Paris In Mind [Paperback]

Jennifer Lee (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 2003

“Paris is a moveable feast,” Ernest Hemingway famously wrote, and in this captivating anthology, American writers share their pleasures, obsessions, and quibbles with the great city and its denizens. Mark Twain celebrates the unbridled energy of the Can-Can. Sylvia Beach recalls the excitement of opening Shakespeare & Company on the Rue Dupuytren. David Sedaris praises Parisians for keeping quiet at the movies. These are just a few of the writers assembled here, and each selection is as surprising and rewarding as the next.

Including essays, book excerpts, letters, articles, and journal entries, this seductive collection captures the long and passionate relationship Americans have had with Paris. Accompanied by an illuminating introduction, Paris in Mind is sure to be a fascinating voyage for literary travelers.

Jennifer Allen * Deborah Baldwin * James Baldwin * Dave Barry * Sylvia Beach * Saul Bellow * Bricktop * Art Buchwald * T. S. Eliot * M.F.K. Fisher * Janet Flanner * Benjamin Franklin * Ernest Hemingway *Langston Hughes * Thomas Jefferson * Stanley Karnow * Patric Kuh * A. J. Liebling * Anaïs Nin * Grant Rosenberg * David Sedaris * Irwin Shaw *Gertrude Stein * Mark Twain * Edith Wharton * E. B. White

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Seeking to offer readers "pleasure and variety," Lee (who has edited anthologies on martial arts and urban lifestyles) compiles 29 essays and book excerpts on the City of Light. The collection covers various subjects such as seduction, eating, "the art of living" and tourism; yet all the essays share one trait: they're written by Americans. The usual suspects are here-James Baldwin, Art Buchwald, Ernest Hemingway, David Sedaris, Gertrude Stein and Edith Wharton (though no Diane Johnson or F. Scott Fitzgerald)-as are some surprising voices, including Dave Barry (who discusses how he learned to pronounce the infamous French "R") and Langston Hughes (who reflects on hearing "the cream of the Negro musicians" play at the Grand Duc). A good overview of expatriate writing, Lee's offering works well as a springboard to other, more in-depth anthologies of Paris-themed essays and works that feature the city as their backdrop.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The anthology Paris in Mind features a variety of essays by historical and contemporary American authors ranging from Thomas Jefferson and Mark Twain to Dave Barry and David Sedaris. The essays are divided into four categories: "Love (How to Seduce and Be Seduced Like a Parisian)," "Food (How to Eat Like a Parisian)," "The Art of Living (How to Live Like a Parisian)," and "Tourism (How You Can't Help Being an American in Paris)." Lost Generation writers supply tales of living in Paris at a time when it was not only an attractive locale for artistic reasons but was even cheaper than New York. And television writer Jennifer Allen (half French herself) writes of her wonderfully bizarre experiences at Euro Disney. A perfect collection for any American who has felt drawn to the City of Lights. Beth Leistensnider
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (July 8, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400031028
• ISBN-13: 978-1400031023
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.6 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #164,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "So seductive is Paris.", October 5, 2005

By 

G. Merritt (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paris In Mind (Paperback)

It was Oscar Wilde who observed that when good Americans die, they go to heaven, but when very good Americans die, they go to Paris. Guided by two goals for her excellent anthology, "pleasure and variety" (p. xix), Editor Jennifer Lee has collected three centuries of American writers here, John Adams, James Baldwin, Dave Barry, Saul Bellow, Art Buchwald, T. S. Eliot, M.F.K. Fisher, Hemingway, Langston Hughes, Thomas Jefferson, Anais Nin, David Sedaris, Gertrude Stein, Twain, Edith Wharton, and E. B. White, among others, who all share one thing in common: a passion for Paris.

PARIS IN MIND is organized into four sections: "Love (How to Seduce and Be Seduced Like a Parisian)," "Food (How to Eat Like a Parisian)," "The Art of Living (How to Live Like a Parisian)," and "Tourism (How You Can't Help Being an American in Paris)." Readers will find Twain captivated the Parisian "cancan" dance, and Bellow contemplating that even God "would be perfectly happy in France because he would not be troubled by prayers, observances, blessings and demands . . . Surrounded by unbelievers He too could relax toward evening, just as thousands of Parisians do at heir favorie cafes" (p. 59). In her contribution, Sylvia Beach recounts her dream of opening an American bookstore in Paris. In "Hunger was Good Discipline (from A MOVEABLE FEAST), Hemingway describes his encounter with physical and artistic hunger in Paris. Grant Rosenberg captures the Parisian cafe culturen in "A Day in the Life of a Parisian Cafe." In "The City of Light in the Dark," Sedaris describes his love of watching classic American films in Parisian theaters. In the excerpt from NO NAME IN THE STREET, James Baldwin describes his experience of being a black American in Paris. Reading PARIS IN MIND offers readers reason enough to live their lives as very good Americans.

G. Merritt

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars engaging, informed and delightful., September 13, 2003

By 

Yiannis Psaroudis "divastation.com" (soho, ny) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Paris In Mind (Paperback)

never before have i come across such an eclectic and engaging anthology writings about paris from an american perspective. not only does the editor cover different aspects of the parisian experience--love, food, living, tourism--but she does so from a variety of perspectives from thomas jefferson to langston hughes. i would definitely recommend this book to any american planning a trip to paris or anybody who is simply in a "paris state of mind."

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Delightful Anthology, September 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Paris In Mind (Paperback)

In her book, Jennifer Lee, has collected a delightful anthology of American writers in Paris. The book is like a basket of delicious French pastries - all here for our taking. No avid reader will be able to pass this one up.