Merridy Eastman

If you are Australian then Merridy Eastman most likely looks familiar. She has acted in a variety of homegrown television series including Neighbours, Always Greener and Playschool and is currently seen in Packed To the Rafters. How Now, Brown Frau is her third book and I have read both of her previous titles, There’s a Bear in There (and he wants Swedish) and Ridiculous Expectations: Or How to Find a Prince which were both a collection of amusing anecdotes about her career and her personal life.
How Now Brown Frau is the story of her relationship with Tom, a German whom she met in England (chronicled in Ridiculous Expectations)and their new life together. I have to admit I admire her bravery, pregnant at forty two she moves to Bavaria for at least two years, to marry Tom and experiences far more than just culture shock.
After the first uncomfortable meeting with the in laws who speak no English and trying to remember to replace her outdoor shoes with house shoes when she comes indoors, her first challenge is language class as she tries to learn German. It’s a setting that provides many laughs as she attempts to follow the logic of Teutonic tenses and possessions. There are also the endless lunches with the family to endure and a local eccentric to admire. Bavaria also offers plenty of opportunities for sightseeing which the author extolls upon at (too much) length on occasion while obsessing slightly on the countries less desirable history under the reign of Hitler. Then she has the birth of her son and new motherhood to contend with. There are hilarious phone calls home and visits from her siblings but just as Merridy feels like she has settled in, a country that doesn’t send their children home from school at lunchtime for the afternoon, is beckoning.
Merridy captures the challenges of her new life with a great sense of humour and keen observation. How Now, Brown Frau is a witty and poignant memoir of a woman falling in love with her husband, motherhood and a country. In all, an entertaining read.… (mehr)

I fell in love with the cover when I saw it in my Editing class last year, and I've bean meaning to read this book ever since. Unfortunately, over 368 pages, nothing bloody happens. It's a great tale, failed actress turns brothel receptionist. It's a tale about women, and very sweetly told. It's non-fiction. I would have loved it a lot more as a story. The budding romance throughout, the drama between the working girls, the rich cast... It would have made a brilliant chick lit or modern women's novel. I might need to steal the idea. ^_^… (mehr)

I fell in love with the cover when I saw it in my Editing class last year, and I've bean meaning to read this book ever since. Unfortunately, over 368 pages, nothing bloody happens. It's a great tale, failed actress turns brothel receptionist. It's a tale about women, and very sweetly told. It's non-fiction. I would have loved it a lot more as a story. The budding romance throughout, the drama between the working girls, the rich cast... It would have made a brilliant chick lit or modern women's novel. I might need to steal the idea. ^_^… (mehr)