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A French Affair

The Paris Beat 1965-1998

by Mary Blume

ISBN: 0684863014
ISBN-13: 9780684863016
Format: Hardcover

Summary

Essays on Paris, its people and places, by an American writer and journalist who has made the city her home for over 30 years.

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Media Reviews

"[Mary Blume] has a unique talent for tracking down interesting, sometimes bizarre, almost always funny and occasionally really admirable, dignified and talented doers of things French....None of Blume's wonderful pieces is to be missed, and through them, one comes to appreciate the advantages a collection of occasional pieces has over a book with a thesis written at one time, in that it is so much more various and dynamic, and the author is at her highest pitch of acuity at every moment." -- Diane Johnson

-- San Francisco Chronicle Book Review

Bibliographic Details

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published date: 1999
Size: 5.75 x 8.75 inches
Weight: 0.45 pounds
Pages: 279

Publisher's Notes

A columnist for The International Herald Tribune and a resident of Paris for over three decades, Mary Blume has managed to combine healthy skepticism about the French with a deep understanding of their culture. Now, in a collection of pieces touching on all aspects of French life, she offers a highly original and complex portrait of this fascinating country and people. By exploring the neighborhoods, events, people, and places that otherwise might go unnoticed or misunderstood, Blume illuminates some of the dusty corners of the French psyche. A consummate insider in a land where outsiders are distrusted, she reveals the inner workings of a soup kitchen and an elite cooking school, invades exclusive St. Germaine de Pres and raucous Montmartre, and explores everything from card culture to the meaning of money. Her renowned interviews with working class people, artists, inventors, British expatriates, politicians, academicians, and filmmakers expose France in all its complex beauty. Studded with insights that can't be found in any travel guide, and vibrantly illustrated by cartoonist Ronald Searle, A French Affair is a splendid introduction to a country that has long fascinated (and often intimidated) Americans. Glimpsed through Blume's astute eyes, France will never appear the same again.

Other Editions

Hardcover Illustrated - Simon & Schuster (1999) - from $1.00
Paperback - Penguin USA (2000) - from $1.00

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A French Affair: The Paris Beat, 1965-1998

Blume, Mary

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