AUTHOR: Ruth Yunker
INFO: Hardcover, Humor/Non-Fiction, 194 pages
PUBLISHED: Outskirts Press, 2010
ISBN#: 978-1-4327-5714-4
HOW I GOT IT: Received from Author for Review
FROM GOODREADS: Me, Myself & 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, windblown 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 & 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.
MY TAKE: I enjoyed this light-hearted, sometimes tongue-in-cheek romp through Paris with the author. She revisits her three summers there and shares what she learns ~ about Paris, about traveling and mostly about herself. There is a lot of humor and quite a bit of insight dished out in this quick read. I think a lot of women will relate to the author and her trials and tribulations traveling to an unknown country alone.
Out of 5 Jewels,
I give it:
~~~~~ Disclaimer: All opinions expressed on this blog are 100% my own. I do not receive monetary compensation for my reviews but do utilize affiliate links. I may receive books in order to facilitate a review, but this does not guarantee a good review - only a completely honest one. Each review post denotes how I obtained the book.
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