Category: Books on France

“Paris Mythique” is a new photo book published by Parigramme featuring one hundred iconic black and white photos ranging from Doisneau’s “le baiser de l’hotel de ville” to Henri Cartier-Bresson’s picture of French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre on the Pont des Arts footbridge to Raymond Cauchetier’s photograph of Jean Seberg and Jean-Paul Belmondo on the set of Godard’s legendary 1960 movie “Breathless.” They’re all here as well as some little known gems such as a rare 1923 photo showing Sylvia Beach and Ernest Hemingway posing in front of the original Shakespeare and Company Bookshop when it was located on rue de l’Odeon. Continue reading “Mythic Paris in Black and White”

Alison Harris’  new photo book “Paris in Love” —ideal gift for Valentines Day— continues where Doisneau’s famous “Baiser de l’hotel de ville” left off. This charming book of color photographs published by Parigramme, depicting Paris’ romantic Seine, secret gardens, cafe terraces and park bench lovers, would make a perfect “petit cadeau” (only costs 9.90E) for anybody who loves this city. And like Audrey Hepburn said in the film “Sabrina,”  “Paris is always a good idea.” For those who might have to wait a little while before getting a flight here, the book “Paris in Love” could be the next best thing.

In Paris the book is available at Smiths Bookshop, 248, rue Rivoli, Paris, 75001 Info: http://www.parigramme.com

Step into a postcard of Paris with this excellent guide to the City of Light. Illustrated by more than 300 color photographs, “No Worries Paris, a photographic walking guide” by Jerry and Janine Sprout takes readers on a visually luscious journey to the city’s striking monuments, as well as into the cobblestone crannies of its villages and along the glamorous fashion boulevards. Continue reading “No Worries Paris”

Incisive, articulate and timely reading —this is one of the best books on France to come along in years. While most books about France tend to deal with such topics as how to seat your dinner guests à la francaise or insider tips on correct manners for French kissing, this one strikes a bulls eye for what really makes the country tick. Continue reading “An American Spectator in Paris
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Burgundy is a lush region of France, steeped in history and immersed in wine. Imagine a cooking school in a grand château, with a 3-star chef and guests from around the world….under a distant cloud of loss and betrayal. Joan Shore’s new book “Red Burgundy” is a story of progress vs. tradition, commerce vs. culture, the foreign and the familiar. (And the possibility that if you’re very lucky — or very unlucky — the past may catch up with you!) Continue reading “Red Burgundy”

A spectacularly opulent relic of royal wealth and power comes alive in “Versailles” a new book by Valérie Bajou, who is a curator at the Château de Versailles and is a renowned specialist of French painting in the 19th century.

Highlighting the château’s vibrant, tumultuous past, the book covers everything from its metamorphosis from humble hunting lodge to palace, to the dismantling of its collections during the French Revolution and its restoration and status as a UNESCO World Heritage site today. In addition, the singular château is explored from top to bottom in an extravagantly extensive photographic tour that reveals the many priceless artistic and architectural treasures of this palace of palaces.

Visual Editions has republished or in their words “re-imagined” a classic by French novelist Marc Saporta (1923-2009).  The new edition includes an introduction by Tom Uglow and drawings by Salvador Plascencia.

Quite literally, Composition No. 1 is made up entirely of loose pages. Each page contains its own self- contained narrative and so it is left to the reader to shuffle through and decide which order to read them in, and how much or little they want to read before they begin again. Continue reading “Composition No. 1 “re-imaging” a French Classic”

Cara Black, photo: Denis Hearne

Paris murder mystery author Cara Black has just come out with a new novel “Murder at the Lanterne Rouge.”·. Black lives in San Francisco but comes to Paris frequently to soak up the atmosphere, follow-up on promising leads, and interview anyone she can find – from prostitutes to river workers – that can offer her a glimpse into what really goes on in the dark corners of the city.··She will be back in Paris talking about her new book at The American Library (June 6, 7:30pm). Continue reading “Interview with Cara Black”

“Paris-Chien: adventures of an ex-pat dog,” a charming and engaging new book by Jackie Clark Mancuso, tells the tale of a Norwich Terrier’s year in Paris. From home sickness to French lessons to the struggle to make Parisian friends this book carries a message for children about how to cope with change in their lives. With a number of French words in the text, the book is a light intro to the language. Illustrated with colorful gouache paintings of Paris streets, parks, markets and cafes, the story will entertain children (and adults) who like dogs and Paris. “Paris-Chien” is Mancuso’s first book. You can visit her illustration website at http://jackiemancuso.com The book is available at amazon

While Paris has been making history in plain view a lot has happened under the paving stones. Located south of the former city gate (the “Barrière d’Enfer” at today’s Place Denfert-Rochereau), a subterranean labyrinth of former quarries holds the remains of six million Parisians, moved there after a decision in the late 18th century to close cemeteries within the city walls for reasons of public health. Opened in the late 18th century, the underground cemetery became a tourist attraction on a small scale from the early 19th century, and has been open to the public on a regular basis from 1867. This guide written by Gilles Thomas with photographs by Emmanuel Gaffard takes us through the vast  ossuary maze of sombre galleries and narrow corridors laden with walls of bones where limestone was once mined. The official name for the catacombs is l’Ossuaire Municipal. Although this cemetery covers only a small section of underground tunnels comprising “les carrières de Paris” (“the quarries of Paris”), Parisians today often refer to the entire tunnel network as “the catacombs”. A fascinating guide to the dark side of the city of light. J.M

Parigramme, (12 euros). http://www.parigramme.com

Voltaire once said “It is not enough to conquer; one must learn to seduce.” Most anglos have a negative view of the word and would agree with the Merriam Webster Dictionary definition that seduction implies “the enticement of a person to sexual intercourse or the act of leading aside… “But Elaine Sciolino with her new book tells us that for the French there is a lot more to the story.  In France —especially Paris— seduction is a way of life with its own set of rules and codes that take most people who are not born here a lifetime to figure out. Continue reading “La Seduction. How the French Play the Game of Life”