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French Licence
This narrative non-fiction story covers the author's attempt, as a Californian expat, to obtain his driver's license in Paris. What appears simple enough becomes a tragicomedy as he confronts one obstacle after another. It has taken him so long, that he's able to steer the reader onto unexpected detours along the way. You'll cross funny town names, race against the clock, hear how to talk your way out of tickets, berate blasé customer service agents and bump into wildlife.
There are impossible situations, 'only in France' characters and cautionary tales from the bumbling of an average Joe. Read until the end to see if he beat the odds and made it or not.
It's an easy, entertaining and quick read. Although it's not a how-to, you'll be informed with many surprising bits that even most locals don't know. Many facts are published here for the first time in English. The author intertwines facts & figures inside 40 comical stories. Chapters may be read as standalone tales, or as a chronology of mishaps on the road to the pink permit prize.
This book would appeal to anyone with a sense of black humor, an interest in cross-cultural relations, French culture, or a wonder for what happens when a naïve soul rides into the intersection of technology, globalization, tradition and local government.
There are impossible situations, 'only in France' characters and cautionary tales from the bumbling of an average Joe. Read until the end to see if he beat the odds and made it or not.
It's an easy, entertaining and quick read. Although it's not a how-to, you'll be informed with many surprising bits that even most locals don't know. Many facts are published here for the first time in English. The author intertwines facts & figures inside 40 comical stories. Chapters may be read as standalone tales, or as a chronology of mishaps on the road to the pink permit prize.
This book would appeal to anyone with a sense of black humor, an interest in cross-cultural relations, French culture, or a wonder for what happens when a naïve soul rides into the intersection of technology, globalization, tradition and local government.
- GenresFrance
280 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 15, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 6, 2017
Formidable! I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish.
Joe, his French wife and bilingual son leave California for Paris. Joe seems well-prepared for what French life will throw at him on the whole, but the quest for a French driving license leads him a merry dance and becomes all-consuming. It’s from this point of view that we follow Joe’s adventures in the land of shrugs and snails.
He has a sharp eye for detail and a lovely, lively style. He clearly relishes the foreignness and frequent inexplicability of France. The result is a very readable and entertaining book that will have you chuckling every few pages. For example, he hilariously describes the frustrating vagaries of French road signage, details delicious but interminable meals (with helpful ‘how to survive them’ tips), and gives wonderful accounts of nervous-tic inducing encounters with bureaucrats. He throws in lots of fascinating facts along way, for example about car ownership and vehicle-related revenues, and about the Strange French Names Club aka Asso des communes de France aux noms burlesques. He teaches us some slang and swear words and weaves in plenty of helpful information too, such as about the dreaded priorité à droite rule. All excellent stuff.
For me the book was also a look at ‘how the other half lives’, the other half being employed people in France whereas I’m from the self-employed sector. All those paid days off and holiday vouchers, I’m green with envy!
The only thing I took issue with was where Joe says that if a car fails its contrôle technique it has to be repaired immediately before it goes back on the road. You actually have two months to do the necessary work. Only a minor quibble but worth mentioning in case it causes panic to would-be expats!
A splendid book, well presented and written, and most definitely a must-read.
Joe, his French wife and bilingual son leave California for Paris. Joe seems well-prepared for what French life will throw at him on the whole, but the quest for a French driving license leads him a merry dance and becomes all-consuming. It’s from this point of view that we follow Joe’s adventures in the land of shrugs and snails.
He has a sharp eye for detail and a lovely, lively style. He clearly relishes the foreignness and frequent inexplicability of France. The result is a very readable and entertaining book that will have you chuckling every few pages. For example, he hilariously describes the frustrating vagaries of French road signage, details delicious but interminable meals (with helpful ‘how to survive them’ tips), and gives wonderful accounts of nervous-tic inducing encounters with bureaucrats. He throws in lots of fascinating facts along way, for example about car ownership and vehicle-related revenues, and about the Strange French Names Club aka Asso des communes de France aux noms burlesques. He teaches us some slang and swear words and weaves in plenty of helpful information too, such as about the dreaded priorité à droite rule. All excellent stuff.
For me the book was also a look at ‘how the other half lives’, the other half being employed people in France whereas I’m from the self-employed sector. All those paid days off and holiday vouchers, I’m green with envy!
The only thing I took issue with was where Joe says that if a car fails its contrôle technique it has to be repaired immediately before it goes back on the road. You actually have two months to do the necessary work. Only a minor quibble but worth mentioning in case it causes panic to would-be expats!
A splendid book, well presented and written, and most definitely a must-read.
January 9, 2018
Funny and True anecdotes of living life in France, and the hair raising alternate reality of how things are done in France vs the USA.
For anyone considering moving to France, it's a great read to prime you for the best adventure of your life!
For anyone considering moving to France, it's a great read to prime you for the best adventure of your life!
September 17, 2017
DISCLAIMER: I was given a free electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I am a fairly fast reader, and normally, when I am given a book in exchange for a review, I sit down and read it. After all, the author or publisher who entrusted it to my care is waiting for my input. Now and then, I find a book that I don't want to read in one sitting Never in a Hurry by Naomi Shihab Nye, Places Left Unfinished at the Moment of Creation by John Philip Santos and now French License by Joe Start. I started this book of essays about his odyssey of moving to France and obtaining permission from the Country to legally drive on their highways and byways and was enjoying it so much, I parsed out the essays to a few a day just to make the book last longer. Sorry Mr. Start, if I've taken too long to read it.
