Pardon my French
This is another book I bought from Mollat’s bookshop in Bordeaux but is also generally available here in the UK.
As a Francophile with what I thought was a poor command of French and little real understanding of the French culture, I was thrilled and delighted with this book. It made me realise that over the years I have actually picked up quite a lot of knowledge. The style of the book is very readable, informative and at times very amusing. As a bit of a holiday read to begin to understand the French language as it is spoken a bit better I highly recommend it. I was so chuffed when I understood some back-slang heard on the tram and spoken by some young French lads, from reading this book. I also discovered that I am not alone in my love of the French store FNAC and if I have an itchy ear I can attack it with gusto in France.
I seriously recommend this entertaining book to anyone who has an interest in learning more about the French. As Simon Hoggart says on the back cover ‘If you use the words and phrases here, you’ll be so convincing, French people will talk very fast to you.’
Charles Timoney’s Pardon my French is published by Penguin and is priced £7.99 in paperback.
