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French Toast : synopsis
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French Toast, An American in Paris Celebrates
the Maddening Mysteries of the French is
a nonfiction narrative account of the French and why they are
so....French:
"Harriet writes from the perspective
of one who has spent more than twenty years living among the
French, with a French husband, French in-laws, and two half-French,
half-American sons.
In French Toast, she shares her hard-earned
wisdom and does as much as one woman can to demystify the French.
She makes sense of their ever-so-French thoughts on food, money,
sex, love, marriage, manners, schools, style and much more. She
investigates such delicate matters as how to eat asparagus, how
to speak to merchants, how to drive, and most important, how
to make a seven-course meal in a silk blouse without an apron!
Harriet's first-person account offers both a helpful reality
check and a lot of very funny moments."
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Endorsements
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- Leslie Caron, star of An American
in Paris and Gigi and most recently the James Ivory
production of Le Divorce : "Her love for France is
revealed by her tolerance and patience in adapting to Gallic
complexities. This is not a book on "Vive la différence"
but on " Vive l'entente". French Toast includes
the most delightful barbs at France's subtle but deep-rooted
codes of behavior...I read the book on the EuroStar between Paris
and London and wished the train had not reached its top speed
of 300 kph."
- The Los Angeles Times : "When
someone calls you cher ami, does it literally mean 'dear friend,'
or, as is often the case, 'drop dead'?...Do you eat a round Camembert
cheese the same way as a rectangular slab of Gruyère?...Should
you shower before making love?...Rochefort offers answers by
the score. Even longtime foreign residents of France have become
grateful readers."
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- Marilyn August, Associated Press correspondent, Paris Bureau: "Rochefort
has been able to zero in on the joys, annoyances, frustrations,
and the wonderful things about living in France and the French
mentality that I've never been able to verbalize or put into
perspective."
- Karl Horwitz, International President, The New York
Times Syndicate: "French Toast is
not only extremely perceptive but also a delightful read and
great fun."
- Sarah Colton, American Wives of Europeans Newsletter:
"Rochefort has clearly drawn from her Midwestern
roots to come up with the consummate tall tale, which through
color, imagination, and humor...paints a wacky and accurate picture
of her life in Paris."
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Table of contents
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Chapter I. Introduction
Chapter II. Getting Here from
Shenandoah, Iowa, to Paris, France
Chapter III. The French and Their Food Why, after a valiant effort to make five-course meals
twice a day for two decades, I decided to throw in the towel
Chapter IV. The Frenchwoman Why
no self-respecting Frenchwoman would be caught dead in a suit
and tennis shoes
Chapter V. The French and Sex, Love, and Marriage Why it is easier to write about the
French and sex than about the French and money
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Chapter VI. The French and Money An attempt to unravel the complex
and unfathomable relationship of the French to their finances
Chapter VII. The Parisians How an Iowan fends for herself among the inhabitants
of the City of Light
Chapter VIII. Politesse The French, polite? What to do and not to do in polite
society
Chapter IX. School Daze A
reflection upon the French educational system. In other words,
why do all these kids look like anemic hunchbacks?
Chapter X. Why I'll Never Be French (But I Really Am!)
Why, never having been able to
form a proper French r or u, I conclude that I'll always remain
an "inside outsider"
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How
it came to be written - the author says....
| I sat down and wrote
French Toast for two reasons: one, I feared going too native
and two, I feared not going native enough! This book is about
what happens what you live somewhere long enough to become part
of the society but when part of you still remains back where
you came from. Hence, my affectionate but quizzical look at the
French - including the Frenchman I live with every day who has
an interview at the end of every chapter. |
Excerpts
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On politesse:
"As the years passed, I made an amazing
discovery that enabled me to understand why the French have such
a worldwide reputation for rudeness. In France, you are not expected
to like everybody or even act as if you do."
On money:
"Jealousy is only one of the reasons
the French don't like to talk about money. Following is another
very good one: fear of the big bad wolf - le fisc (the tax inspector)."
