Paris, Paris: Journey Into The City Of Light (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
On completion:Who is this book for? I mention this problem below in a partial review. Maybe you want a book offering a little bit for everyone. I prefer a book that has a central focus. A book for weekend tourists, a book for expats and that for a reader seeking information on the city’s history will be three very different books. I don’t know what you may be seeking from this book. I wanted to know interesting details about the city’s past. Some, but not enough, of the chapters did offer insights that satisfied me. I wanted it to capture the feel of the place, and how its denizens behave. The only chapters that came close to doing this are the one on cafés and the one on the author’s night perambulations. You learn a bit about the booksellers along the Seine and the boat people and posh Parisian dog owners….but these are not your typical Parisians. I don’t think this book captures the French Parisian mentality. This is a book of essays. Some essays are in fact very similar to other essays. Information is repeated. If you want a chapter on cemeteries have one and put all related information there. The book should have been better organized.Then there is the tone. There is lots of whining. Rather than the author stating clearly that he dislikes a particular trend he insinuates it. The author is opinionated; you are getting his point of view. He is one for nostalgia; change is usually bad. While he does list the improvements of particular modernizations you hear from his choice of words what his general sentiment is toward the change, and it is most often negative. The gist is that things were definitely better before. He doesn’t offer constructive solutions! The author has a separate essay on Parisian dogs. He is NOT a dog owner. Only occasionally does he and his wife dog sit. He writes about hair styling salons for dogs, clothing stores for dogs, dog cemeteries, dog taxi services. You hear his ridicule clearly. OK, jeweled collars and such are ridiculous, but he simply has no idea what it is like to be a dog owner. He has nothing good to say. This is just one example of what I mean by opinionated writing. You begin to wonder to what extent other topics are presented in a balanced fashion.Some sentences were beyond my comprehension. What is the author trying to say? Maybe the problem lies with me, but I didn’t always understand what the author was trying to get across. I didn’t think his explanation for the term bobos was adequate. There I turned to Wiki for clarification.I hope you understand now why I gave this book only two stars.If you choose to read the book, don’t listen to the audiobook narrated by Max Winter! (See below.)************************************I have listened to half:Wow, the book definitely does improve once it starts talking about the people of Paris. What people? The booksellers along the Seine, the boat people, Modigliani, Coco Chanel and the French symbolist painter Gustave Moreau. I didn't know at all about Moreau and there is a wonderful museum just devoted to his artwork!If I complain, I must also point out when a book improves. It certainly has.**********************************I have listened to about 1/3 to 1/2 so far:I am having serious trouble with this book. The author throws around names, politicians and authors, but often they are mentioned over and over again. Balzac, Victor Hugo and Emile Zola are his favorite authors. It is like, look what I have read, what I know, where I have been.MUCH is derogatory. So much whining.Who is this book for? A weekend tourist? An expat living in Paris? Someone wanting the background story of Paris and its history? Or is the focus Paris today and modern trends? What is offered is a mix. Parts are walks don a particular street and what the author saw at number 258 or 161 or 352. This means nothing if you don't have a photo or don't have the street in front of you. These sections are for the weekend tourist.... perhaps. BUT, a recent chapter read was about Les Halles, the old food market replaced by Forum des Halles, a huge subterranean shopping mall. You don't go to Paris to shop there. Does a weekend tourist want to know about this ugly, cold, sterile shopping mall filled with vacancies? Maybe all you need to know is NOT to go there. Sure, you go there if you have to find something particular, and then you get out. Then pages are spent on the numerous failed attempts to make improvements. (A new center is planned.) And....we are told how to spell shampoo and how it is pronounced! I don't quite see why that was thrown in. There are some bits of interesting history, for example, Roman history, the origin of the city's name and about the ancient Cimetière des Innocents replaced by the Père Lachaise Cimetièr. But actually what I most liked was looking at images on Wiki of what you can see there.... Does the book have adequate photos? There are fantastic tombs to be seen. Again the weekend tourist is told where they can see that or that person's tomb. Maybe that is important for you. Why do we have to be told how many trees and bushes are in this park or that park? You don't get the feel of Paris AT ALL! The next essay is about the people of Paris. Will it cover only those of fame? Will we meet the people you would bump shoulders with on a stroll in Paris or sitting next to you on a park bench?Make up your mind, Downie, who is this book written for? For a short trip to Paris I would recommend an "Eye Witness Travel Guide". Full of pictures, great maps and helpful museum, hotel, restaurants and transport information. I swear by them. AND for God's sake if you have decided to offer a book on Paris in an audio version get a narrator that knows French! My audiobook is narrated by Max Winter. He cannot pronounce boules. He cannot even decide how he will pronounce Medici; he tries several pronunciations.I don't understand why there are so very many positive reviews for this book. Could this guy have so many GR friends? I will continue, but my temper is running short. The next essay/chapter better be good.
There is much to enjoy in this book about Paris. It is full of trivia about Paris. There is also much to make you stop and ponder. Written by an ex-pat couple who live in Paris, there is more cynicism than I would like to have seen. While it is meant to sound wise and very learned, most of the whining sounds as common as Texan complaining about illegal immigration. If that is what you are looking for, then this is just what you need. If you need a dose of reality about Paris, Mr. Downie is your man. Ultimately, the book left me wanting to know more about Paris, without all the "I talked to politician who told me the real story" sort of gossip. And while I'm here I'll also add that calling everything "kitsch" is condescending, and does not make the author look more sophisticated than the tourists, just more jaded and less worthy of my attention. But I wasn't looking for a book to peel back the edges of Paris and warn me about its many faults. So perhaps I just picked up the wrong book.
What do You think about Paris, Paris: Journey Into The City Of Light (2011)?
My love affair with France and all books french continues. This excellent books gives an eclectic history into Paris' various attractions, neighborhoods, and little known (or forgotten) wonders. The author dedicates each chapter to a different aspect of Paris --from its sewage system to the Pere Lachaisse Cemetery--and interweaves a bit of history to his own personal observations and jaunts to the area in question. A quick read and thoroughly delightful, I recommend it for those looking for a light, entertaining, and informative summer book.
—Tatiana
I read this book in April of 2011 -- it is the updated and re-released version from 2011 that I had and which I reviewed on my blog here: http://analienparisienne.wordpress.co...And here is the intro to that post:PARIS, Paris: Journey into the City of Light is a collection of 31 essays about La Ville Lumière in which historical and personal narratives enlighten readers about Paris’s present. Author David Downie has distilled decades of study and experience and blended it with his unique adventures as a 25-year resident of Paris, resulting in chapters that are not only rich, but accessible reading because of Downie’s down-to-earth personality infusing the text. Downie writes in the chapter entitled “The Janus City,” “… in this old Europe of which Paris is still the cultural capital, to look forward we must first look back” (p. 284). The essays, which are anchored in Downie’s own curiosity about and explorations of the city, are ballasted in historical perspective. Fine photos by his wife and professional photographer, Alison Harris, anchor each chapter with a unique perspective. Like a good whisky, the reading goes down smoothly, and one feels satisfied from first taste to lasting finish.
—Karin
I loved this book. My wife and I traveled to Paris a year ago before we had read this book and wish we had read it prior to our travel. It gives you so much insight into the history of Paris and the uniqueness of the city itself. It goes into the less traveled areas giving you insight and stirring up a desire to walk the city to discover the "undiscovered" areas most Americans miss. My favorite chapter "A Lively City of the Dead" goes into detail about the many famous people buried there and their unusual stories. Whether you've been before or are about to go, I highly recommend the read.
—Craig Roorda
