Flirting with French

by William Alexander

[Lianne]

I received a copy of this novel through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers programme in exchange for an honest review. This review in its entirety was originally posted at caffeinatedlife.net: http://www.caffeinatedlife.net/blog/2014/08/28/review-flirting-with-french/

Flirting With French is a relatively short but delightful and jam-packed read about the author’s experience with everything French. It can be a bit of a travelogue, with the author recounting his various trips to France, to a memoir of his experience learning the language again for the first time since high school, to an informative non-fiction piece about language learning in general–the biology and psychology behind language learning, the evolution of language and regional dialects, etc. It made for an interesting read and learned a lot of things that I otherwise did not know before (i.e. the reason why we say things like “cease and desist” and “null and void” when they mean the same thing). I also found the book to be really relatable (well, minus being a language learner at age 57) with wanting to learn a language and developing an interest to learn a language outside of school.

Overall, I really enjoyed readng Flirting with French. In a way it reminded me of Ari L. Goldman’s The Late Starters Orchestra (my review) with the message that it’s never too late to learn something new. The road to learning might be long and arduous, but as long as you’re having fun and you love what you’re doing, then it’s all good! :) I highly recommend this book, especially if you’re into everything French and into language learning.