When in French

chimney sweep leaned forward and stuck his head under the mantel. He poked around for a few minutes, letting out the occasional wheeze. Coming out of the arabesque, he turned to me and began, again, to speak.

On a musical level, whatever he was saying sounded ­cheerful, a scale-skittering ditty of les and las. Perhaps he was ­admiring the condition of the damper, or welcoming me to the neighborhood. He reached into his pocket, proffering a matchbook and a disc of cork. Then he disappeared.

Minutes went by as I examined his gifts. They seemed like props for a magic trick. More minutes passed. I launched into a version of rock, scissors, paper: since the cork couldn t conceivably do anything to the matches, then the matches must be meant to light the cork. Action was required, but I feared potentially incinerating the chimney sweep, who, I guessed, was making some sort of inspection up on the roof.

Eventually he returned, chirping out some more instructions. I performed a repertoire of reassuring eyebrow raises and comprehending head nods. He scampered away. I still had no idea, so I lit a match, held it to the cork, and tossed it behind the grate. The pile started smoking and hissing. After a few seconds, I lost my nerve and snuffed it out.

The chimney sweep resurfaced, less jolly. He had appointed an assistant who, it appeared, was actively thwarting his routine. This time he spoke in the supple, obvious tones one reserves for madwomen, especially those in possession of flammable objects. Reclaiming the half-charred piece of cork, he lit a fire and, potbelly jiggling, sprinted back out the door.

Finally, he returned and reported I assume, since we used the fireplace without incident all that winter that ­everything was in order.

Au revoir! I said, trying to regain his

her life, and offering, along the way, a primer on linguistics and semantics and a cultural history of language. But if that makes When in French sound boring or academic, I ve given you the wrong impression: Collins s memoir is anything but dull. She s analytical, but never clinical, with a reporter s keen ear for nuance, and her curiosity about words the meaning beneath their meaning is infectious. Vogue

Collins memoir, frequently funny, overflows with ideas about culture and communication. Newsday

This gorgeous, finely woven memoir explores the gaps between words and worlds. Refinery29

We can't all fall in love with a dashing Frenchman and move to France, but that's what Lauren Collins found herself doing when she met Olivier. This delightful memoir explores the New Yorker staff writer's experience learning the French language and the culture and people besides. Elle.com

In her emotional, erudite memoir [Collins] documents her linguistic labors, including the missteps she accidentally tells her mother-in-law she gave birth to a coffeemaker on the road to mastery. At times she expounds on the history and philosophy of language; at others, it feels like catching up with a clever friend you haven t seen since college. But the most intriguing question posed is as much about identity as language: Are you someone else when you speak and live in a non-native tongue? TIME

A collection of musings on translation, linguistics, and cultural identity, all underpinned by a satisfying love story Collins s is the best kind of memoir: the kind that uses the author s own experience as an entryway to and a bridge between a number of universal topics. Brooklyn Rail

Part memoir, part cultural exploration, this heartwarming read will appeal to romantics and lovers of language alike. RealSimple.com

Woven into Collins s poignant and often laugh-out-loud funny personal story of trial and erreur is a primer on pop linguistics, with meditations on whether the language we speak affects the way we think and feel. Departures

An exceptionally insightful meditation on how language informs culture and personality. It s a lovely read that gets better the more you sit with it. Jason Zinoman, The New York Times 

[A] wry memoir [Collins] unearths other tidbits of trivia and history that will fascinate lovers of words and language The heart of the book lies in Collins personal story, which she tells with humor, humility and a deep affection for the people and cultures involved. Whether she s describing the grinding exhaustion of learning a foreign language or the euphoria of a breakthrough, her determination makes the reader root for her. When in French is both an entertaining fish-out-of-water story and a wise and insightful look at the way two very different people and families manage to find common ground. BookPage

Cleverly organized, well-written As the memoir unfolds, Collins does not spare herself, sharing her apprehensions and her missteps with candor and frequently with humor Filled with pleasing passages in every chapter. Kirkus

[A] smart memoir on how the languages we speak shape who we are [Collins s] writing is elegant and exact. Publishers Weekly

A memoir of the New Yorker writer s experience falling in love with a French banker and winding up in Geneva, recounted in [Collins s] distinctive and deeply intelligent mix of insight and humor.
Thomas Chatterton Williams, The Nation s What to Read This Summer

A linguistic love story Lauren Collins captures the thrilling vertigo of trying to be yourself in a foreign language. She s an expert storyteller and an excellent traveling companion. Pamela Druckerman, author of Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting

Lauren Collins is one of the smartest, most humane, most charming writers I know. Nobody is more observant of fine details, or more curious about the big picture. In When in French, we finally see her mad skills and effortless touch on display in a book-length memoir a love story about a person, a language, and a whole form of cultural knowledge. Collins makes the world seem like a bigger, more effervescent, more intoxicating place.  Elif Batuman, author of The Possessed: Adventures with Russian Books and the People Who Read Them

As a (sadly) monolingual American, I devoured Lauren Collins s sharp, funny tale of bilingual romance and learning to speak French. Part acerbic love letter to that language and part meditation on language itself, When in French is so charming it made me want to learn French too. Adelle Waldman, author of The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.: A Novel

That anyone can actually communicate with anyone is a miracle. When in French is a hilarious and intelligent book that delves into the history of language, falling in love, and by the way includes words like Ribuy-tibuy. Gumusservi.  Komorebi and Schnapsidee. Maira Kalman, author and illustrator of Beloved Dog and The Principles of Uncertainty