"When in French: Love in a Second Language," by Lauren Collins
(Read by Khristine Hvam; Penguin Audio; six CDs; seven hours and 30 minutes)
This may seem like just another American discourse on living abroad, but Collins has much to say about the practice and art of language. The focus is her move to Switzerland because of a relationship and her struggle to learn both the language and the culture. Francophiles should rejoice in her observations, though she stayed very much on the surface, leaving us listening to a very long magazine article. Hvam lacks warmth when she speaks French. One hears a nearly imperceptible pause before her textbook perfect pronunciations. She sounds ever so slightly stilted and uncomfortable, making the listener feel much the same. Grade: B Minus
