Not only is this incredibly funny but it is very informative and has wonderfully handy hints about how to handle yourself on a visit to France, including useful phrases for all kinds of situations. If you have been to France you will recognise so many of the characteristics of the French Clarke describes and if you haven’t been it is essential reading to help you understand the way their mind-set works. You might also enjoy A Year in the Merde and Merde Actuallyby the same author.
From the bestselling author of A Year in The Merde, the Ten Commandments for Living with the FrenchHave you been taken to what you've been assured is the perfect house deep in the French countryside, only to find there's no electricity or running water? Gone to the doctor with a nasty cough, and been diagnosed with a rather more personal complaint? Walked into an half-empty restaurant, only to be told that it's complet?If the answer to any of the above is oui, Talk to the Snail is the book for you.Find out how to get served in a restaurant; the best way to deal with French hypochondria; learn the language of love, sex and suppositories (not necessarily in that order); it's all here in this funny, informative, seriously useful guide on how to get what you really want from the French.With advice on essential phrases and bons mots to cover all eventualities, and illustrated with witty real-life anecdotes, Talk to the Snail is a book that no self-respecting Francophile - or Francophobe - can afford to be without.Don't go to France without reading this book.And don't even think of buying a house there.