[CCH]≡ Download Free French Illusions My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley Linda KovicSkow 9781457514579 Books

French Illusions My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley Linda KovicSkow 9781457514579 Books

Download As PDF : French Illusions My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley Linda KovicSkow 9781457514579 Books

French Illusions My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley Linda KovicSkow 9781457514579 Books

In this first of two books, Kovic-Skow retells her months in France's Loire valley working as an au pair for a wealthy French couple. A slight lie led her there, and she recounts the troubles she encounters while trying make up for that lie.

I was thrilled when I realized that part of Linda's time was spent in the city of Tours. With a heroine of my own from the city, it was great fun to hear of Linda's experiences in the city "after electricity came to France." Reading her account was kind of like watching a horror film. I kept yelling, "Don't do it, Linda!" when I realized she was headed towards a disaster. Since she was in her early twenties and it was the 1980s, it was easy to get into trouble.

I devoured the book and its sequel, and I hated for them to end. They're a firsthand account of the often maddening process of trying to learn the French language, and the patience of the French people during the process.


Tags : French Illusions: My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley [Linda Kovic-Skow] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <div><b><span>Praise for  My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley</i>:</span></b><b><span></span></b><br /><span> </span><br /><span>Linda's narrative pulls you into her world and takes you along with her on her journey."</span></div><div><br /><span>"Hard to put down! I should be asleep right now but I had to keep reading."</span></div><div><br /><span>"...a fun read,Linda Kovic-Skow,French Illusions: My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley,Dog Ear Publishing, LLC,1457514575,Autobiography: General,Biography & Autobiography Personal Memoirs,Biography Autobiography,Memoirs,Personal Memoirs

French Illusions My Story as an American Au Pair in the Loire Valley Linda KovicSkow 9781457514579 Books Reviews

This book is an extraordinary accomplishment for a novice writer. The plot is well-built and the pace is natural. The characters are memorable and appealing, and Linda’s descriptions of the sights, geography, architecture, agriculture, and populace of the Loire valley stir the imagination and senses while including historical and factual details. Written from a first person point of view, the narrative sketches vivid and insightful vignettes of other characters’ personalities with loving care, whether the subject is an infant, an intriguing boyfriend, a peer, or the complex woman who employs and exploits the narrator. Is Madame Dubois a greedy narcissist who cannot resist using her power to control the young au pair’s life? Or is she a high-strung Frenchwoman who is trying to keep the family unit thriving with insufficient help whom she is paying well? And why is Colette, the older sibling, apparently growing up to be so rude and entitled while her siblings are normal, lively children? Why won’t charming husband Armand speak up for Linda when he witnesses some of the incidents? As Linda learns the language and customs of this part of France, growing into woman hood as a stranger under constant pressure, confusing cultural issues, and a challenging language, she finds that life has more questions than answers, and rough shocks that only she can endure and solve. At the end, I was eager to read the followup book to get my own questions answered.
Having studied French in high school and lived in the Loire valley as a young U.S. military wife and mother, I was drawn to the title of this book. I enjoyed the many sentences in French as they gave me a review of the language, but I was disappointed in the author's point of view. She goes on about her employer's "abuse" of her but seems totally blind and uncaring about the severity of her lie about being able to speak the language, which is an ongoing, exasperating, annoying nuisance during her entire stay with the family for whom she was working as an au pair. She also lied to her employer about her whereabouts on at least two other occasions. Her inability to communicate well with the two children who were her primary charges is a large part of her failure to be respected or appreciated. Her admitted lie when she showed up for the job further exhibited her selfishness because her employer was near the end of a pregnancy, thereby putting her on the spot to hire someone because of their immediate need.
Linda goes to work as an au pair in France, lying about the fact that she cannot speak French. Her French "family" accepts this (rather important) shortcoming nonetheless, and Linda honestly try to overcome this by searching for decent French lessons. However, in a sense, the book should not rate 4 stars!! Linda misleads her employers by being unable to speak a word of French (2 small kids and a baby which arrives while she is in residence). So the attitude of the little elder daughter is understandable -- an au pair with whom she cannot easily communicate!

Strangely enough, this clash between cultures is what makes one go on reading the book. On the one hand, an aristocratic, refined and wealthy French lady, and on the other hand our author, a rather typical touchy American woman of twenty-two. She has a certain sense of entitlement ... And it is this clash of cultures which makes the story interesting, although I doubt that the author saw it that way.

Often when she describes what her employer and her attitude say, one gets the uncomfortable idea that she is exaggerating, After all, Madame of the chateau seems to do all the major cooking, and boy, can she cook, while Linda gives her no compliments for the many delicious meals. And life with two smallies and a baby is no joke. So, okay, she gives Linda too many chores (I have no idea what an au pair is supposed to do or not do). But I really felt that Linda was not totally honest about her employer's nastiness towards her. I might be wrong. After all, this story comes from the 70's.

Purely subjective I felt that if Linda approached her madame in a more humble manner (given that she mislead the family in her application and could not speak a word of French) she might have won her over. As it is, her sense of "entitlement" stays to the fore.

So, a reluctant 4 stars, because I wanted to see how this culture clash would end and therefore found the story very interesting. Unfortunately, the end is a damp squid. No matter, Linda, I read on an on ... You're a good writer.
In this first of two books, Kovic-Skow retells her months in France's Loire valley working as an au pair for a wealthy French couple. A slight lie led her there, and she recounts the troubles she encounters while trying make up for that lie.

I was thrilled when I realized that part of Linda's time was spent in the city of Tours. With a heroine of my own from the city, it was great fun to hear of Linda's experiences in the city "after electricity came to France." Reading her account was kind of like watching a horror film. I kept yelling, "Don't do it, Linda!" when I realized she was headed towards a disaster. Since she was in her early twenties and it was the 1980s, it was easy to get into trouble.

I devoured the book and its sequel, and I hated for them to end. They're a firsthand account of the often maddening process of trying to learn the French language, and the patience of the French people during the process.