The Bonjour Effect: The Secret Codes of French Conversation Revealed

Description

Why do the French enjoy starting a conversation with an argument? Why do they love talking about the decline of their country? Why do they claim to hate their jobs even when they don't, and fall silent if anyone so much as mentions money? Conversation is an art form in France, guided by a complex set of rules, codes, conventions and taboos fit to make the bravest foreigner reach for the cognac. In The Bonjour Effect, the bestselling authors and journalists Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoit Nadeau take a `hugely engaging' (France Today) tour through French culture, to reveal that talking to the French is not about communicating or being nice: it's about being interesting. With their extensive experience living and travelling in France, and dealing with everyone from shopkeepers and waiters to doctors and business associates, they teach us how to navigate the choppy waters of French culture and make a little language go a long way. Even if you only have un petit peu de French, after reading The Bonjour Effect you will be able to hold your own when you next walk into a bistro on the Left Bank.

Julie Barlow and Jean-Benoit Nadeau are the award-winning and bestselling authors of The Story of French, The Story of Spanish, and the bestselling Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong. They currently work as journalists based in Canada.

The writing is as light as it is substantive, and if that sounds like a contradiction, I would refer you to a souffle * The New York Times * A fascinating, even valuable book, full of surprises * The Daily Mail * Fascinating and insightful * TLS * French is not so much a language as a dance, a ritual, a code to be cracked. The Bonjour Effect cracks it -- David Boyle, author of How to be English An indispensable linguistic roadmap. Highly enjoyable -- Debra Ollivier, author of Entre Nous: A Woman's Guide to Finding Her Inner French Girl Whether you're an expat in France, or simply dream of living there one day, The Bonjour Effect is a helpful resource to cracking the arcane cultural code. Engaging funny, filled with examples drawn from the authors' experiences, this is a guide to the most essential of French arts: conversation -- Ann Mah, author of Mastering the Art of French Eating