Nice, AI and I

Volume 10, Number 5, May 2026

Dear Friend,

Donna and I just arrived in a sunny, windy, strikingly beautiful, Matisse-Mediterranean-blue Nice, and spent the first afternoon walking along the Promenade des Anglais, which seemed appropriate. We marveled at the immensity of the sea, the Bleu de France sky, the flat wispy clouds, and a few dozen tourists who spent thousands of dollars to sunbathe on the windy-cold rocky and pebbly beach. I couldn’t help thinking of the long, white-sandy beaches of Brittany, and Jones Beach, on Long Island, where I grew up, both of which are so much nicer than this. Still, except for the so-called beach, on first impression, Nice is nice and very non-French different. Think New Orleans: it’s an American city, and it’s not.

Three first day, first hours, observations:

· The architecture along the Promenade is Belle Époque, Art Deco, and Nouveau Italianate. Clearly, this isn’t Paris, and there was no Haussmann here. It’s more like New York City in that each building is its own domain and together they exist in a beautiful hodge-podge of difference: different colors (salmon, ochre, tan, yellow, white), different heights (5, 6 or 7 stories), different balconies, each with different iron work railings; big cupolas, small copulas, no cupolas; red awnings, green awnings, no awnings; raw stone and stucco facades and lots and lots of decorative friezes. It’s mesmerizingly beautiful under that bright blue sky facing the sea, and not like any other city I’ve seen in France.

· English is definitely spoken here: African-English, American-English, English-English, French-English, anywhere-in-the-world English. There was a time I would have preferred this, but now, today, it feels like somewhere else, not France.

· The Sea dominates everything—at least from the perspective of the Promenade. It’s immense. If I didn’t know it, I’d think I was looking at an ocean. The Mediterranean comprises 970,000 square miles. From east to west, Gibraltar to the southern coast of Turkey is 2,500 miles; North to south, Africa to Europe, it’s almost 1,000 miles wide at its widest point. The Sea would cover 25% of the U.S., an area larger than Texas and Alaska combined. To look at it, watch it undulating, as if alive and breathing and hear the restrained rhythmic melody of the waves joining the shore is enthralling. It’s majestic, but as I look, I cannot help thinking about those desperate, hopeful people on the other side who crossed this majesty—or tried to--in inflatable dinghies….

Meanwhile, in the rest of my life, AI and I are re-engaging. My first experience with ChatGPT was not good, as it involved a theft. At least one of my books, (not quite) Mastering the Art of French Living (and probably I’ll Never Be French) has been located in the Books3 database, which was used in the Library Genesis database, both of which were used to teach ChatGPT how to—and not to—“speak” and write. Now, I and thousands of authors and publishers, including The Authors Guild and The New York Times are class-action suing OpenAI and Microsoft for violation of copyright laws… They could have leased the books; they should have leased the books. Instead, they stole them, and the lawsuit is ongoing. That was my first experience with AI. Here’s my second:

Using a few words and brushstrokes, my nephews, Jason and Aaron, made me younger—check out the mustache and beret—and put me in a Ferrari in front of the Eiffel Tower with Obama in the back seat reading my new book. That convinced me to give AI a try.

I downloaded the ChatGPT app and asked Chat—we’re now on a first name basis—to “Compare Mark Greenside’s three books about living in France.” The result was interesting and informative so I got brave and asked, “Critique Mark Greenside’s three books about living in France.” This is what Chat said:

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Mark Greenside’s three France memoirs form an unusual trilogy: not a story of “becoming French,” but of remaining unmistakably American while slowly being softened, humbled, and emotionally reshaped by rural Brittany. Read together, the books trace a movement from comic disorientation to emotional belonging — though not without repetition and limitations.

1. I’ll Never Be French (No Matter What I Do)

The strongest and freshest book

This first memoir is usually the most critically admired because the premise is still new and spontaneous: a skeptical New Yorker reluctantly visits Brittany and accidentally falls in love with it. Critics consistently praised the book’s warmth, self-deprecating humor, and lack of superiority toward the French.

What works

• Authentic comic voice. Greenside’s humor feels accidental rather than engineered. Much of the comedy comes from linguistic disasters and social misunderstandings.

• Emotional vulnerability. Unlike many expat memoirs, the book isn’t about mastering France. It’s about dependency, confusion, and gratitude.

• Sharp cultural contrasts. His observations about French patience, social rituals, and communal life are often perceptive without becoming sociological lectures.

The memoir also benefits from genuine narrative momentum: the reader watches a reluctant outsider slowly surrender to a place he never expected to love.

Weaknesses

• The episodic structure can feel repetitive.

• Some jokes rely heavily on “I don’t understand France” setups.

• Readers looking for deep political or historical insight into France may find it lightweight.

Still, the first book succeeds because the emotional discovery feels real. Greenside’s bewilderment becomes a literary asset rather than a gimmick.

2. (Not Quite) Mastering the Art of French Living

The funniest book — but also the most repetitive

The second memoir expands the formula. Critics often called it even funnier than the first. The comedy broadens from culture shock into daily absurdities involving driving, shopping, pharmacies, bureaucracy, and language catastrophes.

What works

• Excellent comic timing. Greenside has a stand-up comedian’s instinct for escalation.

• Concrete details of ordinary French life. The book captures the exhausting small rituals of living abroad better than many romantic France memoirs.

