London and falls for Olivier, a Frenchman. As their relationship begins to grow, Lauren senses that there are things she doesn’t understand about Olivier, having never spoken to him in his mother tongue. (Does ‘I love you’ even mean the same thing as ‘je t’aime’?) And when they move to French-speaking Geneva, Lauren suddenly finds herself no longer able to talk to the local handymen or shop owners, let alone her husband’s parents.

Fearful of one day finding herself unable to communicate with her own children, Lauren decides to learn French. Along the way, she faces a series of challenges, from awkward role-playing games at her Swiss language school, to accidentally telling her mother-in-law that she’s given birth to a coffee machine. But there are also unexpected pleasures: the delights of learning French words that have no English equivalent and the joys of winning her first argument against Olivier in his native tongue.

A funny, thoughtful memoir, When in French considers how language shapes our lives, from how we think, to how we fall in love, and what happens when two languages, and two very different cultures, collide.

About this title

Review:

‘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

About the Author:

Lauren Collins began working at the New Yorker in 2003 and became a staff writer in 2008. Since 2010, she has been based in Europe, covering stories from London, Paris, Copenhagen, and beyond.

About this edition

• Publisher: Fourth Estate
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0008100594
• ISBN 13: 9780008100599
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256