Good fiction book set in present day Paris
Jun 7th, 2000, 09:09 AM
#2
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I recently read, and very much enjoyed, "Le Divorce" by Diane Johnson. It's the tale of an American woman who goes to Paris to stay with her stepsister and during the stepsister's divorce (the ex-husband-to-be is French). <BR> <BR>The story revolves around the woman's settling into the expatriate community in Paris and her relationship with her stepsister, parents, and niece, with a murder mystery thrown in for good measure. <BR> <BR>Not a "deep" book, but entertaining and a quick read. <BR> <BR>The author has just published another, similar book titled "Le Marriage." It's also been given good reviews, though I haven't read it yet.
Jun 7th, 2000, 09:50 AM
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I was going to suggest "Le Divorce" also as it's the only pretty good recent one I know. (Le Mariage has gotten good reviews but is only hardback). It gets a little unbelievable at the end but is enjoyable and fun if you're not a prude; if you are, you won't like it as it has dirty words in French and sex in it (a customer review on Amazon complained about that). For something real lightweight airport thriller/quasi-sleazy try Left Bank by Colgrove. Other than that, the best ones I can think of aren't modern Paris, that's the problem, there are plenty of good older fiction works with Paris as a setting (Zola, Dickens, etc) and of course you've got the mysteries by Simenon. I tend to have more nonfiction books about current Paris, I have several good ones there. A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries by Kaylie Jones is good nonfiction, and I enjoyed the Travelers Tales series for Paris (good bite-size pieces to get you in the mood), as well as Stanley Karnow's "Paris in the Fifties" and of course "Tropic of Cancer" but that's nonfiction and not current and more.
Jun 8th, 2000, 12:56 PM
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The Hat of Victor Noir by Adrian Mathews. For Parisians, the grave of Victor Noir (a 19th century journalist who was killed in a duel) is one of the most famous in Pere Lachaise cemetery, and this book uses that as a plot point, but it takes place in modern-day Paris.
Jun 8th, 2000, 01:03 PM
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Also, they're starting to translate Daniel Pennac's Maulessene books into English--they take place in Belleville and are hilarious. And parts of The Big Blondes by Jean Echenoz (he won the Goncourt last year for Je m'en vais) take place in Paris and it, too, is a weird and wonderful book.
Aug 6th, 2007, 10:42 AM
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Aug 6th, 2007, 12:07 PM
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<i>A Year in the Merde</i> by "Paul West" (Stephen Clarke) is hilarious.
<i>Le Flaneur: A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris</i> by Edmund White, while not fiction, is a charming meander through his personal city.
<i>Le Flaneur: A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris</i> by Edmund White, while not fiction, is a charming meander through his personal city.
Aug 6th, 2007, 03:38 PM
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Or, for something really contemporary--love Edmund White, but he's old (just kidding)--try <i>Kiffe Kiffe Tomorrow</i> (also known as <i>Just Like Tomorrow</i
, a very lively read about a French-Moroccan teenage girl, set in the banlieues. For older stuff, I recommend Simone de Beauvoir's memoirs--all of them.
, a very lively read about a French-Moroccan teenage girl, set in the banlieues. For older stuff, I recommend Simone de Beauvoir's memoirs--all of them.
Aug 6th, 2007, 05:10 PM
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In the non fiction line I can recommend Paris after the Liberation; 1944-1949, by the husband and wife team of Antony Beevor and Artemis Cooper. Well written, lots of interesting anecdotes and insights into the psyche of the French ruling class, and a wider historical focus than the title suggests.
Those who prefer the real thing to trashy fiction might (in the interests of historical research of course) prefer to delve into the delights and intrigues of the world of famous French women, courtesans and others, by starting with Lucinda Holdforth's True Pleasures; a Memoir of Women in Paris, a title which lives up to its promise and provides an excellent reading list.
Those who prefer the real thing to trashy fiction might (in the interests of historical research of course) prefer to delve into the delights and intrigues of the world of famous French women, courtesans and others, by starting with Lucinda Holdforth's True Pleasures; a Memoir of Women in Paris, a title which lives up to its promise and provides an excellent reading list.
Aug 6th, 2007, 05:24 PM
#18
And Paris Was Woman by Andre Weiss,
and, Women of the left Bank
by Shari Benstock,
A Corner of the Marais by Alex Karmel,
John Baxter's, We'll always have Paris, and Time Was Soft there-Jeremy Mercer's amusing account of working at Shakespeare& Co.
and, Women of the left Bank
by Shari Benstock,
A Corner of the Marais by Alex Karmel,
John Baxter's, We'll always have Paris, and Time Was Soft there-Jeremy Mercer's amusing account of working at Shakespeare& Co.
Aug 6th, 2007, 06:08 PM
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Ditto John Baxter's We'll Always Have Paris - I didn't want to be accused of an Australian bias, but now I've mentioned it, I can also highly recommend, on a slightly different tack, Sarah Turnbull's Almost French, Stephen Downes' Paris on a Plate, and Elaine Lewis's Left Bank Waltz.