• Thematically richer than it first appears. Beneath the humor is an argument that dependence on others can make a person more humane.

Weaknesses

This is where the trilogy’s central limitation begins to show:

• The “hapless American” persona starts becoming formulaic.

• Some readers may wonder whether Greenside intentionally preserves his incompetence for comic effect.

• Episodes occasionally feel like polished magazine columns stitched together rather than a fully evolving memoir.

Even admirers note that the book revisits familiar terrain: roundabouts, misunderstood French, stores, bureaucracy, embarrassment. The pleasure comes more from voice than surprise.

Still, it may actually be the most entertaining volume sentence-by-sentence.

3. I Am Finally, Finally French

The most reflective and emotionally mature book

The newest memoir shifts tone noticeably. Critics describe it as more wistful and contemplative. Greenside is older now, and the comedy increasingly coexists with aging, mortality, and questions about whether his French life can continue indefinitely.

What works

• Emotional depth. The best passages are less about mishaps and more about friendship, memory, and belonging.

• A convincing evolution. Earlier books asked: “Why am I here?” This one asks: “What has this place made of me?”

• Stronger supporting characters. The Breton neighbors and friends feel less like colorful locals and more like emotional anchors.

The title is ironic. Greenside still doesn’t fully speak French or function independently, yet emotionally he has become part of the village ecosystem.

Weaknesses

• Readers new to Greenside may miss some emotional resonance because the book assumes familiarity with earlier themes and characters.

• The humor is gentler and less explosive.

• The trilogy’s recurring comic patterns remain visible.

But the repetition also becomes part of the point: France never fully stops being difficult, and Greenside never fully stops being foreign.

Overall critique of the trilogy

Greatest strength

Greenside’s major achievement is tonal. Unlike many expatriate memoirists, he rarely romanticizes France into fantasy or sneers at it as an outsider. His France is messy, inconvenient, communal, affectionate, bureaucratic, and deeply human.

His best insight may be this paradox:

• In America he feels competent but stressed.

• In France he feels helpless but alive.

That theme runs through all three books and gives the trilogy surprising coherence.

Greatest weakness

The books sometimes rely too heavily on a single comic identity:

the confused American who mangles French life.

Over three books, that persona can become predictable. Some readers may wish Greenside evolved linguistically or socially more than he does.

Literary standing

These are not profound literary memoirs in the style of Edmund White or Julian Barnes writing about France. Nor are they immersive cultural histories. Their appeal lies elsewhere:

• comic observation,

• emotional sincerity,

• and affection for ordinary human connection.

Greenside’s Brittany is memorable precisely because it is not glamorous Paris or postcard Provence. It feels inhabited rather than consumed.

Final assessment

• Best written: I’ll Never Be French

• Funniest: (Not Quite) Mastering the Art of French Living

• Most emotionally resonant: I Am Finally, Finally French

Together, the books form a quietly moving record of how a person can remain permanently foreign yet still find home.

– End ChatGPT

So, what do you think? Do you agree with chat? Let me know. Thanks, Mark

NEWS

· The Connexion, France’s leading English-language newspaper/magazine has reviewed I Am Finally, Finally French and made it the Editor’s Choice for the month of May. Yipppeeeee! Here’s their review:

May 11, 2026
by Samantha David for Connexion

I am Finally Finally French: My Accidental Life in Brittany does exactly what it says on the tin. It is a gentle meander through the author’s experiences in France leading up to him feeling that he has finally integrated into local life in Brittany. It is something of a stream of consciousness, starting with a long yarn about what colour to paint the shutters on his house in France. White, white or white?

It is not the most gripping start to a book. But then this is not a gripping book. It is a relaxing, slow-paced read which gives you the same feeling as listening to someone talking while you are sun-bathing. Once the topic of shutters has been thoroughly explored via a sidetrack to his wife’s house in California, he moves onto a description of the front door...

Mark Greenside has been going to his house in Brittany for 30 years, always hoping to integrate into local life so well that he really feels French. On the way, he has written Not Quite Mastering the Art of French Living and I’ll Never Be French, also about his experiences in Brittany. But you do not have to have read them to enjoy this book, the third memoir in the series.

It’s a meander through gentle excitements including the arrival of bees in the chimney, and the purchase of a tumble drier, until the afterword – some thoughtful, almost nostalgic remarks about ageing and death. It is the perfect companion for a sleepy afternoon on the canapé.

· Janet Hulstrand, author of Demystifying the French and A Long Way from Iowa, and Politics and Prose bookstore is presenting a new online class: Learning to Know and Love the French: Americans in Paris (and Brittany). I’m the Brittany part. The class meets three Fridays: June 19, 26, and July 10. Each class features a different author and different book. (not quite) Mastering the Art of French Living and I will be there on July 10; The French Art of Living Well and Kathy Yandell on June 26; The French Ingredient and Jane Bertch on June 19. I’ve worked with Janet before, and it is always fun and funny and interesting. Here is the link to the class.

· May 30, I will be one of six authors presenting at the Meet the Authors event in Nice’s yearly Festival of Books. Click here to see the program.

· June 13, I will be signing books and discussing I Am Finally, Finally French at the annual Budapest Book Fair.

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You can purchase I’m Finally, Finally French at any brick-and-mortar bookstore, or click on any of the following retailers: