Luc Sante

Shane Brabant
Living in Tongue’s By Luc Sante
English 100 Tu-Th 4:00-5:20
Anicca Cox

Luc Sante is one amazing individual. I have never had the experience of understanding another language fluently, so this memoir was a very intriguing read. After learning that Luc began his life speaking French and then adopted English as his primary language I found myself in awe of his eloquent word structure. He brings the reader into his childhood memories with seemingly effortless recollection. I am unable to relate to Luc’s language/memory connection and I found his explanation of the language/memory relationship to be curious, and thought provoking. I began to think about my own childhood, about the little things that remind me of a time or a place from my past. I am not as skilled as Luc to be able to recall such memories with the level of description and fluidity that he shows us, the readers, in his passage about his uncle’s soft dark eyes, or the smells and sounds of his parlor in Belgium. His illustrations of memory astound me. I am envious of his ability to recollect such fine details of his life. I know this is the writing of a very intelligent and skilled wordsmith, so my feelings of inadequacy in relation to my own ability are overshadowed by the beauty of his words.

The difference between cultures is extremely apparent in the world. Luc gives us a brief glimpse of the Belgium way. Their food, “sirop” and “makee” for example, or how he explains that “real” beer, bread and cheese where hard if not impossible to come by. The comparison of living space was another area of interest for me. Having grown up in the woods of Humboldt County, I have only memories of my mother and fathers small wooden homes. A cellar was never a reality for me, nor was ceramic tiles a normal floor cover choice in the hills. He compares and contrast his apartment in the U.S. to his home in Belgium without making one or the other preferable, he simple points out the differences. For example, Luc Sante describes French as a correspondent to the soul, whereas English was more related to the word. I really enjoy how he writes.

As the reading comes to a close, I noticed another element to his writing that makes it so appealing to the eye. His choice of words is awesome, varied and descriptive, but what make the last paragraphs of this read intriguing to me is the metaphors he uses; the relationship of mind, thought, word and image. I hope to be able to write with such description and rich command of my language. In this class, and in my other classes I will try my best to expand my vocabulary, write with vigor and metaphoric illusions. I prefer to read a colorful passage, one with a wide spectrum and hue of language, so I will attempt to write with all the colors of my mental cognition of thought to word to text.