Having lived in Germany, many years ago, I could relate to some of his frustrations. Not that I had to deal with a Drivers License, but I did have to deal with a new country, language, and culture. As much fun as it was, it still had its moments.
French License should be read by anyone who is considering moving to a different country, for whatever reason and for however long. In fact, it jolly well might be worth it to read before going on a vacation in a country with a language and culture you're not intimately familiar with.
While the basic story is about the trials and tribulations of getting his drivers license, it is also a marvelous and quite humorous look at life as an ex-pat. There is, as he learned, a major difference between Futball and Football, and though I'm not a fan of the latter, his story of going to the bar to see the game is pretty funny.
There is a lot of French thrown in, but for the most part, it's translatable from the context, and when it isn't, translation is provided by the author. The one thing I have a question on, obviously I don't speak French, is at the beginning of each chapter, after the Chapter (Number) is the word Borne and a double digit number—00, 25, 50, etc. I never did figure that one out.
Do I recommend this book? Without hesitation or reservation. A delightful read that will be savored again, I'm sure.
I am a fairly fast reader, and normally, when I am given a book in exchange for a review, I sit down and read it. After all, the author or publisher who entrusted it to my care is waiting for my input. Now and then, I find a book that I don't want to read in one sitting Never in a Hurry by Naomi Shihab Nye, Places Left Unfinished at the Moment of Creation by John Philip Santos and now French License by Joe Start. I started this book of essays about his odyssey of moving to France and obtaining permission from the Country to legally drive on their highways and byways and was enjoying it so much, I parsed out the essays to a few a day just to make the book last longer. Sorry Mr. Start, if I've taken too long to read it.
Having lived in Germany, many years ago, I could relate to some of his frustrations. Not that I had to deal with a Drivers License, but I did have to deal with a new country, language, and culture. As much fun as it was, it still had its moments.
French License should be read by anyone who is considering moving to a different country, for whatever reason and for however long. In fact, it jolly well might be worth it to read before going on a vacation in a country with a language and culture you're not intimately familiar with.
While the basic story is about the trials and tribulations of getting his drivers license, it is also a marvelous and quite humorous look at life as an ex-pat. There is, as he learned, a major difference between Futball and Football, and though I'm not a fan of the latter, his story of going to the bar to see the game is pretty funny.
There is a lot of French thrown in, but for the most part, it's translatable from the context, and when it isn't, translation is provided by the author. The one thing I have a question on, obviously I don't speak French, is at the beginning of each chapter, after the Chapter (Number) is the word Borne and a double digit number—00, 25, 50, etc. I never did figure that one out.
Do I recommend this book? Without hesitation or reservation. A delightful read that will be savored again, I'm sure.
July 27, 2018
Joe took ten years to get a French license. And he tells us of the twists and turns that all of us who move to France (and even those that were born here) routinely expect when dealing with the administration. But the book is less about that journey and more a vehicle to opine about life in France. Joe covers familiar ground done at the highest level by someone like Adam Gopnik and done in the initially funny, but less so styles of Paul Taylor and Stephen Clarke. There are a few moments of smiles in the stories he tells, but Joe is not a writer, nor did he get an editor to read over this, and hence it's a slog to get through. I'm writing an article on whether expats should get a French license and this book was a helpful part of that research, but I can't imagine too many others will persevere past "Bornes 250."
Frustratingly, at the end of the book, Joe alludes to ways he could have gotten a license - getting a license in a state with reciprocity - but shrugs with, "But I didn't know anyone in New Hampshire," showing a lack of tenacity and creative thinking. He may not have known someone, but someone he knew surely knew someone in the many US states that do. He could have established cable service, gone to the DMV with a printout of the cable bill (which he can cancel right after the DMV visit), and voila, he would have gotten a license with reciprocal rights, for a few emails and less than $50, and this book would never have needed to be written. "Residency" is not actually that hard to establish in many states as the US is a very mobile country and people are always moving. But since he felt the need to get *something* out of this 10 year journey of living in France and trying to get a license, he subjected us all to this book.
TL;DR - find a way to get access to a reciprocal license state before you get to France if you plan to have a car here, or live in one of the cities here in which you don't need one. The licensing process really is insane and there's no need to go through it. I'm sure Joe realizes now that it was a strategic error on his behalf, and for the useful bits of this book, I am grateful.
Frustratingly, at the end of the book, Joe alludes to ways he could have gotten a license - getting a license in a state with reciprocity - but shrugs with, "But I didn't know anyone in New Hampshire," showing a lack of tenacity and creative thinking. He may not have known someone, but someone he knew surely knew someone in the many US states that do. He could have established cable service, gone to the DMV with a printout of the cable bill (which he can cancel right after the DMV visit), and voila, he would have gotten a license with reciprocal rights, for a few emails and less than $50, and this book would never have needed to be written. "Residency" is not actually that hard to establish in many states as the US is a very mobile country and people are always moving. But since he felt the need to get *something* out of this 10 year journey of living in France and trying to get a license, he subjected us all to this book.
TL;DR - find a way to get access to a reciprocal license state before you get to France if you plan to have a car here, or live in one of the cities here in which you don't need one. The licensing process really is insane and there's no need to go through it. I'm sure Joe realizes now that it was a strategic error on his behalf, and for the useful bits of this book, I am grateful.
November 21, 2017
This was not what I thought it would be. Although fairly humorous, I gave up after a few chapters as it just didn't hold my attention.
April 25, 2020
It was a valuable tool in preparing our driving tour of France and entertaining too!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews