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Foreign Tongue: A Literary Romance Where a Writer Discovers Love, Identity, and Mystery While Translating in Paris
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.
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.
368 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2009
13 people are currently reading
488 people want to read
About the author
Vanina Marsot
2 books11 followersVanina Marsot was raised in Cairo, Paris, and Los Angeles. Bilingual in English and French, she was raised by academic parents who instilled in her a keen passion for travel.
After completing her undergraduate degree at Swarthmore College, she moved to Paris, where she worked at Jean-Paul Gaultier, managed a commercial photography studio, and taught English to business executives.
Eventually, she returned to Los Angeles, where she worked at Paramount Pictures. While toiling in the Hollywood vortex, she began to write fiction. She left Paramount to obtain an MFA from Bennington College, where she completed a collection of short stories.
While spending time in Paris researching her first novel, 'Foreign Tongue,' she began translating French feature films and TV shows into English. She now writes and translates full-time and lives in Los Angeles and Paris, when not gallivanting about to far-flung corners of the world.
After completing her undergraduate degree at Swarthmore College, she moved to Paris, where she worked at Jean-Paul Gaultier, managed a commercial photography studio, and taught English to business executives.
Eventually, she returned to Los Angeles, where she worked at Paramount Pictures. While toiling in the Hollywood vortex, she began to write fiction. She left Paramount to obtain an MFA from Bennington College, where she completed a collection of short stories.
While spending time in Paris researching her first novel, 'Foreign Tongue,' she began translating French feature films and TV shows into English. She now writes and translates full-time and lives in Los Angeles and Paris, when not gallivanting about to far-flung corners of the world.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
July 27, 2017
I first learned of "Foreign Tongue" through an online advertisement a few years ago. My interest in it was further piqued by its focus on a young woman, with dual French/American citizenship (conversant in both French and English) and her experiences in Paris. As someone who has visited Paris twice over the past decade and lived and worked for a time abroad, I am drawn to stories that tie in culture, language, and human sensibilities.
Notwithstanding that, I had a lingering fear that this novel might prove to be an overly maudlin chick-lit book that would have my eyes rolling in disbelief. Thankfully, that was not the case. The main character, Anne, a professional writer in Los Angeles, leaves the States in mid-summer for a Parisian refuge offered free of charge by her Aunt Isabelle (who lives, in the main, in San Francisco) after being jilted by her boyfriend, who has become a newfound celebrity.
Anne opens herself to the reader, and by extension, allows us to experience Paris vicariously. In the process, she finds a job translating for a small publishing house, chapter by chapter, a novel from a mysterious figure who may be someone from the upper echelons of French society. At roughly the same time, she catches the attention in a cozy bar/restaurant of Olivier, an actor she first spotted at a friend's party a few weeks earlier. They gradually develop a rapport which blossoms into a torrid romance with all its twists and turns.
One of the aspects of the novel I enjoyed very much was Anne's relationships with a number of minor characters. For instance, the married couple Antoine (a writer) and Victorine (a scriptwriter/translator), whom Anne had met at a private party. Here is one of the exchanges Anne had with the couple:
(Anne) "You have a more comfortable relationship with cruelty, perhaps. After all, in French, to be malicieux can have a good connotation, like someone who has a delightfully pointed sense of humor: malicieux et delicieux," I said.
"But you have this as well --- the wicked sense of humor," Antoine remarked.
"That's true," I admitted. "I hadn't thought of that." Victorine poked a finger in the teapot and took it into the kitchen...
"We are not so different a la base," Antoine mused. "It is more a question of style, of the things we privilege more than you, and vice versa."
"Like?" I asked. (Anne)
"You value approval more than we do. We privilege pride, this idea of 'saving face,' so important to the Japanese as well. You are more open, we are more reserved. We like riddles, you like answers. We are more interested in the game than the outcome," he said...
"The game," I repeated, unsure of what he meant. (Anne)
"The game of social interaction," he clarified. "The discovery, layer by layer, of people. The unfolding of meaning. This is something we appreciate. It seems to me --- but I am speaking in broad strokes and there are always exceptions --- however, it seems to me Americans want to know who and what everything is, they want to fix it so it will stay put and they can move accordingly. Look at your politics," he said. "As de Gaulle said --- and I am not usually one for quoting him --- your country excels at attempting to impose simplistic solutions onto complex problems. But nothing is simple or fixed in life. People are surprising: vain, careless, flawed, contradictory, often blind, and full of foibles. This is diverting, confusing, maddening, and, of course, touching." He leaned back in his chair, pipe clamped between his teeth.
There were also some elements in the dynamics of Anne's and Olivier's relationship that were just as revelatory. But I won't go into any of that here. What I enjoyed most was the journey I experienced through reading this novel. I really didn't want it to end.
Notwithstanding that, I had a lingering fear that this novel might prove to be an overly maudlin chick-lit book that would have my eyes rolling in disbelief. Thankfully, that was not the case. The main character, Anne, a professional writer in Los Angeles, leaves the States in mid-summer for a Parisian refuge offered free of charge by her Aunt Isabelle (who lives, in the main, in San Francisco) after being jilted by her boyfriend, who has become a newfound celebrity.
Anne opens herself to the reader, and by extension, allows us to experience Paris vicariously. In the process, she finds a job translating for a small publishing house, chapter by chapter, a novel from a mysterious figure who may be someone from the upper echelons of French society. At roughly the same time, she catches the attention in a cozy bar/restaurant of Olivier, an actor she first spotted at a friend's party a few weeks earlier. They gradually develop a rapport which blossoms into a torrid romance with all its twists and turns.
