French Cafe [Hardcover]

Marie-France Boyer (Author), Eric Morin (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1994

The French cafe epitomises the French art of living. Through its timeless glass doors float the aromas of strong coffee and black-tobacco, hot milk and fresh croissants. The cafe, open early until late, is both focus and microcosm of society. Friends talk; lovers linger; the white saucers pile up as the world goes by; a lone customer comes in to read the newspapers or for a petit verre at the bar. The French cafe is a refuge, a place to meet, to sit inside or out, somewhere to see and be seen. For anyone interested in French life and culture, here is a an intimate look at a great institution, from the grand establishments dating from the all rural bistro from the workers' local cafes to the legendary Parisian cafes where the poets, painters and philosophers gathered. From Directoire decoration to Starck style, this book reveals the rich variety and extraordinary inventiveness of cafe design. Marie-France Boyer is a freelance journalist, and represents in Paris the magazine "The World of Interiors". Her last book wass "Cabin Fever: Sheds and Shelters, Huts and Hideaways" (1993), also published by Thames and Hudson. Eric Morin is a Paris-based photographer who contributes to many magazines on interior design including "The World of Interiors".

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

If you love Paris, you love caf{‚}es. Journalist Boyer loves caf{‚}es, and with the practiced lens of photographer Eric Morin accompanying her, she ushers the privileged reader-viewer of their delightful collaboration on a spin around Paris, to other urban areas of France, and out to places in the French countryside, seeking caf{‚}es of particular distinction or charm. "For the price of a cup of coffee you can stay as long as you want" is the philosophy of caf{‚}es; and all the caf{‚}es Boyer and Morin feature simply beg to be patronized for hours on end. Her prose imparts a good history of French caf{‚}es and their sociological and cultural place; his photos of exteriors and interiors are beautifully evocative. A helpful directory for travelers is appended, listing "a hundred caf{‚}es of character in and around Paris and in the provinces of France, chosen for their decor, location or ambience." Not an essential library purchase, but a perfectly pleasurable one. Brad Hooper

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

Product Details

• Hardcover: 112 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500016224
• ISBN-13: 978-0500016220
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 8.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,730 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You should buy one of these cafés., May 11, 2000

By 

www.delalonde.com "www.chateauresidence.com" (Chateau-Bois-Briand, Nantes,Loire-Valley,France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: French Cafe (Hardcover)

You can plan a trip accross France with this book as your only guide. Walking from "bistro" to café from Nice to Paris, Loire-valley to Nantes and Mont-Saint-Michel. Most of the places mentioned here are typically french. No stranger ever thought of pushing the doors. Eric Morin, photographer, knows well this subject. He lives in the Bastille district of Paris. He knows well the most hidden and most fashionable places. Because he spent some happy week-ends in Château du Verger in Anjou (close to Nantes), he collected great pictures from La Cigale and Trentemoult fishing harbour of Nantes. Did you ever dream of becoming a café tender in rural France? would you like to become the "manager" of a warm café where french workers will start the day drinking a Muscadet at 7 am? Marie-France Boyer, as usual, gives practical advices together with inspiring pictures. She will tell you how and where to buy cafés in France, what are "listed historic monuments" in France (some cafés are). A lot of cafés names and addresses are given at the end of this joyful and useful guide to real France. If you really love cafés, you should also buy "The cafés of Paris" asin:1566562783 and "Literary cafés of Paris".

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An enticing armchair tour, October 15, 2003

By 

Andrew S. Rogers (Stamford, Connecticut) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: French Cafe (Hardcover)

Readers whose idea of a French café is (like mine was) little more than the cliché of black coffee and Le Monde at little round sidewalk tables will be very pleasantly surprised by variety revealed in this neat little book by Marie-France Boyer and photographer Eric Morin. From Paris haunts much like the stereotype, to rustic village cafes far outside the metropolis, to the retreats of artists or tradesmen, author and photographer demonstrate that the café is more than a place, but rather an intimate expression of the French lifestyle.

The beautiful photos are by far the most engrossing part of this book. But the writing is valuable too, describing the golden age of French cafes, the rise of important establishments like Momus, Les Deux Garçons in Aix-en-Provence, or the Marly, and the influence of the cafes on French art and culture. And though the book's almost a decade old now, the Guide at the end should still be useful in tracking down many of the cafes featured in photo and text.

In all, whether you're an experienced boulevardier, a traveler with fond memories, or just someone looking to experience French culture vicariously, "The French Café" should inspire many happy thoughts.