Book based in Paris? Fiction
Jan 20th, 2002, 01:28 PM
#23
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"Perfume" was a sensation in Europe when it came (early nineties?). Written by a German author called Patrick Suskind and set in eighteenth-century France, it is the story of a genius maker of perfumes, who also happens to be a murderer. Very, very strange book, not my type by far, yet I could not put it down.
Feb 4th, 2002, 10:40 PM
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Pere Goriot by Balzac. The paperback Oxford edition even comes with a map of Paris highlighting the areas where the action in the book takes place, many of which famous landmarks and streets of course still exist even though the book was written in the 1820's. A great book too although the new Oxford translation I didn't care for. Balzac is not actually too difficult to read in French even if you are not at the 1st certificate level.
Tender Is the Night by Fitzgerald hits most of the posh tourist spots of 1920's Europe, with a large chunk passed in Paris. He was not a budget traveller, which should win him some points with much of the crowd here, though he did have to battle anti-Americanism on numerous occasions.
The aforementioned Down and Out in Paris and London is an interesting book if you have a taste for squalor. It definitely portrays a Paris most tourists don't experience.
I liked Les Miserables as a teenager, have not read it since then. I haven't read much else set in Paris for a while. Nightwood by Djuna Barnes, an American lesbian writer of the 1930's, is set in Paris and had some good descriptions of cafes and bohemian apartments and so forth, but I can't say much else about this book really lives with me to this day, though many consider it a work of genius.
Tender Is the Night by Fitzgerald hits most of the posh tourist spots of 1920's Europe, with a large chunk passed in Paris. He was not a budget traveller, which should win him some points with much of the crowd here, though he did have to battle anti-Americanism on numerous occasions.
The aforementioned Down and Out in Paris and London is an interesting book if you have a taste for squalor. It definitely portrays a Paris most tourists don't experience.
I liked Les Miserables as a teenager, have not read it since then. I haven't read much else set in Paris for a while. Nightwood by Djuna Barnes, an American lesbian writer of the 1930's, is set in Paris and had some good descriptions of cafes and bohemian apartments and so forth, but I can't say much else about this book really lives with me to this day, though many consider it a work of genius.
Feb 17th, 2003, 04:10 PM
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Here's a thread re fiction set in Paris:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&tid=1322612&numresponses=24&s tart=0&searchText=paris+fiction
I thought there was also one about novels set in France, generally, but I can't find it. There are some threads re French movies and movies set in France. Some of the movies are based on novels, so that may be a way to foind some more titles. There is also a thread from lst summer started by Sheila Ritchie re novels set in Brittany. If that area interests you, you might be able to find the thread by searching Sheila's ID or by searching for Brittany.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&tid=1322612&numresponses=24&s tart=0&searchText=paris+fiction
I thought there was also one about novels set in France, generally, but I can't find it. There are some threads re French movies and movies set in France. Some of the movies are based on novels, so that may be a way to foind some more titles. There is also a thread from lst summer started by Sheila Ritchie re novels set in Brittany. If that area interests you, you might be able to find the thread by searching Sheila's ID or by searching for Brittany.
Feb 17th, 2003, 04:28 PM
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Perhaps not as good at setting the mood as some of the great books listed above, but one of my favorite books I read last year was "The Piano Shop on the Left Bank". Talks as much about pianos as it does Parisian life (it's written by an expat - American, I think), but it's very interesting and offers a good look at Parisian culture. A great book.
Feb 17th, 2003, 07:18 PM
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This may be the other thread cmt was thinking of:
http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...earchText=zola
http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...earchText=zola
Feb 18th, 2003, 01:57 AM
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For a book that evokes a more modern Paris (than Pere Goriot or Au Bonheur des Dames - both excellent classics - or Perfume - also a good book, but not really about Paris), try "The Way I Found Her" by Rose Tremain.
Feb 18th, 2003, 07:46 AM
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Jade,
"Seven Ages of Paris" by Allistair Horne. It is new, hard cover but a wonderful book and is history plus marvelous explanations of how many things got that way in Paris.
Mr. Horne speaks of statues that were built centuries ago and still are in place. His descriptions of what neighborhooods were and are is fascinating. He provides colorful information on the French monarchy, e.g., Henri III dressed in ladies clothes and had an entourage of "mignons".
Great read, worth the extra weight.
Anthony
"Seven Ages of Paris" by Allistair Horne. It is new, hard cover but a wonderful book and is history plus marvelous explanations of how many things got that way in Paris.
Mr. Horne speaks of statues that were built centuries ago and still are in place. His descriptions of what neighborhooods were and are is fascinating. He provides colorful information on the French monarchy, e.g., Henri III dressed in ladies clothes and had an entourage of "mignons".
Great read, worth the extra weight.
Anthony
Feb 18th, 2003, 07:10 PM
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Here's one I'm reading right now called "Without Reservastions" by Alice Steinbach. It's kind of like a journal of a 50 something woman who takes a year off from her journalism job to live in Europe...by herself! Paris is the first of 3 of her 4 month sojourns and I can tell you that as she writes, and I read, I am there, and am this independant woman walking along Rue de Bac or watching passersby from Cafe de la Flore or Deux Magots. It's delightful!
But...if you've not bought it yet, you MUST buy "A Moveable Feast" by Hemingway.
If you're craving something a little heavier, try "Tale of Two Cities," which is probably the book that made me fall in love with France! Happy Reading!
But...if you've not bought it yet, you MUST buy "A Moveable Feast" by Hemingway.
If you're craving something a little heavier, try "Tale of Two Cities," which is probably the book that made me fall in love with France! Happy Reading!