One of the aspects of the novel I enjoyed very much was Anne's relationships with a number of minor characters. For instance, the married couple Antoine (a writer) and Victorine (a scriptwriter/translator), whom Anne had met at a private party. Here is one of the exchanges Anne had with the couple:
(Anne) "You have a more comfortable relationship with cruelty, perhaps. After all, in French, to be malicieux can have a good connotation, like someone who has a delightfully pointed sense of humor: malicieux et delicieux," I said.
"But you have this as well --- the wicked sense of humor," Antoine remarked.
"That's true," I admitted. "I hadn't thought of that." Victorine poked a finger in the teapot and took it into the kitchen...
"We are not so different a la base," Antoine mused. "It is more a question of style, of the things we privilege more than you, and vice versa."
"Like?" I asked. (Anne)
"You value approval more than we do. We privilege pride, this idea of 'saving face,' so important to the Japanese as well. You are more open, we are more reserved. We like riddles, you like answers. We are more interested in the game than the outcome," he said...
"The game," I repeated, unsure of what he meant. (Anne)
"The game of social interaction," he clarified. "The discovery, layer by layer, of people. The unfolding of meaning. This is something we appreciate. It seems to me --- but I am speaking in broad strokes and there are always exceptions --- however, it seems to me Americans want to know who and what everything is, they want to fix it so it will stay put and they can move accordingly. Look at your politics," he said. "As de Gaulle said --- and I am not usually one for quoting him --- your country excels at attempting to impose simplistic solutions onto complex problems. But nothing is simple or fixed in life. People are surprising: vain, careless, flawed, contradictory, often blind, and full of foibles. This is diverting, confusing, maddening, and, of course, touching." He leaned back in his chair, pipe clamped between his teeth.
There were also some elements in the dynamics of Anne's and Olivier's relationship that were just as revelatory. But I won't go into any of that here. What I enjoyed most was the journey I experienced through reading this novel. I really didn't want it to end.
August 6, 2009
While this book is (sort of) touted as a romance,that wasn't what I found most enjoyable. More intriguing were Anna's thoughts about culture and language as she is working on the translation of the book. Because she is informally bi-lingual, meaning that she learned French from her family and studying abroad she has some interesting comments about the often untranslatable subtleties and nuances of meaning in a language. Anyone who has traveled or worked in a foreing country or tried to explain certain colloquialisms to family visiting from abroad knows how hard it can be. Toward the end of the book, she remarks about how she's often felt more French in AMeria and more American in France, never quite fittin in either place.
It's the language and culture, not the romantic interlude, that allow Anna to grow, change, to get a better sense of her place in the world.
It's the language and culture, not the romantic interlude, that allow Anna to grow, change, to get a better sense of her place in the world.
July 7, 2010
***WARNING: This book is very vulgar.*** (Way, way, way too much for me, even if it is sporadic.)
This is perhaps the most difficult book review I’ve ever had to write, as my feelings are composed of such extremes. At first it delighted me, then repulsed me, then impressed and intrigued me, then annoyed me, and ultimately… disappointed me.
First off, allow me to praise the work. Vanina Marsot is an amazing writer—a compliment I rarely give out. Here lies her strength. She would describe delicate and subtle human feelings that I have had many times, but had never depicted aloud or in words, with such uncanny accuracy. I found myself many times just staring at the page in awe—here was feeling/sensation I was intimately acquainted with, yet completely unconscious of it. Marsot also knows words in and out and how to use them. Her words leap off the page with this deliciously literate precision, yet with an organic flow. I learned many new words reading this work—something I delight in completely.
Also, as I too, like the author and the protagonist, am bilingual in French/English, I relished all her astute cultural observations of both the French and Americans. The author really knows both cultures, and she’s able to describe their idiosyncrasies with such aplomb and precision. It was a revelation. For example, at one point she says:
“This concept of frivolity seemed another particularly French idea, a contradictory puzzle that, to them, made perfect sense, I couldn’t figure out if it was the vocabulary of the idea that startled me or the idea itself. The French always seem so practical so logical, so able to explain everything rationally…except when they can’t. In the realm of emotions, all that Cartesian logic goes out the window, and they leap to wild, euphoric, contradictory conclusions that they justify with poetic phrases. I couldn’t tell if it was a profound, heartfelt examination of emotion or a sinuous exercise in rationalization via word arrangement.”
“Yes!” I remember screaming out when I read that, because it is SO true of the French. She hit this strange French mystery nail right on the head. In all of my dealings with the French, I have had the exact same sentiment, but ne’er had I heard it elucidated so succinctly and beautifully.
What I principally loved about this book was how it took me deep into the realm of a city that fascinates me. I love Paris, and read books that take place here voraciously. Not only this, but being bi-lingual, too, all her musings about how to translate French into English and visa versa, and how it is sometimes simply impossible to preserve the subtle nuances of the original writer, really hit home. Plus all her deep questions regarding culture, upbringing, and how big of a part that language plays in our identity—so perceptive and thought provoking.
Now, unfortunately, we’ll discuss the downsides to this work. First and foremost, it ended terribly. Not terribly in an Othello way, but in a severely disappointing way. I get it, of course…she was trying to give it a French “neutral” ending. A “real life ending.” I get it. However, what she forgot is that this book is written in English. (Maybe she’s translating it into French, too, I don’t know, but I read the English version, so let’s continue…) Hence, the book is targeted at an American audience, and she has the gall to end it on this weird, abrupt, melancholy point. And you’re like, “huh?” And it’s totally ironic, because in the book, the main character is translating this erotic novel (hence the vulgarity) and it has three possible endings, all of which she deems inadequate. Frankly, most the endings of the erotic novel were more satisfactory than the book’s actually ending. In the end, you end up not really caring about the main character. She’s just kind of “eh.” Does the main character whine, become victim-y, and make poor choices? Oh, yes, all over the place—which sure, makes her human, but many of her choices chip away at her likeability. But what’s more… there’s no shred of hope for her life in the end. There’s a little perk with regard to her work as a translator, but that’s it. Most of the book is about her personal and romantic life, and there’s no redeeming factor at ALL in the ending regarding that. Plus there’s a sad, weird twist at the end that’s ill-fitting to the rest of the work.
