L’accro du shopping a une soeur
Karen Curling
CRITIQUE LITTÉRAIRE | BOOK REVIEW
by Karen Curling
Lingua Franca student (Advanced 2) and accro de la lecture en français*.
Apart from learning French, one of my favourite pastimes is reading novels, so you can imagine my delight one evening before class when I discovered the little library shelf at Lingua Franca. Immediately, my eyes were drawn to a book with a bright purple cover, complete with a caricatured illustration and an intriguing title, L’accro du shopping a une soeur (Shopaholic and Sister).
The author, Sophie Kinsella, is well-known for her popular chick-lit and so with that in mind I decided to give myself a new challenge – to read a novel which has been translated into French.
This is an amusing, light-hearted book which follows the story of a loveable and ever-optimistic character, Becky Brandon. Recently married, Becky (a happy shopaholic) and her new husband, Luke, return to London following their ten-month around-the-world honeymoon. Upon their return, they are greeted with the news that Becky has a half-sister, Jess, whom she never knew existed. True to her charming character, Becky receives the news with great excitement and completely throws herself into this new sisterhood. Unfortunately, there is another shock in store for Becky because the two girls are like chalk and cheese - and furthermore, Jess detests shopping!
Throughout and to the end, poor old Becky experiences heaps of ups and downs – and yes, I did manage to get to the end, albeit six months later. Reading this book offered so many positives. It was rewarding to recognise and recall words which were covered in class, while the exposure to new vocabulary has boosted my confidence with speaking.
Personally though, it was helpful to see the whole range of verb tenses in action. Ultimately, it has shown me that reading an entire novel in French is possible. It is always a luxury to cosy up with a good book but especially so this year. If you are looking for something light-hearted to read which will complement your class work, “L’accro du shopping a une soeur” vaut vraiment la peine*.
* is really worth the challenge