Lulu's Reviews > Flirting with French: How a Language Charmed Me, Seduced Me, and Nearly Broke My Heart

So the author, William Alexander, sets out to learn French because he is a self-proclaimed "French wannabe." He realizes it is a difficult quest especially since he is in his late 50s and language acquisition at that age is challenging. Some of the information he gives on linguistics is pretty interesting and I was enjoying the book but then it sort of got off track. It became more about him and his health issues than about learning French itself. And if you really are a Francophile (as I am), then don't take cheap shots like this in your book about learning the language, even if it's for the sake of "humor": (in a passage about the synapses in your brain that aid in language learning) "The unused [synapses] [...] start dropping like French soldiers under fire." Le sigh.
And such a basic fact as the famous river that runs through Paris is called "la Seine" shouldn't be written as "le" Seine in a book about French.

So, is it worth reading for people interested in language learning and Francophiles? C'est possible. Would I have enjoyed it more without the exceptionally unfunny jokes like the one I listed and mistakes in French? Absolument.