After I finished the book, and the “Acknowledgements” section was thrust upon me, I just sat there… pissed off. I read through all of that (and there were some annoying low moments where she’s positively wallowing in self-pity and despair, or high on some laced pot, not to mention the truly disturbing vulgarity) …I read through ALL OF THAT, and this is what I get at the end? That’s it? A weird, inadequate ending that the author thinks, in her hubris, is fitting because of its faux-Frenchiness? No. No, no. Bite your tongue, Foreign Tongue.
This is perhaps the most difficult book review I’ve ever had to write, as my feelings are composed of such extremes. At first it delighted me, then repulsed me, then impressed and intrigued me, then annoyed me, and ultimately… disappointed me.
First off, allow me to praise the work. Vanina Marsot is an amazing writer—a compliment I rarely give out. Here lies her strength. She would describe delicate and subtle human feelings that I have had many times, but had never depicted aloud or in words, with such uncanny accuracy. I found myself many times just staring at the page in awe—here was feeling/sensation I was intimately acquainted with, yet completely unconscious of it. Marsot also knows words in and out and how to use them. Her words leap off the page with this deliciously literate precision, yet with an organic flow. I learned many new words reading this work—something I delight in completely.
Also, as I too, like the author and the protagonist, am bilingual in French/English, I relished all her astute cultural observations of both the French and Americans. The author really knows both cultures, and she’s able to describe their idiosyncrasies with such aplomb and precision. It was a revelation. For example, at one point she says:
“This concept of frivolity seemed another particularly French idea, a contradictory puzzle that, to them, made perfect sense, I couldn’t figure out if it was the vocabulary of the idea that startled me or the idea itself. The French always seem so practical so logical, so able to explain everything rationally…except when they can’t. In the realm of emotions, all that Cartesian logic goes out the window, and they leap to wild, euphoric, contradictory conclusions that they justify with poetic phrases. I couldn’t tell if it was a profound, heartfelt examination of emotion or a sinuous exercise in rationalization via word arrangement.”
“Yes!” I remember screaming out when I read that, because it is SO true of the French. She hit this strange French mystery nail right on the head. In all of my dealings with the French, I have had the exact same sentiment, but ne’er had I heard it elucidated so succinctly and beautifully.
What I principally loved about this book was how it took me deep into the realm of a city that fascinates me. I love Paris, and read books that take place here voraciously. Not only this, but being bi-lingual, too, all her musings about how to translate French into English and visa versa, and how it is sometimes simply impossible to preserve the subtle nuances of the original writer, really hit home. Plus all her deep questions regarding culture, upbringing, and how big of a part that language plays in our identity—so perceptive and thought provoking.
Now, unfortunately, we’ll discuss the downsides to this work. First and foremost, it ended terribly. Not terribly in an Othello way, but in a severely disappointing way. I get it, of course…she was trying to give it a French “neutral” ending. A “real life ending.” I get it. However, what she forgot is that this book is written in English. (Maybe she’s translating it into French, too, I don’t know, but I read the English version, so let’s continue…) Hence, the book is targeted at an American audience, and she has the gall to end it on this weird, abrupt, melancholy point. And you’re like, “huh?” And it’s totally ironic, because in the book, the main character is translating this erotic novel (hence the vulgarity) and it has three possible endings, all of which she deems inadequate. Frankly, most the endings of the erotic novel were more satisfactory than the book’s actually ending. In the end, you end up not really caring about the main character. She’s just kind of “eh.” Does the main character whine, become victim-y, and make poor choices? Oh, yes, all over the place—which sure, makes her human, but many of her choices chip away at her likeability. But what’s more… there’s no shred of hope for her life in the end. There’s a little perk with regard to her work as a translator, but that’s it. Most of the book is about her personal and romantic life, and there’s no redeeming factor at ALL in the ending regarding that. Plus there’s a sad, weird twist at the end that’s ill-fitting to the rest of the work.
After I finished the book, and the “Acknowledgements” section was thrust upon me, I just sat there… pissed off. I read through all of that (and there were some annoying low moments where she’s positively wallowing in self-pity and despair, or high on some laced pot, not to mention the truly disturbing vulgarity) …I read through ALL OF THAT, and this is what I get at the end? That’s it? A weird, inadequate ending that the author thinks, in her hubris, is fitting because of its faux-Frenchiness? No. No, no. Bite your tongue, Foreign Tongue.
June 8, 2011
If you love accurate descriptions of Paris, the French and their language, this book is probably worth your time. I enjoyed it as a fairly well written bit of fluff to read during a very high pressure time at work. However, everything concerning the main character's romantic problems was a notch below in writing quality. Two stars for the relationships, four stars for everything about Paris and the French resulted in a three star rating.
June 24, 2010
Delightful book about a young woman who gets jilted by her actor boyfriend. She moves to her aunt's apartment in Paris and becomes a translator for a ficitious love story. She falls in love with a director and the story goes back and forth from the story to the woman's life in Paris. I enjoyed this book very much for it's lightness and yet well written prose. Felt as if I were in Paris.
August 1, 2021
I was left with mixed feelings about this one. The story line was dull, predictable and clichéd. It was fairly well written though, and as a Francophile, I liked the French aspects of the book as well as the snippets of language. I loved the quotations at each chapter too. Can’t give it more than 2 out of 5 though.
