A delightful and courageous tale and a romping good read. Voila
Mark Greenside, author of I ll Never Be French (No Matter What I
Do)William Alexander is more than a Francophile. He wants to be
French. To sip absinthe at the window of a dark cafe, a long scarf
wrapped around his neck, a copy of Le Monde at hand. Among the
things that have stood in his way of becoming French, though, is
the fact that he can t actually speak the language. So Alexander
sets out to conquer the language he loves. Readers will find out if
it loves him back.Alexander eats, sleeps, and dreams French. (He
even conjugates in his dreams.) And while he s playing hooky from
grammar lessons and memory techniques, he travels to France, delves
into the colorful history of the French language and the science of
linguistics, and even goes to Google to find out what s taking them
so long to perfect translation software. Finally, he contemplates
how it can be that in French, breasts are masculine and beards are
feminine, and tries to make sense of idioms like c est la fin des
haricots (it s the end of the beans) which means, appropriately
enough, it s hopeless. But ca ne fait rien (No matter ) What Bill
Alexander learns while not learning French is its own reward. A
blend of passion and neuroscience, this literary love affair offers
surprise insights into the human brain and the benefits of learning
a second language. Reading William Alexander s book is akin to
having an MRI of the soul. Laura Shaine Cunningham, author of
Sleeping Arrangements Alexander proves that learning a new language
is an adventure of its own--with all the unexpected obstacles,
surprising breakthroughs and moments of sublime pleasure traveling
brings. Julie Barlow, author of Sixty Million Frenchmen Can t Be
Wrong "
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