Review: Are We French Yet? by Keith Van Sickle is a delightfully humorous look at a couple splitting their time between Silicon Valley and Provence, France. Can you live in two different countries and maintain your sanity? Read on to follow Keith and Val as they attempt to become french while remaining American too.
Title: Are We French Yet? Keith & Val’s Adventures in Provence
Author: Keith Van Sickle
Publisher: Dresher Publishing
Genres: Travel Biography – French Travel Guide – Provence Travel
Print Length: 240 pages
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Synopsis and edition information is from Goodreads and Amazon.
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Review: Are We French Yet? by Keith Van Sickle
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Synopsis:
Can Two Americans Really Become French?
Val and Keith turned their lives upside down when they quit their jobs and began a
part-time life in Provence. But they wondered: Can we fit in? And maybe become
French ourselves?
Follow their adventures as they slowly unlock the mysteries of France…
– Is it true that French people are like coconuts?
– Can you learn to argue like a French person?
– What books have changed French lives?
– Most important of all, how do you keep your soup from exploding?
There’s more to becoming French than just learning the language. If you want the
inside scoop on la belle France, you won’t want to miss this delightful book!
Excerpts from Are We French Yet?:
Vive La France! The first clue that this was not going to be a simple apéritif was
when we walked into the house and saw that it was full of people. I think word had
gotten out that there were Americans coming over who sort of spoke French, and
everyone wanted to see this oddity, kind of like a three-headed cat. Or maybe they’d
been watching old American movies and thought we would show up with cowboy
hats and six-shooters and do tricks with our lassoes.
Oops: Every driver was being pulled over and told to blow into a breathalyzer, which
meant Val because she was the one driving. “I’m nervous,” she said, “because I’m
feeling the wine a little bit. Here, check my hand!” It was cold and clammy. “What if
they put me in handcuffs and haul me off to jail? Will you know how to bail me out?”
I didn’t think I would, but this was definitely not the time to point that out.
Bulls Go For A Swim: “The bull has escaped!” Val and I looked up to see a thousand
pounds of anger barreling down the street right at us. We ran to safety as the bull
thundered past, followed by French cowboys on horseback.
The most entertaining travel guide!
It’s All About The Tongue: The first time we had a class with Geneviève, she pulled a
book off a shelf and asked us to each read a few paragraphs to test our
pronunciation. I knew we were in trouble as soon as Val started. As she spoke,
Geneviève began jotting notes on a pad of paper. After a few sentences, she started
grinning. Then she started giggling. When it was my turn, she put down her pen and
started laughing out loud and wiping her eyes.
Out of Gas: Between guests and food and exercise and reading and living a French
life, our days are full. And then once in a while, something unexpected comes along
that takes even more time. Like the day the country ran out of gasoline.
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[socialpug_tweet tweet=”Gina Reviews: Are We French Yet? by Keith Van Sickle Follow Val and Keith’s adventures in Provence. #BookReview #BookBloggers #FrenchTravelGuide @keith_vansickle #Humor #Francophiles #ad @ginaraemitchell ” display_tweet=”Share the adventures of Keith and Val as they attempt to become proficient at life in Provence. A humorous travel guide! Don’t miss this one, even if you don’t plan to travel to France.”]
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My Review: Are We French Yet? by Keith Van Sickle
What a delightful book! I loved the stories of Val & Keith’s adventures with living part-time in two countries. I’ve never been to France but feel like I learned so much about the county through the author’s exemplary writing style.
Although the story is part travel guide and part humorous vignettes, it is mostly about friendship. The friendships described within these pages are what a person dreams of obtaining. Deep, authentic friendships that will withstand language barriers, political and social disparities are rare in today’s world. The following quote spoke to my heart. Oh, to be able to have friends like these.
“My friends were able to attack one another’s ideas but not each other. In the US, such strong differences of opinion too often turn personal. Arguments can damage friendships and even split families.”
Whether you have any interest in French travel or not, “Are We French Yet?” will entertain and educate you.
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Author Bio:
Grateful for the scholarships that helped him pay for college, in 1987, he started a foundation that helps students from Alameda pursue a college education.
Keith fell in love with Europe during a five-year expat assignment in Switzerland, where he and his wife Val lived in a village with more cows than people. After returning to the US, Keith helped start a company whose product was so geeky that he still doesn’t quite understand it.
Keith and Val dreamed of living abroad again but were unable to find another expat gig. So they decided to invent their own. Now consultants, they and their trusty dog split their time between Silicon Valley and Provence, delving ever deeper into what makes France so endlessly fascinating.
An interview with author Keith Van Sickle
How long have you been writing?
I started writing my first book, One Sip at a Time, in 2015 and it was published in 2017.
My second book, Are We French Yet? was published this year. I have also written over
one hundred articles about France for French-themed publications like France Today.
What inspired you to write in this genre?
I’ve always loved travel memoirs, and books like “A Year in Provence” have been a great
inspiration. Many of the stories I tell in my book began in a travel blog I wrote when my
wife and I would spend a few months each year in Provence. Some of my friends
encouraged me to use them as the basis for a book.
I took the idea to a friend who is a successful author and asked if he thought this would
be a good idea, expecting that he would tell me, “Don’t quit your day job.” But he was
very encouraging, giving me only two caveats: 1—As an unknown author, I should not
waste my time chasing publishers and should instead self-publish. 2—The average self-
published book only sells a few hundred copies.
I took his advice and self-published and am delighted that my books have sold far more
than a few hundred copies!
Do you have a set writing schedule?
When I’m writing a book, I try to spend a few hours a day on it. Depending on where my
“writing energy” is that day, I might sketch out new ideas, write new material, or edit what
I’ve already done. I find that my energy changes from day to day, and I need to follow
where it leads.
Do you need silence to write, or can you work in any environment?
I need it to be quiet to write new material. And when I’m working on the meta-narrative
(separate from an individual story) I need time to concentrate and really put it all together
in my head to make sure the pieces fit properly.
What is your most unusual writing quirk?
I don’t know if it’s a quirk, but I try to write stories that make me laugh.
Were you an avid reader growing up?
Oh yes, I just loved to read as a boy. I started with children’s books and slowly moved up
to adult books and then the classics. Sadly, I read much less when I got to college (I
studied engineering.)
During much of my working life, I found it hard to find time to read books, so I mostly
focused on newspapers and magazines—I think I had over a dozen magazine
subscriptions at one point! Since I have been working less, I have found more time to
read books, which is a great pleasure. I’ve learned French as an adult (so hard!) and
now try to read about half in French and half in English.
Who has influenced your writing the most?
As an author, I’m inspired by the humor of people like Peter Mayle, Bill Bryson and
David Sedaris. For trying to convey the magic of Provence, there’s no one like Marcel
Pagnol.
Is there anything you would like my readers to know about you and your book?
Some years ago, my wife and I were expats in Switzerland. It was a wonderful five years
that changed our lives. After we moved back to the US, we tried to find another expat
assignment but with no success, so we eventually decided to create our own. We quit
our jobs, became consultants, and started living part of the year in France. And oh, we
didn’t speak French at the time. Hilarity, as they say, ensued. That’s what I write about in
my books.
Connect with Keith:
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Review: Are We French Yet? by Keith Van Sickle
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More reviews by Gina
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Congratulations on beating your goal before November!! What an accomplishment! I always look forward to reading your reviews.
Thanks!
Thank you. I appreciate you being a loyal reader.