June 22, 2009
Picked this up on a whim at the library. A very light and entertaining read, with some substance in discussion of the particularities of French/English translation. On the Pastry References Scale, I'd give it cinques macarons. Some might also rate it highly on the Lingerie Mentions scale.
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July 30, 2019French-American lady translates a novel while living in Paris. Trashy but good exercise in French.
October 19, 2020
Noir is, first and foremost, style. It's like kabuki, or, more to the point, the blues — a folk art defined by its conventions, by a sensibility and a form. The best noir is pointed, not so much about plot as it is about voice. It's about what happens when someone gets pushed beyond the limit, when he or she comes face to face with the emptiness inside. ― David Ulin
Advice to Translators: “People tend to think fidelity is the most important thing, to convey the surface meaning accurately into another language. Yet as a translator, your first obligation should be to give readers the sense of pleasure you had while reading (the original text). — Kris Kosaka
Masculine and feminine stories cannot have the same ending. ― Milorad Pavić, Dictionary of the Khazars
Marsot invites the reader, spider to fly (page 115 in my copy), to walk into the parlor of novice semipro translator Anne to explore the subtle meanings inherent in many a foreign – but in this case specifically – the French kiss, er, that is, the French language, euphemistically, tongue. What is it to be a French-American in Paris – on the rebound (how might you express that?), and surviving by translating an autobiography-cum-erotic-novel (autofiction, then?). The context is everything.
The opening notes, the tone, if you will, are noir-ish. L.A. noir. Before we are translated, ouf, to Paris and Une bouteille de Brouilly where we are left to fend for ourselves, often, with the French that is almost second nature, but for those tricky idioms, to Anne. If she’s to be a translator, then so must her readers be. My own French is non-existent but for raison d'être. I don’t own “the indispensible Larousse Dictionnaire d l’argot” or any of the other hefty reference books which Anne stocks up on not long after settling in to her aunt’s apartment “in the Eleventh Arrondissement” and her part time job with Editions Laveau. I fell back on such on-line references as even Anne was driven to occasionally. All of those words and phrases dropped in to the mostly English text may be the ultimate red herrings, distracting us from the whodunnit, or, in this case, the who-wrote-it. Reminded me, ever so slightly, of Irving Wallace’s The Seven Minutes (1969).
I enjoyed it a lot.
Advice to Translators: “People tend to think fidelity is the most important thing, to convey the surface meaning accurately into another language. Yet as a translator, your first obligation should be to give readers the sense of pleasure you had while reading (the original text). — Kris Kosaka
Masculine and feminine stories cannot have the same ending. ― Milorad Pavić, Dictionary of the Khazars
Marsot invites the reader, spider to fly (page 115 in my copy), to walk into the parlor of novice semipro translator Anne to explore the subtle meanings inherent in many a foreign – but in this case specifically – the French kiss, er, that is, the French language, euphemistically, tongue. What is it to be a French-American in Paris – on the rebound (how might you express that?), and surviving by translating an autobiography-cum-erotic-novel (autofiction, then?). The context is everything.
The opening notes, the tone, if you will, are noir-ish. L.A. noir. Before we are translated, ouf, to Paris and Une bouteille de Brouilly where we are left to fend for ourselves, often, with the French that is almost second nature, but for those tricky idioms, to Anne. If she’s to be a translator, then so must her readers be. My own French is non-existent but for raison d'être. I don’t own “the indispensible Larousse Dictionnaire d l’argot” or any of the other hefty reference books which Anne stocks up on not long after settling in to her aunt’s apartment “in the Eleventh Arrondissement” and her part time job with Editions Laveau. I fell back on such on-line references as even Anne was driven to occasionally. All of those words and phrases dropped in to the mostly English text may be the ultimate red herrings, distracting us from the whodunnit, or, in this case, the who-wrote-it. Reminded me, ever so slightly, of Irving Wallace’s The Seven Minutes (1969).
I enjoyed it a lot.
June 9, 2022
What?
I was practically dragging myself through this book. It’s painfully boring and slow and I really just couldn’t care much about the story.
The protagonist is this bicultural American girl who left LA and moved to Paris in a whim, lived in her aunts apartment and picked up a translation job. I think she is supposed to be late 20s but she reads much much older than that and I just can’t wrap my head around the portrayal of her character.
The plot is unexciting, the other characters are interesting but without much details that I really couldn’t bring myself to connect to any of them.
Only reason I picked up this book was because some parts of the dialogue were written in French and I wanted to brush up on my French. And only reason I bothered to finish the book was so that I could see where it’s really going. It went nowhere, really.
I was practically dragging myself through this book. It’s painfully boring and slow and I really just couldn’t care much about the story.
The protagonist is this bicultural American girl who left LA and moved to Paris in a whim, lived in her aunts apartment and picked up a translation job. I think she is supposed to be late 20s but she reads much much older than that and I just can’t wrap my head around the portrayal of her character.
The plot is unexciting, the other characters are interesting but without much details that I really couldn’t bring myself to connect to any of them.
Only reason I picked up this book was because some parts of the dialogue were written in French and I wanted to brush up on my French. And only reason I bothered to finish the book was so that I could see where it’s really going. It went nowhere, really.
June 24, 2019
I saw this book at the library and the cover enticed me to get it because I was in need of some romance. It starts off great, a heartbroken Anna decided to move to Paris...I was enthusiastically waiting for something good to happen but nothing surprising or interesting really happened. I must admit the writing was good and the description of places and people are very good and that is probbaly why I finished the book. The ending was bad and not what I envisioned when I first saw the cover. I was taken to Paris, yes, but I didn't get a good story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2020
I loved this book--some may shrink from the central thread of translating an erotic novel, but a Parisian erotic novel is an elegant world of its own. The translating was sheer delight, the French sometimes familiar and sometimes teaching me something new! I could not put this one down and want to re-read it!
