Book cover of The French Art of Living Well: Finding Joie de Vivre in the Everyday World

Book description

What is joie de vivre, and why is it a fundamentally French concept?

In search of those ineffable qualities that make up the joy of living, this lively book takes readers on a voyage to France through forays into literature, history, and culture. How does art contribute to daily life?


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Why read it?

1 author picked The French Art of Living Well as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

As a dedicated Francophile, I love books that celebrate all that is wonderful about the French, and this book definitely falls into that category. It is, however, not blindly celebratory.

Cathy Yandell’s love of France and the French is tempered by a balanced view of French life: the stories she tells about her experiences in France over a period of 40-some years provide insight into some of the ways that American and French sensibilities (and habits and ways) can occasionally collide. All of this is recounted with humor and affection—from a soundly American, French-loving point of view.

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On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive


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