Customer Reviews

Paris In Mind

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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

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."

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.

The Washington Post's Jonathan Yardley says "Paris in Mind is terrific in just about every respect." John Leonard of Harper's Magazine calls it an "engaging anthology" of notable Americans writing about the City of Light. Frank Prial in the New York Times imagines Josephine Baker singing 'I have two loves/My own country and Paris' as "the musical theme for this attractive book." PARIS IN MIND is a wonderful anthology for anyone who loves Paris.

"Who doesn't love Paris? Reading an anthology of writers who lived in, and wrote about Paris is only second best to being there. From Hemingway to Sedaris, Thomas Jefferson to Langston Hughes, these well-chosen essays span over two hundred years. Whether describing the start of the French Revolution, or a corner bistro in present times, this book helps enrich one's view of Paris, and better appreciate her charms."Paris In Mind

I greatly enjoyed this book, much as I enjoy my favorite city. Yes, there are other writers who might have been included, but what's there is great, and a special tip of the beret for including Langston Hughes.

What a shame that such a nominally prestigious publishing house as Random House should choose to squander its prestige on an anthology as misguided and truly unnecessary as this. First of all, it begins from the wrong place, which is to say cliche: namely, the cliche of the American in Paris, getting charmed, getting frustrated (but just a little bit), getting (it is intimated) laid. What is missing is the realization that Paris is beautiful AND complicated, and no, juxtaposing a squib by David Sedaris (yawn) with one by Thomas Jefferson does not do much, if an7thing, in the way of promoting excitement or insight.
The inclusion of unknown writers is to be commended, the fact that their material is almost studiously lackluster is not. How an editor whose previous work includes "2sexE: Urban Tales of Love, Liberty and the Pursuit of Gettin' It On" was ever entrusted with this subject matter is beyond me, but if you think Paris deserves to be treated like a Fox News documentary, then maybe this slight tome is the book for you.