52 Books Challenge #3

This weeks choice was The Secret Life of France by Lucy Wadham. In her autobiography-come-social history, Lucy Wadham recounts her move to France and marriage aged 19 in the 1980's, her struggles to come to terms with the differences in culture and how she still lives in France despite her divorce from the aforementioned husband.

It is not often I read this kind of book, and I wasn't really aware of the nature of this book, but as
I am currently re-learning/teaching myself French the title appealed to me. I found this book immensely enjoyable. Lucy Wadham's writing style is light hearted and informative. She recounts her experiences and supports her opinions with history and anecdotes.

As a Brit I found truth in many of the things she wrote about the outlook of  British people and I found the differences between the French and British fascinating. I have not actually been back to France as an adult, but this book has encouraged rather than discouraged. I may conform to many of the stereotypes listed about the British, but upon reading Lucy Wadham's account I can see how she came to stay in France and she has filled me with enough intrigue to want to see what France is like now. I happen to have a friend who has recently moved to France and married a Frenchman - I think I shall be recommending the book to her and seeing what her take on the matter is!

This was definitely a divergence from my usual reading material, but this is what this challenge is all about: getting through the backlog of books on the kindle and expanding the genres read! So far so good...