Books on Modern French Civilization : Sorbonne Confidential Reading Guide

 In Sorbonne Confidential, an American trying to pass an exam for  English teachers discovers France's passionate struggle with integration, identity and language...

• Sorbonne Confidential is at times a very funny book. How does the author use humor to point out absurdities in the system? Do you think this approach works? Is the book a satire, a memoir, an expose or all three?

• For the exam, Alice Wunderland studies literary classics  like Confessions of an English Opium Eater, Richard II, Robert Burns. How does the author try to leverage these works to explore the themes of Sorbonne Confidential? Is this effort successful?

• According to French government statistics, 90% of candidates sitting the agrégation exam for English teachers fail. Why do you think so many people try?  From Alice’s experiences, does the exam seem like a good way to select English teachers?  Why do you think France still uses this 200 year old system?

• Who was your favorite character in the book? Why? Who was your least favorite character?

• Which character was the most interesting? What surprised you the most? Could you relate to the dynamics between Rebecca and Alice? The attitudes of the professors?

• Some of the character do manage to get a “job-for-life”. Are they happy? Is it worth it? Would you like a “job-for-life” of this type?

• Alice succeeds in some ways and fails in others. Discuss.

• After reading Sorbonne Confidential, what advice would you give to a foreign English teacher who hope to work in France? 

• In the last part of Sorbonne Confidential, the tone changes as Alice reacts to the abstract way Sophie’s Choice is studied at the Sorbonne. These chapters feature less humor and engage more directly with the serious themes of historical memory and denial. Are these themes appropriate here? Do they fit with the other themes of the book? Did they add or detract from your enjoyment and appreciation?

• The book ends with the explosion of rioting in French ghettos in 2005. Alice remembers her fury at encountering obstacles. What, if any, could be the link between her experience in an exam for elites and that of the children of Arab and African immigrants?

• Based on your own experiences, do you think the book accurate?