Thursday, July 19, 2012

Book Excerpt for the Day


    "It's you I want.  Need.  You know.  Love."

    We Brits have it much harder than the French.  They've got their word 'aimer', which means to love, sure, but it also means to like.  So you can get away with telling someone you love them without nearly so much risk and commitment.

    I'd had it done to me.  A womans says, 'je t'aime' and then quickly adds 'bien' on the end, and suddenly it's just, 'je t'aime bien' - 'I like you a lot.'

    I guess we could achieve the same deflating effect in English by saying 'I love you' and then tacking on 'in that wig.'  But generally, when we use The Word, even as ham-fistedly as I'd just done, it actually means something.

    (from Merde Actually, by Stephen Clarke)

    7½*/10.  The complete review is here.
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