July 12, 2017
You know how sometimes you pick up a book, and it grabs you so tight you can't let go until the end? And then when it does end, you cry like a baby because you fell so deeply in love with each character, the loss is almost too great? Yeah. That.
July 7, 2023
Picked this up in a charity shop - It's an American copy and I love American paperbacks - they are more flexible to hold! This seemed to appeal to me on several levels - it's set in Paris, uses French at times and centres around food and relationships...and it was really well-written.
Loved it.
Loved it.
December 30, 2020
It was ok-ish. You could lose the whole love story part and just keep it as a story about a weird translation job, since it's the most interesting part of the book.
November 15, 2024
I loved this book. This novel explored life and love, and it took me right to Paris.
June 8, 2009
The Short of It:
If a Hollywood ending is not your thing, then this book is just what the doctor ordered.
My Thoughts:
Back in April, I was lucky enough to hear Vanina Marsot at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. When she discussed her book, Foreign Tongue–what she described intrigued me. When we think of Paris, we think of romance, beauty, food and wine. There's that, but there's also a grittier side that we normally do not read about and when I heard that, I knew that I had to read this book.
After leaving a cheating boyfriend, Anna ends up in Paris. She lives rent free in her Aunt's apartment, eats a lot of pastries, hangs out with friends and manages to fall in love with another man. On top of that, she finds a job translating an erotic novel from French to English. What's not to love, right?
Well...there are some underground clubs. Clubs that basically focus on orgies and the like. When Anna's friend suggests that they go to one, she isn't interested at first, but after thinking about it for awhile, she decides that she is curious and wouldn't mind checking the place out. Reading about the club was a bit bizarre but I have to admit that I was a bit curious too. I mean, do these places really exist? This is definitely a grittier, dirtier Paris than I ever imagined but at the same time, I could not pull myself away from it.
Let's talk about Anna's work for a bit. She is hired to translate an erotic novel from French to English. This proves to be quite a challenge! For one, the novel that she is translating sucks (what's the French translation for that?). Finding the right word involves knowing how to interpret the intent of what is being said, and since Anna is only given one chapter at a time, she has a hard time coming up with the right words since she doesn't know the end result.
There is a lot of French in this novel. Much of it is translated immediately by the author but some is not. I was surprised at how much French I remembered from my four years of French class. As I read each passage, I had fun trying to figure out what was being said. It gave me an appreciation of the language that I didn't have before.
When Anna finds a new guy, it's not all bells and whistles. Olivier is handsome and a bit mysterious but you can sense a darkness about him. He has secrets! As Anna visits with friends and attends all sorts of parties, she has her doubts about Olivier and as much as she wants to ignore them, she can't.
Overall, this trip to Paris was a bit different than the other literary trips I have taken. It took me to places that I would not have gone on my own, but that is what adventure is all about.
I'll end with this (at the end of page 287):
Anna : Tell me, what's it called in French when a film ends happily but in a way that you don't believe?
Clara (Anna's Friend): An American ending.
Book Chatter and Other Stuff
If a Hollywood ending is not your thing, then this book is just what the doctor ordered.
My Thoughts:
Back in April, I was lucky enough to hear Vanina Marsot at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. When she discussed her book, Foreign Tongue–what she described intrigued me. When we think of Paris, we think of romance, beauty, food and wine. There's that, but there's also a grittier side that we normally do not read about and when I heard that, I knew that I had to read this book.
After leaving a cheating boyfriend, Anna ends up in Paris. She lives rent free in her Aunt's apartment, eats a lot of pastries, hangs out with friends and manages to fall in love with another man. On top of that, she finds a job translating an erotic novel from French to English. What's not to love, right?
Well...there are some underground clubs. Clubs that basically focus on orgies and the like. When Anna's friend suggests that they go to one, she isn't interested at first, but after thinking about it for awhile, she decides that she is curious and wouldn't mind checking the place out. Reading about the club was a bit bizarre but I have to admit that I was a bit curious too. I mean, do these places really exist? This is definitely a grittier, dirtier Paris than I ever imagined but at the same time, I could not pull myself away from it.
Let's talk about Anna's work for a bit. She is hired to translate an erotic novel from French to English. This proves to be quite a challenge! For one, the novel that she is translating sucks (what's the French translation for that?). Finding the right word involves knowing how to interpret the intent of what is being said, and since Anna is only given one chapter at a time, she has a hard time coming up with the right words since she doesn't know the end result.
There is a lot of French in this novel. Much of it is translated immediately by the author but some is not. I was surprised at how much French I remembered from my four years of French class. As I read each passage, I had fun trying to figure out what was being said. It gave me an appreciation of the language that I didn't have before.
When Anna finds a new guy, it's not all bells and whistles. Olivier is handsome and a bit mysterious but you can sense a darkness about him. He has secrets! As Anna visits with friends and attends all sorts of parties, she has her doubts about Olivier and as much as she wants to ignore them, she can't.
Overall, this trip to Paris was a bit different than the other literary trips I have taken. It took me to places that I would not have gone on my own, but that is what adventure is all about.
I'll end with this (at the end of page 287):
Anna : Tell me, what's it called in French when a film ends happily but in a way that you don't believe?
Clara (Anna's Friend): An American ending.
