BOOK REVIEW

WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS: A MEMOIR - TRYING AND FAILING TO BE FRENCH

EMMA BEDDINGTON

We'll Always Have Paris is a memoir from journalist and award-winning blogger Emma Beddington.

Obsessed with everything French since stumbling upon a copy of French Elle as a teenager, Beddington sets about doing all she can to leave her humble Yorkshire roots behind and embrace the French philosophy and way of life.

She even eventually fulfils her lifelong dream of living in Paris, but can the reality live up to her expectations? Can it ever?

Beddington's memoir is a sumptuous ode to Gallic philosophy, Parisian patisserie and French joie de vivre. But it is also a candid and poignant account of grief, loss, relationships and identity.

A must-read for anyone who's ever lived, or thought about living, abroad, Francophile or otherwise.

8/10