Paris France Paperback – March 17, 1996

This 2013 paperback edition of Gertrude Stein's "Paris France" from Liveright Publishing replaces a Liveright paperback first published in 1970 and reissued in 1996. That 1996 edition can still be found on Amazon, here: Paris France. On that product page you'll find eight customer reviews, if you want to sample reader reaction (generally positive) to Stein's discursive, fond reminiscence of her four decades in Paris and the countryside of France. That "out-of-print edition is still available from several third-party sellers (currently Amazon lists Used and New copies from $1.83) and a copy of it is well worth tracking down, as the book is superior to the new edition in almost every way.

The 1996 edition provides a better reading experience. Overall the book is slightly larger in size than its successor, and the text is larger too. Printing is sharp and clear. In contrast, the type in the new edition has been reset, but it is miniaturized, in tiny font, and printed in grayish ink that looks washed out compared to the clarity of its predecessor.

Another difference relates to the illustrations. Although Stein's discussion of art is not the major part of "Paris France," the older paperback did offer eight illustrations, including reproductions of paintings by Picasso, Gris, and Vlaminck -- artists in Stein's social orbit and in her art collection. The new edition omits all of these illustrations.

The dominating photo on the cover of the older edition features one of Stein's beloved French poodles (described in the book) who proudly poses like some androgynous big-hair rock star of the 1970's, and there is also a smaller inset photo showing Gertrude Stein together with Alice B. Toklas. In a strange revision, the designers of the new edition chose for the cover a photo by a German photographer, Heinrich Hauser, who in 1930 snapped four derby-wearing men, with their backs to us, silhouetted against a misty Eiffel Tower. How this photo relates to Stein's anecdotal memoir will leave you puzzled.

On the positive side, the new edition includes a 10-page Introduction by Adam Gopnik. It is as insightful and well written as you would expect from this "New Yorker" magazine staff writer who has written his own fine book about his family's sojourn in Paris in the late 1990's (Paris to the Moon). But please know that you don't need to buy the new edition of "Paris France" to read Gopnik's short essay: a substantial part of it can be read by going to the top left side of this product page and clicking on the photo of the book to "Look Inside." Also, the entire essay (slightly revised) is available free online at The New Yorker's web site. To find it, do a search on Google of the three words, Gopnik Undertanding Steinese.

Final note: The second volume of the Library of America's two-volume edition of Stein's writings (Stein: Writings 1932-1946, Vol. 2 (Library of America)) which covers the period 1932-1946, does not include "Paris France." I inquired as to why this was, and the nice folks at the Library of America customer service replied: "We had so much material from which to choose, there was a lot of material we left out, and a lot that we couldn't present in its entirety in those Stein volumes." They also recommended another LOA volume, Americans in Paris: A Literary Anthology.

The first customer review above does a better job than I could do in describing the rewards of Stein's "Paris France." Let me instead write a note about this excellent paperback edition -- the one with the poodle on the cover -- that was first published as a Liveright paperback in 1970 and reissued in 1996. Unfortunately, in 2013 the 1996 edition went "out of print" and became available only from third-party sellers. While there is a successor edition (Paris France), the former edition is well worth tracking down, because it is superior in almost every way.

To show this, I've uploaded five photos to "Customer Images" section of this product page. It's on the right side of the screen, to the right of the initial reviews. These photos compare the old and new editions. In the side-by-side comparisons, the old edition (dog on cover) is on the left; the new edition on the right. In the top-and-bottom comparisons, the old edition is on top, the new on the bottom.

The old edition provides a better reading experience. Overall it is slightly larger in size, and the text is larger too. The printing is sharp and clear. In the new edition the type has been reset, but it is miniaturized, in tiny font, and printed in grayish ink that looks washed out compared to its predecessor. Although Stein's discussion of art is not the major part of "Paris France," the older paperback did offer eight illustrations, including reproductions of paintings by Picasso, Gris, and Vlaminck, artists in Stein's social orbit and in her art collection. The new edition omits these illustrations.

The dominating photo on the cover of the older edition shows one of Stein's beloved French poodles (mentioned in the book), proudly posing like some androgynous big-hair rock star of the 1970's, while a smaller inset photo shows Gertrude Stein with Alice B. Toklas. In a strange change, the cover photo of the new edition is by a German photographer who snapped four derby-wearing men silhouetted against a misty Eiffel Tower. How this relates to Stein's anecdotal memoir will leave you puzzled.

The new edition does include a 10-page Introduction by Adam Gopnik. It is as insightful and well written as you would expect from this "New Yorker" magazine staff writer who's written his own fine book about his family's sojourn in Paris (Paris to the Moon). But please know that you don't need to buy the new edition of "Paris France" to read Gopnik's short essay: a substantial portion of it can be read on the Amazon website by going to the product page for that new edition. There you'll find in the upper left corner a photo of the book with a "Look Inside" tab; clicking it allows you access to the text. Also, the entire essay (slightly revised) is available free online at The New Yorker's web site.

I love her, but her run on sentences and lack of punctuation does drive me crazy. I must agree with Hemingway on that one. She becomes too scattered in spots...redundant in others. I was hoping to do a comparative between the Paris she saw during that period of time and Hemingway's Movable Feast view from the same time. However, it still gives me insight into her mind and what was important issues to her.

I had hoped for a more illuminating read considering the authors years in Paris and her contacts with artists, writers and others during the early 20th century. However, Stein cannot write. I abandoned the book early.

One of Gertrude Stein's earlier works about her adopted hometown. It moves here and there at random, which was her style, and keeps focused on the life of the city for those who care about her.

Many interesting insights about the French national personality and what holds them together as a distinct culture. Of course her prose is unique and challenging to read, with many quotable lines. Enjoyed this short read.

MY FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WHOLE WORLD AND MY FAVORITE AUTHOR NEED MORE STARS, ANOTHER 10 OR SO

This book is typical Gertrude Stein: full of witticisms and hard to understand statements! I read it thru and wondered what I read, it was that good. I don't know if she was writing in a 'tough in cheek' sort of way but that was not her style. All in all it was a delight to read and re-read as it is classic 'Gertrude Stein'