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Le Dossier: How to Survive the English!
In this robust, insightful and hitherto only privately available handbook, Parisian wife and mother Hortense de Monplaisir shares with us the secrets of her survival amongst the English. Exiled to London for the sake of her husband's career, pioneer Hortense delves into the many aspects of la perfide Albion that have long puzzled its closest neighbour and oldest enemy. No one and nothing is safe from Hortense's penetrating eye as she discusses a diverse range of topics from the inability of the English to speak their mind, their bizarre love of rituals such as the stag party and the country fete and their passion for long muddy walks, to their obsession with World War II, estate agents and incomprehensible fondness for the traditional English pantomime. The result is a double-edged here are the foibles of the English, seen through the jaundiced gaze of a sophisticated Parisienne. Hortense's confident interpretations of some of our best-loved national habits (jam with meat, anyone?) will only confirm our long-held view that the French are, indeed, very different.
- GenresNonfictionHumor
288 pages, Paperback
First published October 18, 2007
30 people want to read
About the author
Sarah Long
43 books22 followersSarah Long worked in publishing before giving it all up to move to Paris with her husband and three children. She is the author of And What Do You Do? and The Next Best Thing. Following several years of the Parisian experience, she now lives in London.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
January 23, 2020
The book pretends to be French lady Hortense de Monplaisir’s “dossier” about her life with the English in London, translated for the English. In reality, this isn’t a translation and Hortense doesn’t exist. I had a doubt on this being “a translation” after reading the first few pages (being a translation student myself, the book sounded very much written in English first rather than in French). I did a little online research and my doubt was confirmed. The author just portrayed this as a fake translation. That’s okay per se. It’s a genre, but it didn’t work for me. I permanently kept seeing through the author’s ruse, and read the book as written by an English person mocking the English. Maybe that by itself is a thing of English humour that I can’t understand because I’m not a native?
As for the content, the book listed all the prejudices you can think of about the English. Or as some other critics have noted: rather about Londoners. Living in the U.K. as a foreigner myself, I did chuckle at some of the prejudices. Yep, sorry to say, but in general English folks have no style compared to the French, nor do they have an idea about fine dining, two things that are indeed common knowledge in France.
As for the French aspect, some critics rightly pointed out that this “French view on the English” was indeed also an English view on the French. With the fictional character of Hortense de Monplaisir, the author indeed draws a very caricaturist image of “the French woman”, actually the “upper-class Parisian” woman which in all its simplification will never represent the diversity of people in France. Maybe again this was part of the intended affect by the author, and maybe it just didn’t appeal to me because I didn’t grow up with English humour?
Another problem I had with this book was the random structure. Oftentimes it read and sounded like a compilation of articles. The numerous titles and subtitles kept cutting the text into chunks. Sometimes there was a new subtitle for a mere paragraph, followed or preceded by one for a whole page or more. It just felt really imbalanced and not properly edited.
Also, I know a few prejudices about the English can be funny to read, but 265 pages for just the same information was a bit long. Had the book been a hundred pages shorter I might have enjoyed it more as a light read. Like that I had to force myself through the last hundred pages.
As for the content, the book listed all the prejudices you can think of about the English. Or as some other critics have noted: rather about Londoners. Living in the U.K. as a foreigner myself, I did chuckle at some of the prejudices. Yep, sorry to say, but in general English folks have no style compared to the French, nor do they have an idea about fine dining, two things that are indeed common knowledge in France.
As for the French aspect, some critics rightly pointed out that this “French view on the English” was indeed also an English view on the French. With the fictional character of Hortense de Monplaisir, the author indeed draws a very caricaturist image of “the French woman”, actually the “upper-class Parisian” woman which in all its simplification will never represent the diversity of people in France. Maybe again this was part of the intended affect by the author, and maybe it just didn’t appeal to me because I didn’t grow up with English humour?
Another problem I had with this book was the random structure. Oftentimes it read and sounded like a compilation of articles. The numerous titles and subtitles kept cutting the text into chunks. Sometimes there was a new subtitle for a mere paragraph, followed or preceded by one for a whole page or more. It just felt really imbalanced and not properly edited.
Also, I know a few prejudices about the English can be funny to read, but 265 pages for just the same information was a bit long. Had the book been a hundred pages shorter I might have enjoyed it more as a light read. Like that I had to force myself through the last hundred pages.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 10, 2012
This is described as a guide for French ladies who, against all their better judgement, have to live in England.
My first quibbles would be that this isn't for 'French ladies' but Parisiennes. Nor is it about living in England so much as London.
I feel I'm lacking in a sense of humour for large parts of this book. Maybe it's the sneering tone I found in it's author? There were moments of 'Wow, yes, she's hit the nail with that one.' It also made you think about how our little island does things. I quite like the way we do some of the things she scorns. Others hurt a little more because she was right.
I would like to see her version on the faults of Paris as a home city. I can't see it though. In her eyes Paris is civilised, London lags a long way behind.
This is not a book I can find much to recommend in. It's interesting but irritated me too much to be enjoyed.
My first quibbles would be that this isn't for 'French ladies' but Parisiennes. Nor is it about living in England so much as London.
I feel I'm lacking in a sense of humour for large parts of this book. Maybe it's the sneering tone I found in it's author? There were moments of 'Wow, yes, she's hit the nail with that one.' It also made you think about how our little island does things. I quite like the way we do some of the things she scorns. Others hurt a little more because she was right.
I would like to see her version on the faults of Paris as a home city. I can't see it though. In her eyes Paris is civilised, London lags a long way behind.
This is not a book I can find much to recommend in. It's interesting but irritated me too much to be enjoyed.
