A Paris Reading Guide
Anyone who knows me or follows my account on Instagram will know that I have a huge soft spot for Paris, a city I love and am lucky enough to have spent a lot of time in over the years. Paris has a way of captivating you and making you fall in love with the city. Perhaps what I love the most about the city of lights is the feeling that I have when I am there: complete contentment and a feeling that I've come home to a place rich with such amazing art, history and romance at every turn. It really is no wonder Paris is considered the most beautiful city on the planet.
France’s capital is without a doubt one of those cities that the rest of the world wants to visit. It is romantic, scattered with stunning architecture, an incredible and historic arts scene, delicious food, iconic fashion, and that timeless feel of elegance that only a city like Paris can radiate.
I love reminiscing about my time in Paris and specific parts of the city I’ve loved on my different trips. It can also be lovely to get to know a place through the pages of a book, whether you’ve already visited, are planning a trip, or just enjoying a little daydreaming from an armchair at home.
I’ve read many many books set in Paris, and just recently decided to compile a list of some of my favourites so far. Hope you enjoy my recommendations.
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”
A Moveable Feast is a memoir by American author Ernest Hemingway about his years as a struggling young migrant journalist and writer in Paris in the 1920s. In A Moveable Feast, Ernest Hemingway presents vivid and interesting observations on his days struggling to make it in post WWI Paris. Interacting with other writers described by Gertrude Stein as being members of the lost generation, A Moveable Feast shows a young Hemingway defining himself as a different kind of writer. Published posthumously in 1964, A Moveable Feast remains one of Ernest Hemingway's most beloved works. It is a short, perfect book that reads as his love letter to this beautiful city. Like Hemingway, I love Paris from the bottom of my heart.
The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris by John Baxter
In this enchanting memoir, acclaimed author and Paris resident John Baxter sets off on the trail of Paris’s legendary artists and writers. Along the way, he tells the city’s story, introducing us to a brilliant cast of characters and the places they loved: the favourite cafes of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce; Pablo Picasso’s underground Montmartre haunts; the bustling boulevards of the late 19th century flaneurs; and the hidden alleyways where revolutionaries plotted. The writing is superb and I’ve read and re-read this book several times. Use this as a checklist of places to track down on any trip to Paris and I guarantee you will not be disappointed!
The President's Hat by Antoine Laurain
One of several quirky and whimsical reads from this fantastic author. The story begins as Daniel Mercier is eating alone one night in a restaurant when François Mitterrand, President of France, and some friends settle themselves at the next table. Daniel is thrilled to be so close to the great man, and begins to imagine that he's part of the President's group. When they leave the restaurant, Daniel notices that Mitterrand has accidentally left his signature black hat behind. Giving in to an overwhelming temptation, Daniel picks it up, crams it on his own head, and scuttles quickly out of the restaurant before anyone can stop him.
With much of the book set in and around Paris, Laurain sets each scene so vividly within French culture of the 1980’s, and creates believable, likeable characters who are complex and intriguing throughout.
I particularly love the nostalgia the book evokes for Paris. If you like to imagine Paris as full of swanky restaurants, arrogant men, style and illicit affairs, you will not be disappointed, yet it achieves this without appearing too cliché or predictable. A light-hearted, amusing and captivating short read. Such a delightful little book!
The Reader on the 6:27 by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent
Sitting on the 6.27 train each day, Guylain recites aloud to a rapt audience from pages he has saved from the jaws of the pulping machine. But it is when he discovers the diary of a lonely young woman, Julie – a woman who feels as lost in the world as he does – that his journey truly begins.
As we get to know Guylain, the story takes an unexpectedly romantic twist and sees a beautiful coming together of two unhappy souls, whilst also exploring several stories of friendship.
The Reader on the 6.27 is a book that requires patience and perseverance, but the end left me feeling a sense of hope and enchantment quite unlike anything I’d read before. I also completely loved reading the work of a French author. With the unusual tone of the writing and the elements of humour and peculiarity in Didierlaurent’s distinctive voice, it honestly isn’t hard to imagine it being turned into something similar in look and feel to Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s 2001 film hit Amélie. It’s easy to see why this has become an internationally bestselling book.
In Paris With You by Clementine Beauvais
The complex relationship between Eugene and Tatiana certainly is love story in every sense. The key characters experience all kinds of emotions and understandings in the time they spend together, as well as apart.
Establishing a heartfelt connection early on, the pair quickly develop an arduous and unlikely friendship as teenagers. Then, many years later when the two cross paths once again, many of the old feelings they shared still linger on.
Hoping to forget the heartache and desperation they once felt around each other, Tatiana and Eugene decide to work on salvaging a friendship. Gradually the more time they spend talking and reconnecting, the more those old feelings begin to resurface.
