Ill Never Be French no matter what ..., Mark Greenside
Ill Never Be French no matter what ..., Mark Greenside
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I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do)
Living in a Small Village in Brittany

Author: Mark Greenside

Narrator: Jonathan Beville

Unabridged: 8 hr 3 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 11/23/2021


Synopsis

When Mark Greenside—a native New Yorker living in California, political lefty, writer, and lifelong skeptic—is dragged by his girlfriend to a tiny Celtic village in Brittany at the westernmost edge of France in Finistère, or what he describes as "the end of the world," his life begins to change.

In a playful, headlong style, and with enormous affection for the Bretons, Greenside shares how he makes a life for himself in a country where he doesn't speak the language or understand the culture. He gradually places his trust in the villagers he encounters—neighbors, workers, acquaintances—and he's consistently won over and surprised as he manages to survive day-to-day trials.

Until he came to this town, Greenside was lost, moving through life without a plan, already in his 40s with little money and no house. So when he settles into the rhythm of this new French culture not only does he find a home and meaningful relationships in this French countryside, he finds himself.

I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do) is both a new beginning and a homecoming for Greenside. He has never regretted his journey and, as he advises to those searching for their next adventure, neither will you.

About Mark Greenside

Mark Greenside holds BS and MA degrees from the University of Wisconsin. He has been a civil rights activist, Vietnam War protester, anti-draft counselor, Vista Volunteer, union leader, and college professor. His stories have appeared in The Sun, The Literary Review, Cimarron Review, The Nebraska Review, Beloit Fiction Journal, The New Laurel Review, Crosscurrents, Five Fingers Review, and The Long Story, as well as other journals and magazines, and he is the author of the short story collection, I Saw a Man Hit His Wife, as well as The Night at the End of the Tunnel Or Isaiah Can You See? and (Not Quite) Mastering the Art of French Living. He presently lives in Alameda, California, where he continues to teach and be politically active, and Brittany, France, where he still can't do anything without asking for help.


Reviews

Greenside is an author who spent a summer in France. What makes this book: 1. Different from the many similar ones? 2. Worth time spent reading his memoir? I hope to answer both questions and some others along the way. Greenside writes with humor (though not in the vein of Peter Mayle whom he acknowled......more

Goodreads review by Barbara on January 11, 2009

I can't resist reading about people who find themselves falling in love with another country and then bravely finding a way to live there (and here.) This book was entertaining, laugh out loud funny, and sweet. I enjoyed reading about Breton culture and watching Mark bumble his way through buying a......more

Goodreads review by Sara on August 20, 2009

I must confess that I do not read a lot of travel books, but I was impressed with I’ll Never be French (no matter what I do): Living in a Small Village in Brittany. Despite the lengthy title, the book is actually a rather brief literary romance between a man and his coastal French town. Against Gree......more

Goodreads review by Jeannie on July 05, 2024

Mark Greenside writes an honest and funny portrayal of an American living half the year in a small French seacoast town and in Northern California. His struggles with language and culture, along with a NY style view of life takes the reader on an adventure that this reader dreams of. Great read. Int......more

Goodreads review by Glory on September 07, 2012

I'm a big fan of Peter Mayle and Frances Mayes, so I will read just about any book with a similar theme. Mark Greenside writes from the point of view of a hapless, poor, single American male who is a bit in awe of small town France. The scenes of miscommunication are particularly entertaining. In......more