I continue to work through the backlog of unread books so that I’ll be able to buy new ones with a clear conscience. I bought Pardon My French: Unleash Your Inner Gaul, by Charles Timoney, back when Borders books was selling off its inventory. Timoney is an English attorney married to a French woman. They decided to relocate permanently to Paris and Timoney found himself perpetually at a loss when his school boy French proved inadequate to the conversation. He created this humorous guide, divided by theme and in alphabetical order, to aid others. I knew most of the expressions, but still got a chuckle out of his witty explanations and illustrations. Did you know that while à cheval (ah shev-ahl) technically means “on horseback,” when applied to food it means “with a fried egg on top”? That’s really not the type of meaning you could simply intuit, and Timoney’s guide has many more such expressions. What’s a French expression that confused you?
When Peter Mayle passed away in 2018, I realized that I had never read any of his books; my only connection was having watched 
Sam Levitt is an investigator who seems to be a modern Sam Spade. All the usual tropes are there: guns, gangsters, and a beautiful gal on his arm. This is NOT high literature and the sexist banter may set your teeth on edge at times, but overall it’s a lighthearted read or listen. Along the way, Mayle drops restaurant, wine, and hotel recommendations as Levitt wrangles bad guys who have some high-class connections. It’ll make you itch to book your next trip to the sunny south of France, particularly if you are living through winter in New England!
A few posts ago, I recommended several 
I just finished a book that I procrastinated in so long that it moved with us twice, 
The approved protocol was for the cuckolded husband to remain quiet and accept honors from the king – better titles, plum sources of revenue, nicer châteaus – as a sort of spouse rental fee. Montespan wouldn’t play along, and this is the story of how that worked out for him.
I recently watched 
This film brought so many pieces of my life to mind. I used to work for a judge who heard cases of abuse and neglect of children. I also served on a juvenile justice committee and was briefly a foster parent to a troubled teenager. Certainly, the sense of people being locked in a cycle of violence and neglect was present. My judge had been seeing some of the people who appeared before her for years before my clerkship and no doubt still saw them long after I had moved into private practice. It was interesting to see the informal way cases involving children were presented in chambers in France rather than with robes and a high bench. Some parts of the film were highly realistic portrayals of juvenile justice cases but others not so much. For instance, social workers who assault their clients don’t just get a reprachful look from the judge!
The movie did well at the César awards in 2016, winning two of the top prizes for the male leads and being nominated for an additional six categories. In English, the title is given as “Standing Tall,” but a more literal translation would be something like “Head Held High.” I didn’t love the film, but it sure made me appreciate my own parents and reminded me of why I left law!
The exhibit had stunning jewels, to be sure, but I learned a lot as well. For example, the Maharajas adored emeralds – the larger the better. In the West, we worry about perfection and avoiding inclusions, so the emeralds get cut down to chips, losing all their glorious impact. Then, I learned that it was men who wore the fabulous ropes of pearls and diamonds, not women. They were symbols of power, not pretty baubles.
East Meets West: Royal Jewels from the Al Thani Collection
My latest francophile read is
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