I particularly loved the unconventional writing style of Clementine Beauvais, who wrote the whole story as one long poem, with the occasional rhyme. Reading this was possibly the first time I had seen this “novel-in-verse” layout work so well.
I Love You Too Much by Alicia Drake
A riveting read about a lonely boy in Paris. I was enthralled by Alicia Drake’s beautiful book and the darker side to the streets of Parisian life portrayed within the pages of her debut novel.
Longing for connection, Paul comforts himself with the beauty of Paris – gorging on its sweet confections and elegant patisseries – and in an unlikely friendship with his rebellious classmate, Scarlett.
This is a moving story set in one of the world’s most beautiful cities. I Love You Too Much is told with humour, grace and unflinching honesty. I absolutely love the way she writes about Paris. I found this the perfect novel to sit down and enjoy in one sitting. Once I’d gotten started, I simply couldn’t tear myself away.
These Dividing Walls by Fran Cooper
In a forgotten corner of Paris stands a building.
Within its walls, people talk and kiss, laugh and cry; some are glad to sit alone, while others wish they did not. A woman with silver-blonde hair opens her bookshop downstairs, an old man feeds the sparrows on his windowsill, and a young mother wills the morning to hold itself at bay. Though each of their walls touches someone else’s, the neighbours they pass in the courtyard remain strangers.
Into this courtyard arrives Edward. Still bearing the sweat of a Channel crossing, he takes his place in an attic room to wait out his grief.
There is so much to enjoy in These Dividing Walls, and it certainly takes the reader on a unique journey. I loved the writing and I know this is a book I won’t forget about. It is a satisfying read, and a perfect fit for those with an interest in exploring or living in Paris.
In Paris With You by Clementine Beauvais
The complex relationship between Eugene and Tatiana certainly is love story in every sense. The key characters experience all kinds of emotions and understandings in the time they spend together, as well as apart.
Establishing a heartfelt connection early on, the pair quickly develop an arduous and unlikely friendship as teenagers. Then, many years later when the two cross paths once again, many of the old feelings they shared still linger on.
Hoping to forget the heartache and desperation they once felt around each other, Tatiana and Eugene decide to work on salvaging a friendship. Gradually the more time they spend talking and reconnecting, the more those old feelings begin to resurface.
I particularly loved the unconventional writing style of Clementine Beauvais, who wrote the whole story as one long poem, with the occasional rhyme. Reading this was possibly the first time I had seen this “novel-in-verse” layout work so well.
I Love You Too Much by Alicia Drake
A riveting read about a lonely boy in Paris. I was enthralled by Alicia Drake’s beautiful book and the darker side to the streets of Parisian life portrayed within the pages of her debut novel.
Longing for connection, Paul comforts himself with the beauty of Paris – gorging on its sweet confections and elegant patisseries – and in an unlikely friendship with his rebellious classmate, Scarlett.
This is a moving story set in one of the world’s most beautiful cities. I Love You Too Much is told with humour, grace and unflinching honesty. I absolutely love the way she writes about Paris. I found this the perfect novel to sit down and enjoy in one sitting. Once I’d gotten started, I simply couldn’t tear myself away.
These Dividing Walls by Fran Cooper
In a forgotten corner of Paris stands a building.
Within its walls, people talk and kiss, laugh and cry; some are glad to sit alone, while others wish they did not. A woman with silver-blonde hair opens her bookshop downstairs, an old man feeds the sparrows on his windowsill, and a young mother wills the morning to hold itself at bay. Though each of their walls touches someone else’s, the neighbours they pass in the courtyard remain strangers.
Into this courtyard arrives Edward. Still bearing the sweat of a Channel crossing, he takes his place in an attic room to wait out his grief.
There is so much to enjoy in These Dividing Walls, and it certainly takes the reader on a unique journey. I loved the writing and I know this is a book I won’t forget about. It is a satisfying read, and a perfect fit for those with an interest in exploring or living in Paris.
How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are by Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and Sophie Mas
From four stunning and accomplished French women -- at last -- a fresh and spirited take on what it really means to be a Parisienne: how they dress, entertain, have fun and attempt to behave themselves. In short, frisky sections, these Parisian women give you their very original views on style, beauty, culture, attitude and men. The photography is stunning and this really is a perfect little book to enjoy over a cup of coffee in bed..
How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are by Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, and Sophie Mas
From four stunning and accomplished French women -- at last -- a fresh and spirited take on what it really means to be a Parisienne: how they dress, entertain, have fun and attempt to behave themselves. In short, frisky sections, these Parisian women give you their very original views on style, beauty, culture, attitude and men. The photography is stunning and this really is a perfect little book to enjoy over a cup of coffee in bed..
There is something so special about reading to connect yourself to a new place. I hope you’ll enjoy this selection of books as much as I have!