Book review: A Bookshop in Berlin, by Francoise Frenkel (Amazon / Book Depository) Francoise Frenkel, born Frymeta Frenkel, was a Polish Jew who opened Berlin's first French-language bookstore in 1921. She fled Berlin after the infamous Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass, that targeted Jewish shops and institutions, abandoning the beloved shop she'd had to... Continue Reading →
Biography of a River
Book review: The Seine, by Elaine Sciolino (Amazon / Book Depository) I overcame anxiety and loneliness and moved forward in my life, like the Seine in its course. The river allowed me to begin a journey of discovery—of Paris, of the French people, of myself. Its energy pumped deep into my veins; its light gave... Continue Reading →
A Meditative Travelogue Across Russia In Napoleon’s Footsteps
Book review: Berezina, by Sylvain Tesson (Amazon / Book Depository) It's during a previous journey that the idea of a future one comes to mind. Imagination carries the traveler far from the trap where he's gotten stuck. While in the Negev desert, he'll dream of a Scottish glen; in a monsoon, of the Hoggar Mountains;... Continue Reading →
Art and Anecdotes from One Year in Paris
Book review: A Paris Year, by Janice MacLeod (Amazon / Book Depository) Bonjour Bonjour Ça va Ça va Ça va Ça va Bonjour Bonjour. It’s really that easy to have an entire conversation in French. There is no waving hello. This is not the French way. When you wave hello their eyes follow your hand... Continue Reading →
Unraveling a Life of Deceit
Book review: The Adversary, by Emmanuel Carrere Book Depository It should have been warm and cozy, that family life. They thought it was warm and cozy. But he knew that it was rotten at the core, that not one moment, not one gesture, not even their slumbers had escaped this rot that had grown within him,... Continue Reading →
Ladies of the City of Light’s Darkest Days
Book review: Les Parisiennes, by Anne Sebba (Amazon / Book Depository) Anne Sebba writes in her extensive history of the lives of Parisian women during WWII that it's our task to understand, not to judge. And the women whose lives are covered range across such a broad spectrum, from those with selfless motives and actions... Continue Reading →
A French Village, Under Occupation
Book review: One Day in France, by Jean-Marie Borzeix (Amazon / Book Depository) A history written in rich, lovely language (even in translation!) about the author's interest in digging up information about the tragic events that took place on a single day in a French village, when German soldiers murdered several (likely) Resistance members and probably... Continue Reading →
Olivia deHavilland On Paris
Book review: Every Frenchman Has One, by Olivia deHavilland (Amazon / Book Depository) A quick, fun and light collection of anecdotes with lots of vintage charm by the actress I knew best as Melanie from Gone with the Wind, but of course she's legendary for way more than that. I had no idea she was... Continue Reading →