Book Chatter and Other Stuff
September 13, 2012
by Vanina Marsot
Where else but Paris could a woman, running away from a love betrayal, find comfort in the arms of old & new eclectic friends…accidently get a job translating a dramatic french, pornographic novel…and fall in love with a handsome theatrical producer!?! Art imitating life, or life imitating art, either way our author and translator take us through the streets of Paris not remiss of one taste of chocolat, pears or caffe, I enjoyed myself immensley and pay kudos for a well written novel.
If you’re going to escape from questionable job security, and a Hollywood boyfriend who is unfaithful, then Paris is the place to go. And if you are hiding in Paris from said job and boyfriend…ex-boyfriend, then why stick your head in the Seine…you’re in Paris! Do not be thwarted because you do not speak French, for if you do you will miss out on a fun adventure in the “city of lights”.
Anna is staying at her Aunt Isabelle’s 11th Arrondissement apartment. She is comfortable here where she spent her summers as a child. She allows the city to embrace her with the help of some local friends left over from when she studied at the University.
The memory and pain of Timothy is slowly pushed to the back of her consciousness as she takes a job translating a pornographic novel, by a mysterious author, and she meets Oliver Vallant, a theater producer currently in production with his current/former mistress. He patiently pursues her and in quickly, with the help of some french lingerie, she becomes the vixen, the minx, the sexual aggressor. As the sexually charged translation progresses, so does her sexual relationship. But there is always the other woman, the star of his production, his muse. There is also the mysterious publisher, Monsieur Laveau and the always illusive author.
Where else but Paris could a woman, running away from a love betrayal, find comfort in the arms of old & new eclectic friends…accidently get a job translating a dramatic french, pornographic novel…and fall in love with a handsome theatrical producer!?! Art imitating life, or life imitating art, either way our author and translator take us through the streets of Paris not remiss of one taste of chocolat, pears or caffe, I enjoyed myself immensley and pay kudos for a well written novel.
Where else but Paris could a woman, running away from a love betrayal, find comfort in the arms of old & new eclectic friends…accidently get a job translating a dramatic french, pornographic novel…and fall in love with a handsome theatrical producer!?! Art imitating life, or life imitating art, either way our author and translator take us through the streets of Paris not remiss of one taste of chocolat, pears or caffe, I enjoyed myself immensley and pay kudos for a well written novel.
If you’re going to escape from questionable job security, and a Hollywood boyfriend who is unfaithful, then Paris is the place to go. And if you are hiding in Paris from said job and boyfriend…ex-boyfriend, then why stick your head in the Seine…you’re in Paris! Do not be thwarted because you do not speak French, for if you do you will miss out on a fun adventure in the “city of lights”.
Anna is staying at her Aunt Isabelle’s 11th Arrondissement apartment. She is comfortable here where she spent her summers as a child. She allows the city to embrace her with the help of some local friends left over from when she studied at the University.
The memory and pain of Timothy is slowly pushed to the back of her consciousness as she takes a job translating a pornographic novel, by a mysterious author, and she meets Oliver Vallant, a theater producer currently in production with his current/former mistress. He patiently pursues her and in quickly, with the help of some french lingerie, she becomes the vixen, the minx, the sexual aggressor. As the sexually charged translation progresses, so does her sexual relationship. But there is always the other woman, the star of his production, his muse. There is also the mysterious publisher, Monsieur Laveau and the always illusive author.
Where else but Paris could a woman, running away from a love betrayal, find comfort in the arms of old & new eclectic friends…accidently get a job translating a dramatic french, pornographic novel…and fall in love with a handsome theatrical producer!?! Art imitating life, or life imitating art, either way our author and translator take us through the streets of Paris not remiss of one taste of chocolat, pears or caffe, I enjoyed myself immensley and pay kudos for a well written novel.
June 28, 2010
I enjoyed this book. I think it's supposed to be a romance - and that's the somewhat cliched part of the narrative - but what's more fascinating is the narrator's observations about French language and culture. The bilingual Anna has been hired to translate the erotic novel of a writer whose identity remains a mystery to her, but the process of translation is very interesting. I didn't enjoy the narrator's problematic love life nearly as much as this aspect. At one point Anna’s friend is making her eggs and she asks, “How do you like yours? Baveuse?” The exchange follows:
I made a face. “That’s such a gross word,” I said.
“What, baveuse? It’s just runny.”
“It means runny, but it’s the actual word for ‘drooly,’” I said. “ Bave is drool.”
The deft and lovely descriptions of Paris are also pretty wonderful. I've only been there a couple of brief times, but Marsot's imagery conjures the sensory delight of Parisian architecture, cafe life, and window shopping for confectionary indulgences. This is a sexy little novel, but not because of the sex. It's the depiction of intellectual life that made me pine for France. Well, maybe the croissants and pear tarts were a factor too.
I made a face. “That’s such a gross word,” I said.
“What, baveuse? It’s just runny.”
“It means runny, but it’s the actual word for ‘drooly,’” I said. “ Bave is drool.”
The deft and lovely descriptions of Paris are also pretty wonderful. I've only been there a couple of brief times, but Marsot's imagery conjures the sensory delight of Parisian architecture, cafe life, and window shopping for confectionary indulgences. This is a sexy little novel, but not because of the sex. It's the depiction of intellectual life that made me pine for France. Well, maybe the croissants and pear tarts were a factor too.
November 8, 2010
I really loved this book. The story was engaging, but I was more fascinated with how she dealt with the differences between French and English (languages and cultures). I have never read anything quite like this — with this particular approach to dissecting the languages and cultures.
Each chapter begins with a well-chosen quote in either French or English (she provides very good translations of the French quotes for those who need it, or for someone like me, who likes to see both versions presented and how the translation was approached). These quotes relate to language and culture and enhance the book.
The author also works in her “discussions” of linguistic and cultural differences naturally into the book, so that they are part of the story and do not disrupt the reader’s flow.
