At the time the pigeon affair overtook him, unhinging his life from one day to the next, Jonathan Noel, already past fifty, could look back over a good twenty-year period of total uneventfulness and would never have expected anything of importance could ever overtake him again- other than death some day. What on earth do … Continue reading The Pigeon | Patrick Süskind #DEUnovella
It was hard not to feel that Paris was the place. My response to The Paris Bookseller has been complicated. I was keen to read it thanks to the blurb which told me it had a Paris setting, a bookshop and Sylvia Beach. That should have been enough. But it wasn't. The writing was dull … Continue reading The Paris Bookseller | Kerri Maher #USAfiction
As always when he returned home at night, Maigret paused at the same place, just past the gas lamp, and looked up at the lit windows of his apartment. Every July since 2017, there has been one rainy, cold, miserable weekend that becomes my Maigret weekend. This past weekend was it! There is nothing sweeter … Continue reading Maigret and the Minister | Georges Simenon #ParisinJuly
22/9/14 Monday morning Too early it's too early I hate morning classes I should not teach them. Lauren Elkin composed the diary entries in No. 91/92: A Parisian Bus Diary on her iPhone 5c from September 2014 to May 2015 as she was riding the bus to the university where she taught. It was a … Continue reading No. 91/92: A Parisian Bus Diary | Lauren Elkin
It's not yet eight. Stefan Valeriu can tell by the sunlight, which has crept only as far as the edge of his chaise lounge. He can sense it climbing the wooden legs, feel it caressing his fingers, his hands, his naked arm, as warm as a shawl... Such a sensuous, delicious, lazy way to open … Continue reading Women | Mihail Sebastian #ROUfiction
My mother was blue, a pale blue mixed with the colour of ashes. I find myself drawn to memoirs that dive deep into difficult, complicated mother-daughter relationships. It's a dynamic fraught with push me/pull me tensions. Tensions that seem to only evolve with time. Is it possible to work them out? Come to terms with … Continue reading Nothing Holds Back the Night | Delphine de Vigan #FRAmemoir
There was a moment, between Quai des Orfevres and Pont Marie, when Maigret paused, so briefly that Lapointe, who was walking beside him, paid no attention. Happy Bastille Day! Joyeux Quatorze Juillet! Picking up a Maigret is like falling into a soft, cosy blanket with a tray of strong cheeses, biscuits and a robust red … Continue reading Maigret and the Tramp | Georges Simenon #FRAfiction
What a wonderful reading experience! From the beautifully designed hardcover dust jacket (the gold seams actually sparkle in real life), to the impressive translation that seems to have captured the beauty and thoughtfulness of Neuman's original story, Fracture is a journey to savour. I knew I was in for a treat from the very first … Continue reading Fracture | Andrés Neuman #ARGfiction
A big part of the reason I love reading Maigret's so much is the glimpse into life in Paris in the middle of the 20th century. Maigret and the Killer opens with Mrs Maigret and her man, dining out with friends discussing the merits of the Madame Pardon's 'unparalleled boeuf bourguignon...filling, yet refined', provincial … Continue reading Maigret and the Killer | Georges Simenon #ParisinJuly
Je ne Parle pas Français, or I Do Not Speak French was written in early 1918 and published in Bliss and other stories (1920).There is a rather long and complicated story about the publication of this particular short story. It started life as a pamphlet published by Heron Press, which was run by John Middleton … Continue reading Je ne Parle pas Français | Katherine Mansfield #ShortStory
Book Stop is an occasional meme that allows me to travel and indulge in a good bookshop browse, during these strange, strange times when we cannot travel outside our home state, let alone the country. I plan to combine my bookish instincts with my itchy feet and explore the world via bookshops. I have a … Continue reading Book Stop #2
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas was read for yet another successful readalong hosted by Nick @One Catholic Life. I know that readalongs are not for everyone, but I love them for a few, very good reasons.They motivate me to read a book (usually a classic) that has been languishing on my TBR … Continue reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Reading a Maigret or two during Paris in July has now become one of those things that I look forward to with a great deal of anticipation each year. Because of this though, I now associate Maigret with dreary, winter nights and rainy days (although not so much of the rain this year). My last … Continue reading Maigret and the Ghost #62 | Georges Simenon
Maigret's Anger is my fifth Maigret. It was probably the lightest, easiest one of the lot so far, but it was also very atmospheric. Paris in summer hummed and sweated along in the background as Maigret worked a case around his old beat, in Montmartre. It was almost as hot that evening as it had been … Continue reading Maigret’s Anger #61 | Georges Simenon
Le Ventre de Paris (also known as The Belly of Paris - a direct translation, or The Fat and the Thinreferring to one of the main ideas explored in the story) is not only an extremely visual story, but a visceral one too. Zola's descriptions of the food markets at Les Halles are colourful, very … Continue reading The Belly of Paris by Émile Zola
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