The Bonjour Effect: The Secret Codes of French Conversation Revealed

Why do the French like talking about ‘the decline of France’? Why does broaching a subject like money end all discussion? Why do the French become so aroused debating the merits and qualities of their own language? Julie Barlow and Jean- Benoît Nadeau spent a decade travelling to and living in Paris. Yet one important lesson never seemed to sink in: how to converse comfortably with the French, even when you speak their language. Through encounters with school principals, city-hall civil servants, old friends and business acquaintances during their time living in France with their twin daughters, Julie and Jean-Benoît explain why, culturally and historically, talking to the French is not about communicating or being nice. It's about being interesting. After reading The Bonjour Effect, even readers with only a smattering of French will be able to hold their own the next time they are in a bistro on the Left Bank, on a wine tour in Bourdeaux or on a beach on the Côte d'Azur.