Bruce Hayes

My wife and I are going to Paris for two weeks this September and we want to "get in the mood."<BR><BR>Apart from the classics, are there any good works of fiction based totally, or partly, in Paris?

RJD

Two suggestions. Fredrick Forsyth's "The Day of the Jackal" and "Is Paris Burning?". The latter is not a novel but you can still see the patched bullet holes on the hotel the Germans used as headquarters at the Place De La Concorde.<BR>

c

Le Divorce and Le Marriage by Diane Johnson

paul

There's a movie called _Frantic_ (1988) starring Harrison Ford and directed by Roman Polanski that I think is kind of fun. Sure, it got horrible reviews and was a flop but it still is a good pre-Paris flick. It's a dark psychological thriller (my favorite genre) about an American MD having to cope with his wife vanishing when they attend a medical conference. Filmed in Paris, it gives glimpses into the real feel of the city. I also have the soundtrack and it puts me in a Parisian mood - (yes, it's dated and a little strange - but what French pop music isn't?).<BR><BR>Check at a larger video store to see if they have it.

Sue

Sorry, this is another video recommendations, but the scenes and scenery in Charade (Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn) (196?) are great--metro, bateau mouche, stamp market, etc. Just watching it is a feast for the eyes.

femme

PARIS TO THE MOON<BR>by Adam Gopnik<BR><BR>seems people watch videos more than they read books!

paul

Things aren't always as they seem, femme. And for your information, screenplays sometimes fall in the category of "works of fiction based in Paris".<BR><BR>

mimi taylor

The Last time I saw Paris,is an oldie but goodie.<BR>

mimi taylor

paul, I always thouight frantic was underrated. and since some are adding non fiction like Paris to the Moon, I will add Le Flaneur

femme

merci,mimi-a book,not a script!Bonsoir*

Sue

Femme, Bruce did not ask for a "book"; he asked for fiction, which is why I did not recommend Paris to the Moon, or Paris in the Fifties (by Stanley Karnow), or a Moveable Feast (Hemingway) or Polly Platt's books about French culture/Am culture. And I skipped The World at Night (Furst) because it was WWII fiction (and not really "mood-setting). And though I am reading a book by Parisienne Anna Gavalda, Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part, I don't think it's been translated yet.<BR><BR>PS I liked Frantic, too. As well as Subway, a Besson movie about the subculture living in the metro. (And Femme Nikita was a darned good movie, as well as Diva)

Morning Giggle

The Travellers' Tales series has a book on Paris, full of short stories and short memior pieces about Paris -- highly recommended!

jw

How about the Maigret mysteries by Georges Simenon?

femme

Merci,Sue,for putting me in my place. Classics are,in my mind, books/novels..film classics would be cinema..<BR>and there is a thread regarding films set in Paris already-<BR>you do read thought,don't you? with such a fine list!and oui~La Femme Nikita was a fine film~

f

pardon-that should be{ though}

Lori

Allan (or Alan) Furst has written a series of books that are based in Paris (and the rest of Europe) before/during/after World War II. I just read my first one and am planning on reading the others. Very enjoyable.

c

There is a book called The Last Time I Saw Paris-fiction,a lady goes back to Paris and retraces her steps from an earlier visit,it takes place mostly on the Left Bank,once you are there you will recognize the places she mentions,then she goes on to Provence-which makes one want to rush straight to Provence!

andi

I am going to weight in on non-fiction, even though I know that wasn't the question. A strong second for both Le Flaneur and Paris to the Moon. Also, try Charmed Circle, about Gertrude Stein and her friends (Matisse, Picasso, et al). Now that I mention it, I think I'll reread it in preparation for my visit in April.

topper

topping for John

Ruth

"Flowers for Mrs Harris" (issued in the US as "Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris", I think) is a lovely story, set in the 1950's. Probably out of print now, though.<BR>