There's a blink-and-you-miss-it shot in the film Life of Pi where the main character is reading a French novel — Albert Camus's L'Étranger (The Stranger). I couldn't stop wondering why, especially since I'd just read the book myself weeks earlier and made a whole video and podcast episode connecting it to Mbappé.

So I went looking for the answer......
You don't need to have read the book or seen the film to follow along — I walk through both.

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Audible:
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🇫🇷 French audiobook version: https://amzn.to/4yMCuLk

Kindle:
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🇫🇷 French: https://amzn.to/4pFWNGc

Physical Book:
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🇫🇷 French: https://amzn.to/4aWMesl

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#LEtranger #Camus #LifeOfPi #FrenchCulture #FrenchLiterature #Podcast #Francophile #FrenchLearning

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Hosted by Rachel W. Mak — creator of Rachel mais Rachelle en français

🎬 Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@rachel_mais_rachelle
🌍 More reflections & updates: rachelwmak.com/podcast
💌 Say bonjour: hello@rachelwmak.com

This week's Podcast connected Kylian Mbappé, a 1942 French novel, and a stereotype the French deal with constantly — being called rude when they're really just being direct.

We go deeper into Mbappé's career-long reputation (not just one match), my own experiences with the French "rude" stereotype — including a story from my university exchange in France that still sticks with me — and the harder question underneath all of it: where's the actual line between authenticity and just being inconsiderate?

📺 Watch the original YouTube video: https://youtu.be/lp7mn4bQg2A

📚 Get a copy of L'Étranger/The Outsider here:
(This is an affiliate link — a small percentage supports the channel at no extra cost to you.)
🇬🇧 English version: https://amzn.to/4pvZnyK
🇫🇷 French version: https://amzn.to/4aWMesl

💌 Want more deep dives like this before they become a video? Join my newsletter: https://rachelwmak.com/newsletter/

#Mbappe #France #FrenchCulture #Podcast #LEtranger #Camus #Francophile

Support the show

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🧡Support the show

Hosted by Rachel W. Mak — creator of Rachel mais Rachelle en français

🎬 Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@rachel_mais_rachelle
🌍 More reflections & updates: rachelwmak.com/podcast
💌 Say bonjour: hello@rachelwmak.com

I had this really weird dream. Twice, two nights in a row. Nobody was chasing me, nobody was blaming me — and yet I woke up both mornings feeling completely wrecked. It took me a while to figure out why.

This episode is about the months of chaos that quietly pulled me away from my French routine, the fear I didn't even know I was carrying, and the strange, unexpected way I finally understood what my own dream was trying to tell me.

If you've ever felt like you're not doing enough, not disciplined enough, not "there" yet to start the thing you love — this one's for you.

Share it with someone who needs to hear it. And come say hi — I'd love to keep walking this growth-and-French journey with you.

Support the show

- - -

🧡Support the show

Hosted by Rachel W. Mak — creator of Rachel mais Rachelle en français

🎬 Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/@rachel_mais_rachelle
🌍 More reflections & updates: rachelwmak.com/podcast
💌 Say bonjour: hello@rachelwmak.com