If you are a French speaker (and even if you are not, but you love languages), I highly recommend this enjoyable novel that recounts an interesting story about a bilingual in Paris and at the same time provides enlightenment and insight into bilingualism from a higher-level perspective, exploring how we see culture and language.
(There is a longer version of this review on my blog here: http://bloggingonbilingualism.com/201...)
Each chapter begins with a well-chosen quote in either French or English (she provides very good translations of the French quotes for those who need it, or for someone like me, who likes to see both versions presented and how the translation was approached). These quotes relate to language and culture and enhance the book.
The author also works in her “discussions” of linguistic and cultural differences naturally into the book, so that they are part of the story and do not disrupt the reader’s flow.
If you are a French speaker (and even if you are not, but you love languages), I highly recommend this enjoyable novel that recounts an interesting story about a bilingual in Paris and at the same time provides enlightenment and insight into bilingualism from a higher-level perspective, exploring how we see culture and language.
(There is a longer version of this review on my blog here: http://bloggingonbilingualism.com/201...)
October 12, 2014
I gave it 4 stars, but I'm pretty sure if I read the other reviews, I could be talked down to 3. But here are my thoughts without their influence....
If you've got no French, you'll miss a lot. If you've got some French like me, it's a challenging read, but I even got some of the jokes in French (at least, I think I did!) so it was kind of fun to discover I have more French than I thought. Still, it did make me a little bit tired at times.
I don't think subplot (the book she translates) adds much to the story. It adds a lot to the understanding of how things are translated and how English and French are related, and that I found pretty interesting from a linguistic point of view. But it was repetitive of the actual story, so a lot of it bored me.
So why four stars if I have all these things I wasn't sold on? Well, the ending for one. No spoilers here, but she really pulls off the ending well. Also, every once in a while, the writing was pretty stellar. A line here, an observation there...I never once felt like not continuing on, even though it's not a very exciting novel. I would say it's compelling, but not exciting. And honestly, I'm fascinated by the insider's look at Paris.
I'll be interested to read more by this author.
If you've got no French, you'll miss a lot. If you've got some French like me, it's a challenging read, but I even got some of the jokes in French (at least, I think I did!) so it was kind of fun to discover I have more French than I thought. Still, it did make me a little bit tired at times.
I don't think subplot (the book she translates) adds much to the story. It adds a lot to the understanding of how things are translated and how English and French are related, and that I found pretty interesting from a linguistic point of view. But it was repetitive of the actual story, so a lot of it bored me.
So why four stars if I have all these things I wasn't sold on? Well, the ending for one. No spoilers here, but she really pulls off the ending well. Also, every once in a while, the writing was pretty stellar. A line here, an observation there...I never once felt like not continuing on, even though it's not a very exciting novel. I would say it's compelling, but not exciting. And honestly, I'm fascinated by the insider's look at Paris.
I'll be interested to read more by this author.
October 1, 2009
I LOVED this book!!
From the perspective of a Francophile and language freak who hasn't seen Paris in a decade & just went through a nasty break up this book had elements that spoke to me all over the place.
I laughed aloud reading this book more than I have in a long time & I'm still giggling about the fact that one of the start-of-chapter quotations was the "royale with cheese" speech from Pulp Fiction.
Obviously the people who have difficulty listening to the self-destructive mental processes of a recent deception & bad break up haven't been through one lately & good for them. However, I found this book excellent in its descriptions of the ways in which someone will dwell on idiotic tidbits when in the throes of relationship recovery. It may not be funny but it's accurate, and capturing those uncomfortable moments are part of what makes great literature.
I loved the random tangents she went on while looking up words for her translation, and I loved the descriptions of Paris. I love love LOVED this book, and when it was done I closed it and pressed my forehead to it wishing that there was a way to just absorb it into myself.
From the perspective of a Francophile and language freak who hasn't seen Paris in a decade & just went through a nasty break up this book had elements that spoke to me all over the place.
I laughed aloud reading this book more than I have in a long time & I'm still giggling about the fact that one of the start-of-chapter quotations was the "royale with cheese" speech from Pulp Fiction.
Obviously the people who have difficulty listening to the self-destructive mental processes of a recent deception & bad break up haven't been through one lately & good for them. However, I found this book excellent in its descriptions of the ways in which someone will dwell on idiotic tidbits when in the throes of relationship recovery. It may not be funny but it's accurate, and capturing those uncomfortable moments are part of what makes great literature.
I loved the random tangents she went on while looking up words for her translation, and I loved the descriptions of Paris. I love love LOVED this book, and when it was done I closed it and pressed my forehead to it wishing that there was a way to just absorb it into myself.
September 9, 2012
If you are a francophile, you will love this book! The plot is no Da Vinci Code..but that is not what you read this book for...it is for the love of France, the subtleties and complexities of foreign translation, and for the baguettes!! I studied abroad my junior year in France, and this book was able to absolutely bring me back to moments that I had forgotten. Through sensory description, Marsot was able to transport me to Paris, walking through Galeries Lafayette wearing Anais Anais; looking at medieval tapestries in dusty antique shops; ordering a verre de rouge at a cafe in the Latin Quarter; the anticipation of that first cup of cafe au lait in the morning before my first class served in a bowl; the chimes ringing as I walk through the door of my favorite little bookstore on a tiny side street; etc, etc. I could go on and on. French being one of my majors in college..I realize I am biased..I would not recommend this book to someone who does not speak French or is not interested in language. That being said..if you fall into the above category, and you would like a Parisian vacation without the price tag, I say OUI!!
January 18, 2011
Ok, what do you do with a book that is quite interesting and also has a character who belongs in a romance novel? The interesting parts are the insights into the French world view through the French language. The romance part is the main character, Anna, living in Paris, who pines for, goes to bed with, pines for some more, and finally rejects, the tall, dark and handsome theater director, Olivier, who, because he is "French" is also bedding another lady, etc. What carried me through the novel is the descriptions of Anna's work translating a steamy novel from French into English. For instance, Anna wrestles with choosing which English word best describes the French expressions, often quite poetic on the one hand and quite earthy on the other, for parts of the human anatomy involved in making love. There's a lot of that, and not just the human anatomy. And, it all makes one think how much language drives perception. Anna has some adult moments when she deals with Bernard, her publisher, who is quite likeable, which Anna is not.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2011
This was a novel that I wanted to like, but it never generated much enthusiasm in me. I became bored with the main character, a young woman who is coming from a failed loved affair in Los Angeles and ends up in another one in Paris. I had no empathy for her; was I supposed to have had? The question didn't even interest me.
What kept me reading, though, to the end was the promise that something interesting would develop out of her occupation - translating chapter by chapter for an unknown author, a pornographic novel from French to English. Along the way, she makes comments such as, "translating and public relations work may be the same, putting someone's words into another form" or "the French place more aesthetic value on frivolity than Americans who see it as trivial." Unfortunately, she never becomes any more interesting than the fictional character she is translating, but as I say, that might have the point of this first novel. All I know is that I'd never be interested enough to reread it.
What kept me reading, though, to the end was the promise that something interesting would develop out of her occupation - translating chapter by chapter for an unknown author, a pornographic novel from French to English. Along the way, she makes comments such as, "translating and public relations work may be the same, putting someone's words into another form" or "the French place more aesthetic value on frivolity than Americans who see it as trivial." Unfortunately, she never becomes any more interesting than the fictional character she is translating, but as I say, that might have the point of this first novel. All I know is that I'd never be interested enough to reread it.
June 16, 2009
Young woman moves from LA to Paris to get over being dumped. Begins translating an "erotic novel". Falls in love with French guy. So, the erotic novel isn't that erotic, and I liked the parts about translation best. It was interesting looking at the intricacies of French and English language, the meaning carried by different words in different contexts. It has a weird and somewhat unsatisfying ending, like it started out as one kind of book and ended up being a different book entirely. The beginning is more "Under the Tuscan Sun" (fleeing to foreign country to escape ex) except she just HAPPENS to have dual citizenship and speak fluent French. Then the translation of the novel section in the middle gets interesting, until the romantic liaison falls flat and there's other supernatural weirdness that seems kind of tacked on.
November 17, 2009
After her boyfriend cheats on her, freelance writer and dual citizen, Anna, ditches L.A. for Paris to recover. Fluent in French and English, Anna soon lands a job translating an erotic love story, written by a famous author whose secret identity intrigues her. It isn't long before she also meets Olivier, a handsome French director who stirs her senses. But, this isn't your typical French confection. Art and life interweave as the novel Anna translates relates to her present. Through her work, Anna shares her linguistic insights about French idioms, the issues surrounding translations, the meaning of words, and the difference between the French and Americans. It's an exquisite, "mille feuille" cultural lesson cloaked in your usual love story with that oh-so-French-twist. Bite into it, and you'll think you're back in Paris!
October 12, 2009
Yet another book set in Paris. About a woman who escapes from a bad relationship by staying in her aunts apartment in Paris. While there she gets a job translating a novel (her father was French and she grew up speaking both French and English).
While the story itself was king of trite, I did like reading about the process of translating a book. I've read many translated books, and just figured that the words were what the author wrote, simply translated. But the book points out that it isn't that easy. There are sayings that aren't easily translated, even words that don't exist in another language. If the person translating the book is not the author, they must guess at the nuance, the direction and meaning. Frankly, I will never read a translated book the same way again.
While the story itself was king of trite, I did like reading about the process of translating a book. I've read many translated books, and just figured that the words were what the author wrote, simply translated. But the book points out that it isn't that easy. There are sayings that aren't easily translated, even words that don't exist in another language. If the person translating the book is not the author, they must guess at the nuance, the direction and meaning. Frankly, I will never read a translated book the same way again.
February 5, 2013
First of all, anyone who was raised bi-lingual — and not necessarily in the English/French, but in any combo — should read this book, even if only to be assured that all the reactions in your brain from constant hobnobbing of the two languages and the wondering if you are, in fact, the same person depending on which one of the languages you speak, are perfectly normal, and kind of fun! The second reason to read this book is that it really is lovely. A love story/mystery/linguistic study/chick-lit/erotic novel/guide to the city of Paris, it just makes you feel good when you are done with it. A little bit sad, perhaps, but in a positive "life goes on and things will be looking up" kind of way...
January 1, 2015
Francophile
I loved the perspective from the main character Anna being the product of a French father and an American mother. It was interesting to me when she analyzed her thought process using the two languages and two cultures. I enjoyed her reflections on language and culture, slang, customs, idioms, etc. What I didn't enjoy was the storyline! It was just 'ok.' I didn't enjoy the translated book selections.....not my type of reading. And in the end, I wondered what the point of the book was. I would recommend this book to those who would enjoy the comparison of the languages with a warning against the storyline. Maybe I just didn't get it?
I loved the perspective from the main character Anna being the product of a French father and an American mother. It was interesting to me when she analyzed her thought process using the two languages and two cultures. I enjoyed her reflections on language and culture, slang, customs, idioms, etc. What I didn't enjoy was the storyline! It was just 'ok.' I didn't enjoy the translated book selections.....not my type of reading. And in the end, I wondered what the point of the book was. I would recommend this book to those who would enjoy the comparison of the languages with a warning against the storyline. Maybe I just didn't get it?
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