18 women from England, Ireland and the USA will tell you their stories about Paris, how they see it, how they remember it. I must say right away that the collection was a test for me, because as soon as I liked half of the stories, the rest turned out to be just “essays” and not so “amazing”, as the author of the anthology writes, but rather boring and even boring.
Eleanor Brown is the New York Times and international bestselling author of the novels The Weird Sisters, The Light of Paris, and Any Other Family. She is also the editor of A Paris All Your Own. She lives in Colorado with her family.
So what did you like. "Too Much Paris" by Michelle Gable. Humor, a funny family of the author with two girls, so different in character, lightness of style, a lot of good dialogues.
Myth, Museum and Man by Susan Vreeland. A touching story about the kindness of a stranger working in a museum, about a famous painting, and about the author's attempt to speak French, despite the constant sharp attacks of the Parisians "speak English already."
"Paris Lost and Found" by Paula McLane, author of The Parisian Wife. The history of the camera (both sweet and annoying), a bit of Hemingway and accidents that are not accidental.
“Love the Routine” by Jennifer L. Scott is a cautionary tale about how routine can spark passion for life and how to have a minimum of things in the wardrobe (10) but still look elegant (10 things are clearly not about me).
"My Parisian Dreams" by M. J. Rose - Romance in French. Sweet, exciting, intriguing.
"Reading Paris" by Kathy Kelly, as the title implies, about books about Paris and about France. It's an interesting story for book lovers.
“Secret Exercises” by Julie Powell about how food reconciles us with an unfamiliar city, teaches us not to be afraid of the unknown, calms and sets us on the right wavelength when traveling. Don't read on an empty stomach!
"Paris Alone" by Maggie Shipstead is a curious story about an introverted woman, a little awkward and thought provoking.
"Thirty-Four Things You Should Know About Paris" by Meg Waight Clayton. I did not consider these facts, I had to take the author's word for it, but this essay has a lot of useful tips if you really are going to Paris.
In general, remembering these stories, I understand that the collection is not bad. I still liked half of it. But I wanted more lightness and fascination, and not a large portion, sorry for the word, "nudity". If you have a lot of patience, then you can read this collection. Perhaps you will like completely different essays from it than I do, or maybe you will like all of them.
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