Smashbomb

"My copy of Whitman Illuminated: Song of Myself, an illustrated beauty of a book by Allen Crawford, which exquisitely spreads out Whitman’s famous Leaves of Grass poem over 234 pages. Its cloth-bound body was a gift from a friend who had been staying in Paris, and it bears a stamp from the famous Shakespeare and Company bookstore situated on the Left Bank. The friend is a dear one who I barely see given our current geolocations, but the sort where years can pass and you can still converse as if it were yesterday"

Source

Kudos

Deborah Eisenberg recommended Good Morning, Midnight in Books (curated)

Good Morning, Midnight

Jean Rhys | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry

(0 Ratings)

Book Favorite

"Stripped to the bone, as sharp and lucent and alarming as a piece of broken crystal. An Englishwoman who has always depended on men to stay alive is older now and discarded. She has returned to Paris, which is as close as home to her as a place has been, but she no longer retains her one reliable resource, beauty. The intensity of her alienated helplessness renders with spectral clarity her memories and her precarious daily life in the city that no longer wishes to make room for her."

Source

Kudos

William Finnegan recommended Liebling Abroad in Books (curated)

Liebling Abroad

A.J. Liebling | 1981

(0 Ratings)

Book Favorite

"This is cheating because it’s four books in one. But Liebling wrote so well about so much, a compendium is merited. Two of these are reporting from World War II, where no other writer, in my opinion, could touch him. “The Road Back to Paris” is an epic dispatch full of hard times and the finest lyricism. The other two books are about France, food, wine, memory, boxing. I wouldn’t argue if you insisted that Liebling’s greatest subject was actually New York City, or even Louisiana. It’s too bad there’s not a twelve-pack."

Source

Kudos

The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated Mistress of the Ritz in Books

Oct 5, 2020

Mistress of the Ritz

Melanie Benjamin | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics

9.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

When it comes to the French Resistance of WWII, the names Blanche and Claude Auzello aren’t all that well-known. Thankfully, Melanie Benjamin has just written a biographical, historical fiction novel about them, and especially about Blanche, who during the Nazi occupation of Paris, was known as the “Mistress of the Ritz” and she was the wife of the hotel’s manager, Claude. You can find my review of this amazing book on my blog here (Thanks for the free book, @PRHGlobal/@prhinternational.) https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2019/05/24/puttin-on-the-resistance/

Kudos

The Chocolate Lady (94 KP) rated Little Breton Bistro in Books

Oct 7, 2020

Nina George’s newest novel is about Marianne, a German woman who, at the age of 60 decides to kill herself while vacationing in Paris with her husband. Of course, she fails at her attempt, and that (as the poet says) has made all the difference. This novel is as charmingly written as her previous one, but I think I liked that one just a little bit better. Find out why in my newest book review on my blog here. https://tcl-bookreviews.com/2018/06/09/leaping-late-in-life/