Me, Myself and Paris...Review

About the book:
Me, Myself and Paris is author Ruth Yunker's droll pastiche of her days, free and unaccompanied, in Paris. Three years in a row she rents an apartment, stays for six weeks, and takes on Paris, half resident, half visitor. She is a short attention span tourist, a wide-eyed voyeur, and irreverence saves the day when the chips are down. Her stories are about bonhomie and savoir-faire, American-style, while treading the hallowed and slippery cobblestones of Paris.

It's about every day errands, and sorties into dutiful sightseeing. It's about run-ins with grocery store cashiers and metro ticket agents. It's about desperately trying to speak French. It's about attempting to emulate the chic, wind-blown Parisian woman wearing no lipstick, while Ruth wouldn't be caught bare lipped outside the boudoir. She conquers the metro, no mean feat for a Californian glued to a car. She hears ghosts in cathedrals, and smells bread toasting every morning across the courtyard. She learns to make correct change without her reading glasses. Comes to understand that direct eye contact is a flagrant disregard of manners, even when she most needs a hug.

Me, Myself and Paris is what Paris looks like, feels like, smells like, tastes like, to an American woman, free and unfettered, sense of humor and bonhomie alive and well, alone and loving it, in the most beautiful and temperamental city in the world.

An enjoyable memoir about an American woman living in Paris.  Ruth's writing is funny and a bit irreverent at times.  But, she captures the essence of a woman looking for and discovering passion for life.  The book is written as a series of vignettes and we read her experiences of day to day life in Paris.  The metro, the store, museums and parks and people.  She gives a great, funny, insider's view of Parisians. 

I've visited Paris, but I've never lived there nor stayed for a long period of time.  I think it would be a lot of fun to do. 

Thanks to the author and Bostick Communications for the opportunity to review this book.  You can learn more about Ruth Yunker here.  You can purchase your own copy here.

Read 9/10

* * * *
4/5 Stars


Comments

  1. I've never been to Paris but there have been cities that I've visited that I wished I could have stayed over and gone through minutely! it doesnt happen like that very often in real life though...

    Thanks for highlighting this book.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I would love to visit Paris someday.

    ReplyDelete

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