117 of 126 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Has she ventured from her hotel? Part II, March 26, 1999
By A Customer
This review is from: Frommer's Born to Shop Paris (Paperback)
I read Suzy's earlier book and with morbid curiousity looked at this book to see if she has made any improvements. I guess Suzy is still lounging on the bed in her hotel because the research is still as bad. So.....here's a post of my previous review which is still entirely applicable.
I spend several months each year in Paris. A wonderful city that is beautiful, safe and above all...French. Something which Suzy seems unable to comprehend.
She seems to know little of the city. Street names are mispelled. Suggestions for lunch are directed to overpriced mediocre tourist traps. Stores are noted at addresses that are years out of date. She suggests getting your hair done at the head office of L'Oreal. Suzy???? This is an office building without a salon in sight. Do you take your car for service to the head office of General Motors? She sends to you to a well known Parisian leather shop that has not been at the address offered for years. She tells you to arrive a couple of hours before opening at the St. Ouen Market. She even offers a cute way of pronouncing the name. Thanks so much Suzy. However, arrive a couple of hours early at the market and all you'll get is nasty remarks from vendors who are setting up and trying to enjoy their first cafe of the day.
She offers all the standard silly warnings about subways, pickpockets, "rowdy boys" and dangerous French traffic. The subways are clean, always populated, remarkably convenient and I suppose there are a few pickpockets lurking somewhere; but this is the method of transportation in Paris and I have never encountered one bad incident. I don't know what Suzy means by "rowdy boy". I have never seen one.....nor heard of problems with them. I wonder if Suzy gets out much? Regarding traffic, it's like any big city and appropriate precautions are needed. Things like looking both ways when crossing the street are probably in order. Suzy, I suppose you live in some protected suburb of middle America and are unused to seeing more than a few cars at a time.
Suzy has problems with ATMs and seems to think that the purchase of your Carte Orange is a difficult task that can only be accomplished at one ot two subway stations. As usual, Suzy's problems are remarkably unique.
And most offensive is Suzy's obvious lack of knowledge regarding French manners and society. If you don't like differences Suzy, stay at home and go the mall where you can feel very comfortable at your Wal-Mart.
Suzy says she spends hours relaxing on her bed and in her tub at the Hotel de Crillon. Suzy might I suggest that you spend less time in the tub and a little more time researching your book.
Suzy and Frommer's should be embarassed that they actually published this book. Shame to all involved.
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45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Much fluff with little substance, July 6, 2001
It was difficult to wade through her tasteless anecdotes (mostly about her age) to find much substance. She seems more interested in trying to build a personal fan club than trying to give out great information on the truly wonderful shopping in Paris! Her "great deals" on hotel rooms are between US$200 - $300 a night, so beware that she's writing for those with beaucoup d'argent to burn.
I like books that I can carry with me for reference when I shop in Paris. It's nearly impossible to do that with this book because there is so much "chit-chat" included in the reviews of stores. It's very difficult to look up a specific area or kind of specialty store that you seek. You pretty much have to read the entire book to sift through her laborious writing to find what little helpful information actually exists. She includes one map of Paris which may be good for an overview of where shops are located, but a more detailed map is truly warranted.
This book is adequate if it's the only one to which you have access,... I'm sure Suzy has adequate experience of shopping in Paris, but her book needs some serious reorganization and brevity to make it more widely appealing to those who aren't as experienced as she is.
Bottom line: Not worth the effort to read it when there are far more informative books available. Sorry, Suzy.
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28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
This book could be much more useful, June 11, 2004
I am in Paris now (I come here all the time) and someone left a copy of this book in my apartment. It is a bewildering book. The names of the streets are wrong, often. For instance, she talks about Rue du Vielle Temple-- how long would it take to look it up and realize it is Rue Vielle du Temple? Etc.
Some of the descriptions are amusing but sometimes quite inconsistent -- e.g., she says that it is difficult to find a helpful salesperson at Chanel (agreed) and then two sentences or so later that most of the salestaff there are very nice.
I think the book needs an editor, stat. With very careful editing (and PERFECT addresses-- necessary in a city with no right angles and many streets with similar names) this book would be much better. Oh, and it is always nice to provide more upfront about the author and her tastes, so that the reader knows if the book makes sense for them.
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