Almost French
Love and a New Life in Paris
By Sarah Turnbull

      Sarah Turnbull has crafted an engaging story about the life and customs of Paris, France which reads like a novel. Turnball tells her own story of moving from Australia to Paris on a whim. While traveling in Europe, she meets Frederic, a very interesting and charming Frenchman who invites her to come visit him in Paris sometime. Spurred on by a sense of adventure and opportunity, Sarah takes him up on the offer and changes her whole life to be with him.

      Almost French is not so much a love story between Sarah and Frederic. Rather, it's a love story between Sarah and Paris. Turnball chronicles her frustrations, triumphs, and confusions as she tries to make it in a new culture that proves to be much more complicated than she'd anticipated. Each page provides another glimpse into the rich history and customs of French life. Readers will find themselves cheering for Sarah as she finds a job as a journalist, begins to understand French fashion, and convinces Frederic that they need a dog.

      Readers of Almost French will enjoy Turnbull's wonderful descriptions of Paris, as well as the French countryside. If you can't take a trip to France yourself, Turnbull's book provides a fine surrogate. The landscapes in these pages are sprawling and vivid. You will feel yourself climbing up to Sarah and Frederic's 6th floor apartment and enjoying the bright colors of a haute couture fashion show in Paris. This book appeals to each of the senses and is a book I would highly recommend.