Customer Reviews

French Affair, A: The Paris Beat 1965-1998

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I don't think I've enjoyed a book this much in ages. Mary Blume really understands the French, especially the Parisians, and gives them to the reader without the colonialist tendencies of Peter Mayle. If you love Paris, you must read this book. A votre sante!

I have visited France frequently, and am an avid reader of books about France. I loved the title and cover photo on this book, and had great hopes for the book since the writer had reported from Paris for The International Herald Tribune for many years. While the book is well written, I felt that many of the essays failed to connect with the French spirit and joie de vivre. I found some of the writing to be dry and the book slow. Each story was originally an article in the paper, and while they might have worked reading them with the morning coffee, they did not work for me as a collection.

The book title would lead you to believe that the book is about France, some of the stories take place in other countries and I could not figure out how they ended up in the book. Additionally the last section of the book focuses on a group of European filmmakers that would have worked well as a Filmography, but for my money did not belong in a book of this title.

Don't get me wrong, there are some interesting and well-written pieces in this book, but you have to trundle through pages that I feel are slow and dated to get to them. If you have not read much about France, I recommend Adam Gopnick's "Paris to The Moon," John Littell's "French Impressions," or for a humorous perspective any of Peter Mayle's "Provence" works. Of course, don't miss the grandfather of all books on France, Hemmingway's "A Moveable Feast."

An entertaining, literate, even exciting book, a collection of her journalistic writings while living in Paris for a number of years. I'm trying to stretch the book out, to make it last as long as possible. I wish it was possible for a sequel right away!

Phew... Let me defend this book a little against a couple of odd criticisms. First, this is a collection of essays written over quite a few years. As such, it is not meant to be cohesive in the way a single book about the French might be. That said, it all hangs together quite well and is organized in an intelligent and useful way. It also seems a little odd to make a distinction between a book about "the French" and a book about the French which includes material about French filmmakers, writers, etc. I would think any book about the culture would be incomplete without fairly extensive sections on the arts. The arts are pretty inextricably linked with outsiders perception of the French and, to a large degree, their own perceptions about themselves. The people she talks about are hardly obscure or only of interest to "old people" --- Duras, Simone de Beauvoir, Truffaut, Doisneau for god's sake, whose photos adorn the walls of a hefty percentage of college kids to this day. Duras is a particularly amusing choice for such a book, as she seems more stereotypically "French" than perhaps anyone else in the whole country. Should the reader not know who any of these people are, the essays are written for a wide audience and do not assume knowledge of the subjects. And the style is certainly not coldly intellectual; the writing is intelligent, but quite breezy and very enjoyable.

This American turned Parisian writes with affection, insight and wit of a peculiarly wonderful place and the times in which she has lived there and merged with both. Marvelously written pieces by the author of the wonderful and lamentably out of print 'biography' of the Riviera. One only wishes (thus the four stars) that the book were longer!

As a 50 year old with a newly found love of Paris and, as a result, a desire to learn French, I bought "A French Affair" because it was recommended as shedding light on what makes the French act, uh, French. If this is the point of the book, then it only partially achieves the goal. A great deal of the book, however, is given to anecdotes about French film makers. Very nice if that's what you're interested in. If your interests are similar to mine, understanding the French, I'd come back to this book later. That being said, some of the articles were very good indeed.

Having lived and worked as an American in Paris for 7 years in the late 80's and early 90's, I really appreciated Ms. Blume's commentaries on the French and evocations of the details of Parisian life that made it so wonderful. She captures the sheer fun of observing and participating in a foreign culture better than any writer on the subject I've read to date. Her empathy for the French despite their quirks - naturally, only quirks when seen by an American - resonates well with my experience. Highly recommended!

I think A FRENCH AFFAIR will be best appreciated by those who have seen Paris once or twice. Those who have no familiarity with Paris and it's residents may become lost. If you know the difference between Simone de Beauvoir and Simone Signoret you may find the book entertaining.

If I had not known Mary Blume wrote her Paris beat pieces for the International Herald Tribune, I would have thought they were written for The New Yorker magazine. She wrote tongue-in-cheek stories that begin in the middle and assume the reader already knows a great deal about Paris life. If she pops up in London you don't blink an eyelash because you know it's a day trip to travel from London to Paris, or Paris to anywhere else for that matter since Paris has made itself the travel hub of Europe.

I read these articles over lunch--spread over a few months. I carried the book in my book bag and broke it out when I needed a little light reading. This is a perfect book for travel because if you put it away and don't look at it for a month you won't loose your train of thought. If you read it straight through it may be as disappointing as reading a week of newspapers.

'Sorely disappointed' best describes my feelings after finishing this book (I almost quit after finishing about 60%, but I kept hoping for something better!). The cover description offers more than the book delivers. Some of the first articles in the book were entertaining, especially to one who lived and worked in Paris for a couple of years. However, the last half of the book is probably of interest only to serious (and elderly) patrons of the arts or to persons who might be practicing for Trivial Pursuit or Jeopardy. Having read the Herald Tribune daily (except Sunday) for 3 years in the early 1990's, I cannot recall having read any of the author's colunmns, which may well be an indication of why I was not enthralled with the collection in the book.