Kira Krestyankina

Is this book worth reading if you don’t live far from your homeland? If you’re not planning to emigrate? If you’ve never even been abroad? If you don’t know anyone foreign, and you’re unfamiliar with the quirks of the language barrier? Yes, yes, and yes!

As the author herself says, this book isn’t about emigration at all; it’s about people and the situations we face every day. Every person is an entire country, with its own traditions and beliefs, and we have to take this into account when communicating, although this can be difficult.

In this book, you’ll find the unique aspects of life in France and Italy. Some things will shock you, some will puzzle you, some will make you want to adopt them, and at other times, you’ll feel like you’re shaking your head. And that’s okay. We’re all different, and every country is different. And we don’t have to accept the rules of the game unconditionally; we can always make our own adjustments and embrace what we like.

Ekaterina Hoarau is a Belarusian writer who lived in France for a time and now lives in Italy. Everything in this book is a story from real life, incredibly engaging to read.

If you haven’t read this author yet, I highly recommend it. I absolutely fell in love with “Hold on and Write,” so when I heard about the new book’s release, I didn’t even think about whether I needed it. I started reading it as soon as I received it, wanting to read every sentence out loud; it felt so important. So much that was touching and personal. Such a wonderful style. So much that was interesting. I couldn’t stop reading until 3 a.m. Thank you.