I gave my French tutor a book by the Douglas Hofstadter, Le Ton Beau De Marot: In Praise Of The Music Of Language[1]. A book that deals with this very challenge. French is such a beautiful language that translations of poetic French involves a number of compromises.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Ton-Beau-Marot-Praise-Language/dp/046...

That it can be cumbersome for an expat, doesn't mean it's not a broadening experience and an intellectual delight.

For broadening experience, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linguistic_relativity http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/04/language-and-bias/

And for intellectual delight, see: http://www.amazon.com/Le-Ton-Beau-De-Marot/dp/0465086454 http://books.google.gr/books/about/Experiences_in_Translatio...