Pardon My French

If you’re looking for un livre* to tuck into this winter, we have une suggestion*. A new memoir by freelance writer and mum-of-three Rachael Mogan McIntosh, Pardon My French tells the story of an Aussie family upping sticks to spend a year in cobblestoned Sommières – a small town in the south of France.

C’est une idée tentante, non*?

The book is touted as a tale of, “Food, faux pas and Franglish – one family’s riotous year in the south of France.” And we’ve been told by a student who’s midway through that it’s a delightful, funny and easy read. (As long as you don’t mind your books peppered with blue language.)

Intrigued? Here’s the publisher’s blurb.

At the school gate, when she accidentally kissed one new friend on the nose and called another a ‘beautiful man-horse’, Rachael realised that small-town France could hardly be more different to beach-side Australia. The smell of cigarettes replaced the tang of bone-broth and sprouted sourdough, the neighbours sometimes came to blows and under no circumstances would anyone wear activewear in public. Ever.

Muddling through every interaction in terrible French pushed Rachael’s family to their limits. Some days, everybody cried and ate their feelings with almond croissants. But the town of Sommières embraced these ragtag Australians, and the family fell in love with their temporary hometown and its outrageous gossip, cobblestoned beauty and kind, eccentric inhabitants.

Pardon My French is a candid, hilarious love letter to family life and France with three valuable lessons for overcoming adversity: make home a beautiful nest, lean into the tough lessons and look for the comedy in everything.

You can buy the book on Booktopia. Or read this article written by Rachael.

*a book | *a suggestion | *It’s a tempting idea, isn’t it?