Love, Hate, and the French
I first encountered this book while browsing through Lia's wishlist. When you've been out of the literature game for as long as I had (read: in college), browsing others' wishlists is not a bad way to go about finding interesting stuff. So I'm scrolling through the wishlist and I see this cover, which was almost enough on its own to make me click "Add to cart." Being both a dog lover and philosophy buff, I thought this book could do no wrong. As it turned out it, it lived up to most of my expectations.
At its best, the book insightfully describes the tender relationship between man and dog through philosophy, literature and anecdote. The major problem with the book is that it focuses almost exclusively on French philosophy, French literature and anecdotes about French men and their predominantly French dogs. To his credit, Grenier does a great job of getting his message across drawing only from the French tradition, but why limit yourself when there is such a wealth of good non-French material? As the title suggests, this book represents everything that I love and hate about the French (disclaimer: I have no real experience with anyone from France, nor have I been there). On one hand, the France of Grenier's affectionate, almost poetic words is truly enchanting, although idealized. His exclusivity is almost endearing too, revealing his passion and pride for his homeland. As an American, I can't say I know much about this, but I sometimes dream of it after seeing movies with subtitles. On the other hand, by the end I just wanted to tell him that there is indeed life, culture and a very interesting world outside the French border.
Bottom line: If you're a dog lover with a taste for philosophizing about the ordinary, you'll love the book. Don't worry, it's still light reading. However, you should be prepared to be bombarded by the French like the Italians in 1797.