This week, all of us have been riveted by the tragic fire at Notre Dame. We were in a small town in New Hampshire, grabbing a quick bite, when we saw the horrible images on a muted TV in the … Continue reading
I always cringe when I hear the American expression “a wifebeater” to refer to a tank-style undershirt. The French term is much more civilized, un marcel. The shirt was first popularized in the middle of the 19th century by the … Continue reading
The summer program I work for in Paris had a daily newsletter with bad jokes, a skill-testing question about French culture, as well as the details of upcoming activities. I was generally able to ace the daily culture question, … Continue reading
I just watched a really engrossing Belgian police drama on Netflix. The original name was La Trève (lah trev), translated as The Break. The series centers around pill-popping Inspector Yoann Peeters, a brilliant detective who is emotionally unstable. Each season … Continue reading
As a francophile, of course I read Suite Française (sweet frahn-sez), by Irène Némirovsky, when it came out in 2004. The author was working on a series of five novels when she was arrested because she was a Jew living in … Continue reading
Sometimes, I find myself rewatching a film many years later and enjoying it even more the second time. Joueuse (shjoo-uhz), means “player,” but specifically a female player; it was originally released in 2009 and I think I must have seen … Continue reading
