Tuesday Intros -- French Illusions From Tours to Paris

Every Tuesday, Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea posts the first paragraph of her current read. Anyone can join in. Go to Diane's website for the image and share the first paragraph of the current book you are reading.
Today I downloaded a new memoir on my Kindle. It's French Illusions: from Tours to Paris by Linda Kovic-Skow. This is the second part of Linda's memoir about her time in France, which began as an au pair. I read her first memoir two years ago and enjoyed it.
Here's the opening:

A chilly gust of December wind blew hair into my face as I leaned through the car window to swap cheek kisses with Evelyne. "Thanks for the ride," I said, pulling my blue wool coat tighter.
She smiled, and her toffee-brown eyes sparkled as she steered her Citroen down the cobbled street.

I'll be sure to write a review when I finish the memoir so you can all try it too.
I look forward to learning about some new reads from everyone else.

Books on France -- French Illusions

This year, I signed up to read 12 books set in France at the Books on France challenge held by Emma at Words and Peace. The first book I've finished for this challenge is French Illusions, which is a memoir, by Linda Kovic-Skow.
This was an enjoyable book that takes the reader to 1979 France and let's us see a French family through her eyes.
Kovic-Skow ended up going to France as an au pair because she wanted to learn French so she could become a flight attendant. But in order to get the job as an au pair, she had to pretend to speak French. It sounds like a vicious circle. So 22-year-old Kovic-Skow faked her French test and was hired by a well-off French family. That did not get her au pair experience off to a great start. The French family considered sending her home but in the end let her stay. She grew close with two of the children she cared for but did not get along with the mother of the family.
She also got to attend some classes in Tours and meet other young people around the world.
The story definitely engaged me as I hurried to find out how her au pair experience turned out.
Here's an excerpt from her dinner with the family's in-laws:
Soon Maurice brought in the next course, two large salads, one with crunchy lettuce and duck giblets and another featuring lettuce with truffles and walnut oil. An extravagant cheese board and French bread followed.
Throughout most of the meal, I felt ignored until Monsieur Dubois turned to me and asked a surprising question. "What do you think of Monsieur Carter? Many of us in France are amazed you elected him president."
"I really don't follow politics. I'm sorry. I wish I had more to say." My cheeks warmed, and I felt embarrassed  by my response. At that time in my young life, I knew very little about affairs of state.
Monsieur Dubois shrugged and turned to his father-in-law, muttering a few words before they exploded in laughter.
I remember those feelings of embarrassment and inadequacy as I sat through many dinners with a French family when I was an au pair.
In spite of some of the author's difficulties, I'll admit to being jealous of some of Kovic-Skow's opportunities. I didn't get any days off when I was an au pair. But she was required to do things I hadn't dreamed of, like make homemade yogurt.
At the end of the book, I would have liked some more details about how her time in France turned out. But maybe that will be another book.
The book is available on Kindle at Amazon for only 99 cents.

Dreaming of France -- French Illusions memoir

Please join this weekly meme. Grab a copy of the photo above and link back to An Accidental Blog. Share with the rest of us your passion for France. Did you read a good book set in France? See a movie? Take a photo in France? Have an adventure? Eat a fabulous meal or even just a pastry? Or if you're in France now, go ahead and lord it over the rest of us. We can take it.
Maybe we can all satisfy our yearnings for France, until we get there again.
I'm always on the lookout for fun books and especially books set in France.
Emma at Words and Peace blog alerted me to a new book about an American au pair in France.

Of course, since I've written 25,000 words of my own non-fiction account as a nanny in France, I had to read this one.
I'm only a couple of chapters into reading this memoir, which is called French Illusions. The author, Linda Kovic-Skow, tells the story from the late 1970s when she wanted to be a flight attendant and was turned down because she didn't speak another language. She determined to learn French by going to France as an au pair. Of course, she pretended she already spoke French to get the job as an au pair.
I'll let you know what I think when I finish.
I'm looking forward to your Dreaming of France posts today.