Culture Shock! France: A Survival Guide to Customs and Etiquette Paperback – November 1, 2005

Good advice and information but in each chapter the author touches on points and then explains they will be discussed later in another chapter. The promise of this later discussion is repeatedly so many times, it's boring and frustrating.

Culture shock is what it is!

fine

Full disclosure: I myself haven't been to France. I speak French and have close French friends, though, and have invested a good deal of reading and discussion in comprehending French ways of thought and action.This said, what I really liked about this book was that it cut to the heart of some of the areas where my own people (United States) and the French often don't communicate well. Taylor, who has lived a long time in France, explains quite credibly why it is some people find the French to be rude. How shocking to find out that they consider *us* rude. In any event, what makes this book attractive is that it offers sound behavioural tips and suggestions to break these boundaries and have a good time, always bearing in mind that in any place some people will be rude no matter what you do.A simple example, without spoiling the book for you. In my homeland, the American West, a limp handshake with no eye contact (especially between males) often causes distrust or gives actual offense. In France, we are told (and I have verified), to fail to greet the shopkeeper, waiter or whomever ranks at the same level: a slap in the face. This is what I mean about the book: having read it, you would enter the little knickknack shop and politely say 'bonjour, madame' to the proprietrix, and give her the time of day, avoiding a pitfall you'd otherwise maybe not have known existed.I think this book should be read with an open mind. Everything in it that I could test on French people tested accurately. I think it would be a significant help for anyone who plans travel to France or who regularly interacts with French people.

Full disclosure: Though British myself, I live on the outskirts of Paris. I speak French. My wife is French and I have close French friends. I think this gives me an almost unique perspective on the French and their way of life. I am close enough to be able to get an insider's look at them, yet different enough to be super-critical when I feel like it!Now here's the other interesting thing about my situation: I work for an American Company and I have a lot of American friends. Like many Brits, I feel a certain closeness to USA, even if we find you exasperating at times (just like you probably find us)!Let's be positive first and give you the good news about 'Culture Shock: France'. I agree with my fellow reviewer (Seattle 29 June 2000) that it cuts to the heart of some of the areas where Americans and the French often don't communicate well. Sally Adamson Taylor explains why some people find the French to be rude and why the French often find Americans to be rude (Don't look so shocked! Or maybe you've not tried to communicate with a New York cabbie recently!) - and remember that in any place some people will be rude no matter what you do.However, as my fellow reviewer observes, this book offers sound behavioural tips to overcome any cultural differences... like if you're invited to a French person's home, "Don't go sticking your nose into your host's refrigerator" ... hey do you guys REALLY do that?"Don't open the conversation by telling your host how much you earn."... do you REALLY do that too?"Try using a knife and fork - it's not as difficult as it looks." ... so what do you normally use - chopsticks?You see what I mean about cultural differences.But this brings me to the negative side of the book... Sally Adamson Taylor has, quite simply got some things wrong. Whilst she offers a whole host of useful tips and observations, she describes some of them badly. The section, for example, about the handshake as picked up by my fellow reviewer. I can assure you that nearly all the handshakes offered me are firm with plenty of eye contact. Not the limp-wrist specimens that the author suggests. Maybe she mixes with the wrong crowd.The one observation that the author has correctly picked up (from Luigi Barzini in his book "The Europeans") is that `Foreigners have to remind themselves that they are not dealing with a country that really exists... but with a country that most Frenchmen dream still exists. The gap between the two is a large one, but the French indefatigably try to ignore it or forget it.'That tells you more about France than anything I or Sally Adamson Taylor can say!

While I enjoy Taylor's writing style and personal flair, there are lots of errors in this book. There are things that will get you hurt (like the section that vastly overstates the safety of bicycling here) or get you into social trouble (like the section that states most French people don't know much about wine and they don't have to because it's "quality controlled" -- please never EVER say that to a French person! It's not true! This is their culture and they are all extremely proud of their wine knowledge because the wine reflects the character of each region).I'm not French, but my boyfriend is French (Parisian, actually) and we've been living here in the South of France for three months. It was a new book that arrived in his office, so he gave it to me to read, hoping it would help my transition here. Unfortunately, I kept finding things that just didn't line up at all with what I'd experienced or didn't ring true for some reason. I'd relate one thing after another to him of what I was reading and he'd have to correct it. I then thought to look for the author's qualifications to write the book and wasn't convinced they were really there.Anyway, there are definitely some things that are correct, especially where Taylor states that one should use their French, even if their grammar and vocabulary isn't perfect. And I could appreciate the part where she talks about moderating one's voice in public. (It's a pretty common foible for Americans to raise their voices.) I give her three stars for the general information that's right and a well-organized, well-written book. But I would not recommend this for someone who knows nothing about French culture. In fact, if someone knows a really good book on French culture shock, please tell me. We would love to know!

Dieses Buch wendet sich an Menschen, die sehr viel mit Franzosen zu tun haben oder aber planen, dort zu leben. Eventuell mag es auch für Franzosen interessant sein, zu lesen, nach welchen kulturellen Mustern sie leben.Dieses Buch beschreibt Besonderheiten von Franzosen. Angefangen von der Neigung zum guten Essen, flirten oder dem respektvollen Gebrauch der Wörter "Monsieur" oder "Madame". Der Gebrauch dieser Wörter erleichtert den Umgang mit manchmal grießgrämmig wirkenden Parisern ungemein. Respekt ist in Frankreich eben sehr wichtig und alles was diesem Zweck dient, erleichtert die Kommunikation. Manchmal wundert sich der deutsche oder vielleicht auch europäische Leser über die naiv klingende Art und Weise, wie Autorin Sally A. Taylor sich den Franzosen nähert, aber für Amerikaner ist Frankreich immer noch ein Rätsel mit sieben Siegeln. Ansonsten ist Taylor eine genau Beobachterin der Franzosen. Ich habe in Paris genau darauf geachtet, wie sich Pariser verhalten und habe sehr viele Übereinstimmungen festgestellt. Auch die Kapitel übers Essen, Gaststätten und Weine sind wirklich gut, wenn auch sehr kurz für eine "Grande Nation" des Tafelns.Wer plant, in Frankreich zu leben, wird hier sicherlich eine sehr gute Einführungslektüre mit vielen kleinen und großen Ratschlägen vorfinden. Ansonsten würde ich es wirklich jedem Frankreich-Fan wärmstens empfehlen (und einfach im Hinterkopf behalten, dass die Autorin ebene eine Amerikanerin ist).