Thu, 9 September 2010
Text size
'French and Americans, The Other Shore' offers a psychological (meaning weaning and toilet-training) explanation of that age-old question: 'Why are they like that?' An Expatica France book review of a new exploration of familiar territory.There is a long, not so noble expatriate tradition of sitting around citing the faults of one's hosts, that is, the people who populate the country where you live.
Here in France, the question that inevitably comes up in 'anglo-saxon' iterations of this conversation is this: why do they let their dogs poop all over their lovely country?
But I just finished a book that explains it: premature toilet-training. The answer is: the French are constantly searching to both please and rebel against a critical mother figure who demanded results (or other euphemism of your choice) too early.
Aaah. Well, if nothing else, having read this book, you'll never lack for a way to spark a conversation at a Franco-American cocktail party.
No, I'm not talking about 'A Year in the Merde', although the title of that other best-selling work was indeed inspired by the dog-poop question.
I'm talking about a serious, need I mention, Freudian? work of cross-cultural examination: 'French and Americans: The Other Shore' by Pascal Baudry. The original French version was published in 2000 online and in print in 2003; the English version was released in May of this year.
Baudry has lived in the US for 20 years and still lives there, in Silicon Valley, where can be found the largest cluster of French people in the States (outside New York City). And this book was really written for them, that is, French people living among Americans.
Pascal Baudry: psychoanalyst, business exec, management consultant and author
Baudry's subject is, quite explicitly, the French, and his goal is to reveal their own mindset to themselves, with Americans and American psychology brought in for purposes of comparison. (Specifically, while the French are suffering early trauma on the potty-training, Americans are weaned too early and spend the rest of our lives wondering if our mothers really loved us.) 
Oktoberfest returns to Munich, Warhol returns to Switzerland, and AUstrian photographer Inge Morath brings Cartier-Bresson style to Romania
In the second part of our editors' travel recommendations across all nine Expatica countries, we visit Durbuy, Périgord and Berlin, among others...
Expatica’s Dining and Cuisine section highlights the best restaurants in towns, tantalises your taste buds with French recipes, and more.
Let Expatica’s Travel & Tourism section inspire your next holiday, whether it be in France, Europe or beyond.
Twitter
LinkedIn
Facebook
Flickr
General rating: Not rated yet
Rate article:
Add my rating