Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Age Group: Adult
Pages: 384
Source: My local library.
Summary:
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. (From Harper Collins)
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Vanina Marsot’s novel Foreign Tongue: a Novel of Life and Love in Paris tells the story of Anna, a half-French and half-American freelance writer. Anna believes she’s found The One when she meets Timothy, but in less than six months she discovers that Timothy is involved with other women. Anna walks away from the relationship. Unfortunately, Timothy is difficult to get over because, in Anna’s words, “Timothy became famous. Magazine-cover famous. Pop-culture famous." So Anna flees L.A. for Paris. Luckily—miraculously, really—Anna speaks French and has an aunt willing to lend her an apartment in Paris, rent-free.
Anna explores Paris for awhile and reconnects with her European friends but eventually needs something to do. She is also fired from her freelance job at an American PR firm after a change in management, and she needs money. Anna is browsing through the used books at Shakespeare & Company when she notices a job posting for a translator for an exotic novel at Editions Laveau. Anna hurries to Editions Laveau. Monsieur Laveau is a crotchety old man, and he is quietly amused that Anna misread the job posting: Laveau is looking for someone to translate an erotic novel, not an exotic one. Anna takes the job anyway. Later, while waiting for another chapter to translate at Laveau’s office, Anna meets Olivier. Olivier is a handsome Frenchman. He’s also an actor, just like Timothy. Anna starts a relationship with Olivier but cultural differences complicate their relationship.
I enjoyed this book. The plot moves quickly; Anna is in Paris by page seven. The novel Anna translates also acts as a story within a story. The novel, by an anonymous author, tells the story of one Frenchman’s “great love." Jean-Marc, the first-person narrator, is initially repelling. He keeps two girlfriends, one boring and public and one fiery and secret. The secret one, Eve, is his "great love." Their relationship begins as a sexual one and the love scenes are (uncomfortably) anatomically accurate and odd.
(A little warning, reader-to-reader: this novel is labeled adult fiction for a reason.)
Anna’s world is a little steamy, too: a friend takes her to a Parisian sex club and Anna and Olivier share several intimate scenes. Jean-Marc’s story becomes more readable, however, as he falls in love with Eve and becomes heartbroken when she leaves him, while Anna’s relationship with Olivier mirrors one of the cultural differences remarked on by Anna when she sees a couple kiss in a café. Anna explains that the French “kiss in public, and I mean big, wet, sexy kisses. People of all ages do it, and no one yells ‘Get a room!’ If you don’t like it, you can lump it, or look the other way."
I read Foreign Tongue before visiting France this January, and I noticed this profusion of PDA in Paris.
Beyond the plot and cultural dimensions of Foreign Tongue, the novel is largely about language. Marsot discusses the craft of storytelling through Anna from page one, beginning, “I could start like this, third-person omniscient: ‘She chucked it all and moved to Paris.’ . . . . Or no dodge-and-weave, no embroidery, no third-person, no all-knowing voice: I left.” Marsot also peppers her prose with French conversations, and she does not always provide a translation. One does not need much French to follow the story but knowing none would have frustrated me. I would have been on Google Translate at every other page.
Foreign Tongue is steeped in French language, culture, and Parisian scenery. I recommend it to readers looking for a fun yet realistic romance as well as anyone who is interested in linguistics, writing, travel, and--of course--Paris.
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