June 27, 2017
I am an American married to a Brit and have a British sister in law who lives in France. While here in London I picked this up and thought it would be an amusing read. It was for a bit. Until I got to the part about her excoriating the British for allowing "poor people" to live in tower blocks amidst the wealthy, and she then praises the French for banishing all the low income housing to the suburbs "where they belong".
This is beyond disgusting and I immediately stopped reading. She is obviously very wealthy and completely lacks compassion. That someone would have that attitude (and write about it!) says everything about her character as a human being. I hope all the French aren't this callous.
This is beyond disgusting and I immediately stopped reading. She is obviously very wealthy and completely lacks compassion. That someone would have that attitude (and write about it!) says everything about her character as a human being. I hope all the French aren't this callous.
December 27, 2015
Funny and absorbing.
May 7, 2020
Before reading this book, I thought this was a clever concept, and was looking forward to the author attempting to analyse the character of the English and observe rules of social interaction in a light, easy and entertaining way. I was thoroughly disappointed. The author came across as very pretentious and superficial especially through her sneering tone and at her constant snide remarks of the ‘lower class’ or people she perceived as ‘poor’. She also came across as hypocritical, for example, she writes ‘London is in fact suffering invasion on a daily basis’ but she herself is French having moved to London. She also writes ‘The English are the most appalling snobs’, yet she appears to be arrogant, patronizing and snobby through her sense of superiority over those from lower social classes, education levels, housing etc..
April 13, 2018
Amusing.
June 30, 2018
Great fun!
September 10, 2018
Honestly the funniest book I’ve ever read!
December 31, 2020
To be fair I actually didn’t finish this book as I found it quite boring and not very engaging. Some parts were funny-ish but overall didn’t enjoy.
July 22, 2010
Don't be fooled by the titled - this is really a book about the French. The author, a wealthy Parisian, who has moved to London because of her husband's job, is ready to criticise anything that is unlike her own particular ways. The book is irritatingly narrow-minded, looking down on anything that is not like her own particular style. And something I have not seen before: The blurb at the back cover is actually written by her husband!!
I have given the book two instead of one star, just to allow for the possibility that she has actually been sarcastic - it is a very subtle humour if this is true. I didn't think I would ever defend the dry English lifestyle but this book brought me in this position.
This is a book that I would not recommend to anyone...
I have given the book two instead of one star, just to allow for the possibility that she has actually been sarcastic - it is a very subtle humour if this is true. I didn't think I would ever defend the dry English lifestyle but this book brought me in this position.
This is a book that I would not recommend to anyone...
June 17, 2012
Read for fun. I bought it in an airport in France back in 2008 and read the first half. I never got around to finishing it, so I did so recently.
I found the tone of the book very interesting. At times, the speaker was rather incisive and sharp-witted, speaking eloquently about the cultural differences between the French and the English with more than a dash of humor. At other times, the speaker seemed pretentious and superficial, demonstrating hypocritical standards about the English that she herself, as a Frenchwoman, could not meet. Often she was just as xenophobic and derogatory as the English, whose xenophobia she despised.
Still, I got many laughs and unique insights from this book. It was an amusing read.
I found the tone of the book very interesting. At times, the speaker was rather incisive and sharp-witted, speaking eloquently about the cultural differences between the French and the English with more than a dash of humor. At other times, the speaker seemed pretentious and superficial, demonstrating hypocritical standards about the English that she herself, as a Frenchwoman, could not meet. Often she was just as xenophobic and derogatory as the English, whose xenophobia she despised.
Still, I got many laughs and unique insights from this book. It was an amusing read.
December 14, 2011
Written by a French woman living in London, this book is ostensibly poking fun at the English, but by nature of reflection, it makes just as much fun of the French themselves. I picked it up off a friend's shelf, and it was perfect for reading only a few pages at a time, which is all I've had time for during this crunch time at the end of the semester. Several laugh-out-loud moments and definitely a fun read.
June 12, 2014
As a Brit living in France I found this absolutely hilarious, a fun-poking but perspicacious look at us and them. Sure, it's an upper class Parisien version of "them" - but then that's part of the fun, isn't it ?
I will re- and re-read it and hope there are a few more people out there who are able to enjoy it for what it is - a good laugh !
I will re- and re-read it and hope there are a few more people out there who are able to enjoy it for what it is - a good laugh !
February 22, 2020
A French lady living in England (London) and the comparisons of life in both countries. The author is a little arrogant, poking fun at the English but rather entertaining and funny. Everything she wrote about is so true, being English I could easily relate to each scenario she described. Worth a read.
September 9, 2011
Funny but also quite arrogant...well french then ;p
As a German I am in a good position to read this and I do agree with 90% of it but find myself constantly either to be 'very English' or 'very French' which can't be that bad.
As a German I am in a good position to read this and I do agree with 90% of it but find myself constantly either to be 'very English' or 'very French' which can't be that bad.
July 15, 2012
I enjoyed reading this book. It played on stereo types of the English and the French. Some things were very funny and some made me think are we really like that? If you read it try not to take it too seriously, just enjoy the observations.
March 23, 2014
A very clever book, poking fun at the English and French at the same time. It looks like, from the other reviews, most readers didn't quite catch onto the fact that this is not a translation but a very wicked parody.
January 5, 2009
funny and dare I say, true in some ways.....
December 28, 2010
Not so great. Sarah Long was a little annoying herself.
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July 27, 2011I read this in preperation for a brief study abroad tour and I found it both delightful in its French hautier and decisive and accute observations.
October 14, 2011
Hilarious. Just bought it and can read if in one sitting :-)
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews