Book #69: The Parisians

Title: The Parisians: An Adventure History of Paris
Author: Graham Robb

After 10 years of French lessons, a year spent teaching French, a summer working in a French bakery (in Belgium), and a trip to Paris, I think it would be fair to say that I like French stuff. I'm in no way an expert or a true Francophile, but I thought I'd be up to speed enough to keep up with The Parisians. The premise of the book is interesting: Robb explores the history of Paris through the lives of 20+ Parisians or visitors to Paris. Each chapter is a self-contained story, highlighting Hitler or Madame Zola or Marcel Proust, and giving social commentary on the Paris of that time period through the protagonist's life. When I was able to clear my mind and listen closely, The Parisians was fantastic. I listened to the chapters on Madame Zola one day while slogging up the hill behind my house for an hour, and it was the only thing that kept me from turning around, running home, and getting back in bed. The Proust chapter kept me ironing until I'd gotten to the bottom of the pile. But I think that if you plan to listen to the audio version of the book (beautifully read by Simon Vance) it's only going to be rewarding if you can focus on the story. There were many, many times when I was driving in the car or walking around the house, and my mind would start to wander while listening, and I'd find myself hopelessly lost. When I read a book and get lost, it's not too hard to turn back and find where I stopped paying attention and pick it up again, but with the long, dense chapters, it was harder for me to do that in this format. Usually I just pressed through, hoping that I'd eventually get with the program, although I'll confess that two or three times the gist of the story entirely passed me by as I sped down the freeway and my mind wandered. Maybe I'll listen again when it's been less than 15 years since my most recent trip to the City of Lights.