A Selection Of Parisian Classics
Paris is amongst the most historically literary cities on the planet. To select a list of books that adequately represent the city would be a fool’s errand, simply due to the volume of excellent and canonical literature that has emerged from the city for centuries now. But we’ve been revisiting many classics and decided to come up with a small selection of Parisian books that we highly recommend, which is in no way exhaustive but certainly a great place to begin.
The Ladies’ Delight- Emile Zola, 1883
In this French classic, Denise Baudu, a young woman from the Valognes countryside, arrives in Paris with her two younger brothers, orphaned and destitute, looking to get employment at her uncle’s small drapery shop. However, from the moment Denise arrives, she becomes entranced by The Ladies’ Paradise, a magnificent shopping establishment that entices its customers with its extravagant window displays, personalised service, constant sales and affordable luxury. One of the most compelling early critiques of capitalism to emerge from French literature.
Of Human Bondage- W. Somerset Maugham, 1915
In so many ways, Of Human Bondage remains one of the earliest autofiction novels and follows the life of a tormented orphan with a clubfoot, Philip Carey, who grows into a suggestible young man with a voracious appetite for adventure and knowledge. His cravings take him to Paris at age eighteen to try his hand at art, then back to London to study medicine. Nothing can satiest his nagging hunger for experience, and his obsessive love affair with a cold and unfeeling waitress changes his life forever.
The Age of Reason- Jean-Paul Sartre, 1945
Set in the volatile Parisian summer of 1938, The Age of Reason follows two days in the life of Mathieu Delarue, a philosophy teacher, and his circle in the cafes and bars of Montparnasse. Matheu has managed to contain sex and personal freedom in separate compartments, but has to raise 4,000 francs to procure a safe abortion for his mistress. Beyond this, filtering an uneasy light on his predicament, is the threat of the Second World War.
A Moveable Feast- Ernest Hemingway, 1964
A 1964 memoir by Ernest Hemingway about his years as a struggling expat journalist and writer in Paris during the 1920s. Published posthumously, it’s considered one of his most influential works and contains a certain irresistible charm. The book documents what it meant to be a young writer in Paris– with Hemingway playing with his little son and cat, travelling with the first of his four wives, Hadley and swapping gossip and stories with friends and rivals while knocking back impressive amounts of alcohol in cafes and salons. It offers a vivid window into the hedonistic world of 20th century Paris.
A Woman Destroyed- Simone De Beauvoir, 1967
One of the most influential thinkers of her generation, Beauvoir draws us into the lives of three women, all past their youth, all facing unexpected crises in these “three immensely intelligent stories about the decay of passion.” Including The Age of Discretion, The Monologue and The Woman Destroyed, Beauvoir presents these women with a wry mixture of sympathy and exasperation.
A Man Asleep- Georges Perec, 1967
Considered one of the most subversive writers in modern French literature, Perec’s A Man Asleep follows a 25-year-old student who one day decides to be indifferent about the world. In this tale, Perec subtly probes our compulsive obsession with society's trappings and the seductive mass of things that cram our lives, masquerading as stability and meaning.