{"product_id":"ill-never-be-french-no-matter-what-i-do-living-in-a-small-village-in-brittany-9781416586876","title":"I'll Never Be French (no matter what I do): Living in a Small Village in Brittany","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eI'll Never Be French (no matter what I do): Living in a Small Village in Brittany\u003c\/strong\u003e by Greenside, Mark. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781416586876.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTired of Provence in books, cuisine, and tablecloths? Exhausted from your armchair travels to Paris? Despairing of ever finding a place that speaks to you beyond reason? You are ripe for a journey to Brittany, where author Mark Greenside reluctantly travels, eats of the crêpes, and finds a second life.\n\nWhen Mark Greenside -- a native New Yorker living in California, doubting (not-as-trusting-as Thomas, downwardly mobile, 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, \"the end of the world,\" his life begins to change.\n\nIn a playful, headlong style, and with enormous affection for the Bretons, Greenside tells how he makes a life for himself in a country where he doesnt speak the language or know how things are done. Against his personal inclinations and better judgments, he places his trust in the villagers he encounters -- neighbors, workers, acquaintances -- and is consistently won over and surprised as he manages and survives day-to-day trials: from opening a bank account and buying a house to removing a beehive from the chimney -- in other words, learning the cultural ropes, living with neighbors, and making new friends.\n\nIll Never Be French (no matter what I do) is a beginning and a homecoming for Greenside, as his fathers family emigrated from France. It is a memoir about fitting in, not standing out; being part of something larger, not being separate from it; following, not leading. It explores the joys and adventures of living a double life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Atria Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44888881201205,"sku":"ByrdShop_1416586873","price":28.83,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/ByrdShop_1416586873_d0197110-82ae-46aa-92ea-cbb90c775166_36560de0-18da-484a-b1a3-a68e7adc3fb6_3b390c97-bc4b-4d83-979a-a78c1b3e16bd.jpg?v=1790381331","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/ill-never-be-french-no-matter-what-i-do-living-in-a-small-village-in-brittany-9781416586876","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}