They Eat Horses, Don't They?

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He is an over-sexed, chain-smoking serial adulterer whose breath reeks of garlic. When not force-feeding geese or abandoning allies in wartime, he is consumed by thoughts of his next affair. His chic, pencil-thin wife tolerates his liaisons, as she juggles her own affairs while raising five well-adjusted children and holding a top job. He leaves work mid-afternoon to enter a Left Bank cinema, watching a film where nothing happens. Later, he drinks absinthe in a bar filled with Gauloises-puffing intellectuals discussing post-structuralism. His appetite is heightened by the realization of life's meaninglessness and anticipation of his regular cinq à sept with Sylvie. Dining on almost-raw steak from horse meat, he embodies the mythical Frenchman. The myths and legends surrounding the French are numerous, and in this exploration, the author investigates over forty of the most persistent myths related to sex, smoking, food, film, wine, women, and even plumbing. What she uncovers in her entertaining investigations will challenge many cherished preconceptions about the lifestyles of the French, revealing a more nuanced reality behind the stereotypes.