Failing Paris [Hardcover]

Samantha Dunn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1999

FAILING PARIS is the story of a week in the life of Sabine Wilcox, the 19-year-old student who has left the stifling rural existence of the Southwest in exchange for a year in Paris. But the City of Lights offers her no refuge. With only one week to address a dire problem, Sabine's past and present painfully collide. Her life intertwines with two men who prove to be more, and less, than what they first appeared.

Nominated for the PEN/West Fiction prize, this is a first novel by a young master whose work must not be overlooked

Editorial Reviews

Review

"FAILING PARIS is exactly the kind of book I'm always looking for--something sophisticated, edgy, sexy and really beautifully written." -- JANET FITCH, author of WHITE OLEANDER

"FAILING PARIS is the kind of novel that seems polished of every extraneous word, shaped like a bullet for velocity." -- LOS ANGELES TIMES

"The prose is precise, captivating, and the obvious reason for the book's nomination for the PEN/West award." -- THE TLS, LONDON

About the Author

Samantha Dunn was raised in northern New Mexico and spent years in Australia and France. She is a widely published American journalist, contributing to a number of magazines and newspapers in the United States.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 148 pages
• Publisher: Toby Press; 1 edition (October 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 190288101X
• ISBN-13: 978-1902881010
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.7 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,865,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Samantha Dunn is the author of Failing Paris, a finalist for the PEN West Fiction Award, as well as the memoirs Not By Accident: Reconstructing a Careless Life, a BookSense 76 pick, and Faith in Carlos Gomez: A Memoir of Salsa, Sex and Salvation, which has been in development at Lifetime Television.

Samantha's essays have appeared in numerous national publications including the Los Angeles Times, O (Oprah) Magazine, Ms., and Shape. In 2000 she received the Maggie Award for Best Personal Essay in a Consumer Publication. A widely published journalist, her bylines are regularly featured in InStyle, Glamour, SELF, Men's Health and a variety of other consumer magazines.

Samantha's work is anthologized in a number of places, including Cherished, edited by Barbara Abercrombie; The Time of My Life, edited by Rob Spillman; Damage Control, edited by Emma Forrest; and Another City, edited by David Ulin. She also created and co-edited the short story anthology, Women on the Edge: Writing from Los Angeles (Toby Press).

She has also written for the stage and television, and is a member of the writers Guild of America. A writer-in-residence for many years at the New York State Summer Writers Institute, Samantha now teaches memoir and personal essay in the UCLA Extension Writers Program, and is an active supporter of many PEN USA programs.

She lives in Southern California with her husband, musician/politico Jimmy Camp and their son, Benen. Visit her website at www.samanthadunn.net.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Art of Life, June 19, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Failing Paris (Hardcover)

Samantha Dunn gives us a true vision. It is the view of a character that embodies all of our own self-doubt, risk-taking, self-destruction, re-evaluation, and eventual reformation whenever we find ourselves thrust into a situation far from our comfortable front porch. A view of a young person struggling to find the correct/moral/survivable path when faced with a personal crisis far from home...

This first novel speaks very forcefully to those of Dunn's generation, with images/questionings easily taken from their own life, resonating with their own personal trauma at being born at this particular point in history in this country that is struggling to find an artful way of living in the blur of post-TV white noise, and global culture babel.

The fact that this is a first novel, makes us glad for those to follow. Truly a contribution to the art that makes our lives worth more than the sum of our daily activities.

Read it.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intense, artistic and spellbinding, June 20, 2001

By 

Frank McKenzie (Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Failing Paris (Hardcover)

A gritty taste of reality told by an author whose command of the English language is a thing of beauty. Samantha Dunn tells the story of a young woman caught in a crisis without anyone to turn to in a land that can never up to her expectations. I was compelled to turn the page and see this girl face difficult hardships, intense loneliness, and moral dilemmas that would test any resolve. I was surprised that I cared so deeply for the character of Sabine and her journey to become a woman. An amazing book written by an amazing author.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intense, artistic amd spellbinding., November 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Failing Paris (Hardcover)

A gritty taste of reality told by an author whose command of the english language is a thing of beauty. Samantha Dunn tells the story of a young woman caught in a crisis without anyone to turn to in a land that can never measure up to her expectations. I was compelled to turn the page and see this girl face difficult hardships, intense loneliness and moral dilemmas that would test any resolve. I was surprised that I cared so deeply for the character of Sabine and her journey to become a woman. An amazing book written by an amazing writer.