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On sex:
"What continues to strike me is that
Frenchmen and Frenchwomen like one another's company. They don't
seem to feel any need for systematic antagonism...There's a lightness
in male-female relationships that we Anglo-Saxons don't always
get, at least not at first. Visiting Paris for the first time,
the beautiful young American daughter of a friend of mine told
me she was upset at being followed down the street by a French
fellow. "But," she said, a bit mystified, "when
he saw I wasn't interested, he just said, 'Good-bye', smiled,
and went on his way."
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What readers say...
- B.M. (Michigan) "I am making excellent
use of your book "Frenck toast" in one of my courses...
at a private school for gifted students. One of the course's
goals is to allow for real understanding through a cross-cultural
approach..this is why I found your book to be an amazing source
and tool within this approach."
- L.&M.B., Columbus, OH : "...
we love your book, French Toast. We have both lived and studied
in France and have many French friends...thus reading your book
made us howl in delight! So many things you have written either
bring back memories or help to explain what we might have considered
to be "mysterious behavior."
- More letters....
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- C.D. (married to a typical Frenchman
for 11 years, with 3 typical French/American girls) :" I just wanted to say, I have just
finished reading French Toast (in two days!) and everything you
say in it is absolutely TRUE!!! I read it on the commuter train,
all the while trying to keep from chuckling too loudly (shame
on me) without much success. It's been a long time since I've
read such an enjoyable book, and there are not many books
that have made me laugh so hard. I'm recommending this book to
all my American friends living in Paris! (And maybe even to my
husband, to prove to him I'm not so strange after all ...)"
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The Press says...
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Articles on French Toast have appeared, among
others, in :
- Seattle Times
- Los Angeles Times
- The Daily Telegraph
- The Chicago Reader
- The Free Voice
- The Omaha World-Herald
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- The Des Moines Register
- The Minneapolis Star Tribune
- This City Paris
- The Medillian
- Good
Morning Paris
- Library Journal
- Northwestern Magazine
- French Review, the
publication of the American Association of Teachers of French
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More
echoes from the Press
- John Thor-Dahlburg in The Los Angeles
Times:
"Rochefort remains convinced that the French are different.
And more than a quarter-century spent living among them, an experience
she has distilled into a wise and devastatingly funny book, has
done little to shake Rochefort's sense of surprise and wonder."
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- Library Journal: "Fortunately,
for those unacquainted with the finer points of French etiquette,
Rochefort's book bridges the culture gap admirably...This chatty,
informative book is great fun to read and over too soon."
- More reviews....
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Events, booksignings,....
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Paris, France
- W.H. Smith's
- Brentano's
- The Abbey bookstore
- Reelbooks bookstore (Fontainebleau)
- The American Library
- Etc.
In the U.S.
- Dutton's bookstore, Brentwood, Ca.
- Borders, San Francisco, Ca.
- Barnes and Noble, Tucson, Az.
- Borders, Tucson, Az.
- The Bookstall, Winnetka, Illinois, Il.
- Etc.
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Speeches on cultural differences
- Bloom Where You're Planted (program sponsored by the American Church of Paris
to welcome newcomers)
- Elder Hostel
groups visiting Paris
- University students at the International
Media Seminars sponsored by the Center for the Study of International
Communications at The American University of Paris
- Institute of International Studies, Missouri
Southern, Joplin, MO
- American Women's Group, Paris and Brussels
- American Institute for Foreign Study
- To current events
- Etc.
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Publication
details
- Published by St.Martin's Press, New York, French Toast:
An American in Paris Celebrates the Maddening Mysteries of the
French has to date sold more than 35,000 hardcover
copies (6th printing)
- 14th best-selling book in 1999 at W.H.Smith's bookstore in
Paris
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- French Toast is available at all major bookstores
ORDER HERE
- Audio version published by Blackstone Books
- Chinese version published by Walnut Tree Publishing
Co. in 2000
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