Category Archives: Literature

Oscar et la dame rose

Posted on August 3, 2020 by Patricia Gilbert

I’ve read a few books lately that I haven’t liked very much at all – even one by a Big-Name French author that left me utterly indifferent. By contrast, when I read Oscar et la dame rose, by Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, … Continue reading →

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La seule rue à Paris

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Patricia Gilbert

For the last decade, I’ve had a summer job in the heart of Paris. This year, of course, is different. I miss Paris as I would an old friend. Reading The Only Street in Paris: Life on the Rue des … Continue reading →

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Trouver Fontainebleau

Posted on July 6, 2020 by Patricia Gilbert

Two decades ago, I fell under the charm of Thad Carhart’s memoir The Piano Shop on the Left Bank, the story of the complexities and subtleties of an ex-pat family living in Paris. When I saw that Carhart had written another memoir, I … Continue reading →

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Les petits plaisirs de Paris

Posted on June 15, 2020 by Patricia Gilbert

The summer brings so many occasions for which one needs a little present – graduations, hostess gifts, and there are always birthdays. I have a recommendation for the francophile on your list, the charming book The Little Pleasures of Paris, … Continue reading →

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Plus ça change

Posted on June 8, 2020 by Patricia Gilbert

As I’m writing this, it’s June, the time for graduations and yearbooks. Graduation was held via Zoom at the school where I teach French, and yearbooks were released online and “signed” virtually. In my own high school graduation yearbook, I … Continue reading →

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Ma vie parisienne à mi-temps

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Patricia Gilbert

Whether you are post-confinement or mid-confinement you may be needing a new book to read or listen to. And if you’re like me, you’re dreaming of when you can next get to Paris. I recently enjoyed the audio version of … Continue reading →

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Le mystère Henri Pick

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Patricia Gilbert

My Covid reading program is moving right along. I just finished Le mystère Henri Pick, by David Foenkinos. I picked it up when I was in Paris last summer. It was getting press after a film version – which I … Continue reading →

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C’est fini!

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Patricia Gilbert

I just finished what may be the longest, and certainly heaviest, tome of my life. Paris, City of Art, by Jean-Marie Pérouse de Montclos, was an anniversary gift from my very nice husband in about 2008. Since the book weighs … Continue reading →

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Les Parisiennes

Posted on October 14, 2019 by Patricia Gilbert

I just finished an excellent book, Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived, Loved, and Died in the 1940s, by Anne Sebba. I think was the best book that I have read so far this year. Sebba makes it clear … Continue reading →

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Une petite bibliothèque gratuite

Posted on June 17, 2019 by Patricia Gilbert

Whenever I see a Little Free Library, I can’t resist the urge to browse. I may take a book from one, and leave on in another, but the point is to keep books circulating and being enjoyed, not just sitting … Continue reading →

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