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Title: The Flaneur: A Stroll Through the Paradoxes of Paris by Edmund White ISBN: 1-58234-135-4 Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing (NY) Pub. Date: 01 March, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.55 (22 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Annoyed By Most Travel Books?
Comment: Edmund White gives a very different "travel book" in FLANEUR: A STROLL THROUGH THE PARADOXES OF PARIS. If you don't delight in books that compare prices of hotels and restaurants or books in which the author traces the difficulty of restoring and furbishing a fabulous villa all while beguiling and amusing the locals then White's book will offer you a refreshing alternative.
Sixteen-year resident, White, offers a view of Paris that is at once personal and historical. It is more accurately described as a memoir of Paris rather than a standard travel book. One feels as though a friend is offering a leisurely tour of the city showing you his favorite places and telling stories offering insight and historical tidbits not dragging you through a checklist as an impersonal tourist. The changes in neighborhoods and the histories he describes particularly those of expatriate Americans in Paris are all insightful. White's tone is erudite and conversational without being tedious or condescending. The term flaneur is key in the title. The pace of the book is strolling but always interesting. It seems to have no direction but the end result is both illuminating and satisfying. Most remarkably it offers an enjoyable read whether one is immediately traveling to Paris or armchair traveling or whether one is living in a villa in Europe or a small apartment in the States.
Rating: 5
Summary: Every traveller's dream.......
Comment: Edmund White has done it again. He has created the first (in what seems to be a series) guided tour of a great city which focuses on the idiosyncrases, particular flavor, befuddling history and ultimate addicting charm of Paris. This is as close as it gets to walking along side an established scholar and join him in the role of "Flaneur" - one who meanders without prejudice through the backways of a great city, just for the sake of observing and reflecting. There is more French (rather Parisian) history in this little tome than multivolume sets that mold on library shelves. But we find out only the things that interest White (he makes it all so poignant). Sections of the city and the book are devoted to the peculiar Parisian take on monarchism vs royalsim vs republicanism vs socialism. White cleverly introduces anecdotes that at first suggest neighborhood gossip but later are referenced to available writing that documents these strange truths. There is an entertaining history of African Americans in Paris, immigrants of all nationalities as they are today and were in history, a hilariously confused lineage of the royalty of France, and a frightening examination of why AIDS is so rampant in the city. White strolls, cruises, pauses, reflects, delights in the smells and times of day when the light is best in certain areas, and provides a staggering list of the countless museums devoted to every idea imaginable while castigating city design choices and current architecture meant to make the city logical.
The format of this book is very small which means it would fit into the back pocket of any tourist visiting the City of Light who longs for much more insight than pocket guides from tour companies can even suggest. White writes as well in books like this and his bios of Genet, Proust etc as he does in his inimitable novels. This is a little treasure of a book!
Rating: 4
Summary: Fun little frolic
Comment: This book is a meandering discussion of both the ideal of Paris and its geography. White has lived for over 15 years in Paris, and he provides an introduction of sorts to the city for Americans with an intellectual bent. The book can't really serve as a guide book or book with city walks, since there are no directions or street names, and certainly no itineraries. As White explains, a flaneur is someone who just wanders around, allowing himself to be drawn in the direction of anything of interest. Thus, White strolls with us through several Paris districts, commenting at length on artists or authors who lived there. Along the way, we find entire chapters on African Americans in Paris, gays in Paris, and Jews in Paris. The book assumes a certain familiarity with both the city itself and Parisian people. If you're a complete newcomer, you may find parts of the book somewhat confusing. But if you're an American who has spent at least several weeks in the city, you may find this book to be a delightful diversion.
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Title: Our Paris: Sketches from Memory by Edmund White, Hubert Sorin ISBN: 0060085924 Publisher: Ecco Pub. Date: 30 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
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Title: Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik ISBN: 0375758232 Publisher: Random House Trade Pub. Date: 11 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Florence: A Delicate Case (Writer and the City, 3,) by David Leavitt ISBN: 1582342393 Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Pub. Date: 01 June, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Paris: The Collected Traveler : An Inspired Anthology & Travel Resource (The Collected Traveler) by Barrie Kerper ISBN: 0609804448 Publisher: Fodor's Travel Publications Pub. Date: 26 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Seven Ages of Paris by ALISTAIR HORNE ISBN: 0679454810 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 12 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $35.00 |
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