Editor’s Note: This post, written by Kaitlin Olson, originally appeared on Glommable.
I have been an unabashed Francophile almost all my life. But I’m certainly not the first American to be captivated by France. We all know the classics—Ernest Hemingway’s A MOVEABLE FEAST, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s TENDER IS THE NIGHT, Julia Child’s MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING—but we remain as obsessed in our modern day as we did then. So, I’m recommending these 7 modern books by and for French-obsessed Americans.
If you loved A MOVEABLE FEAST, you should try PARIS TO THE MOON. Adam Gopnik, a longtime writer for the New Yorker, spent several years based in Paris. This delightful collection of essays, some previously published in the New Yorker, are funny and contemplative at once. I always feel nostalgic for Paris when I read them.
This gorgeous novel takes place in a small unnamed village in Provence, detailing the interconnected lives of its residents. Constance Leisure, an American who has split her time between the United States and Provence for decades, has a way of making you feel the famous Provençal mistral. For those interested in how the French really live (particularly outside of Paris), this is the book to read.
When Jennifer Scott, a California girl, went to study abroad in Paris, she found a mentor in her host mother, Madame Chic. Madame Chic taught her the lessons of living a beautiful life, and lucky for us, Jennifer has published those lessons. Her experience reminded me of my own as a student in Paris, which makes me love this book even more.
You can read my full review of LESSONS FROM MADAME CHIC here.
I can’t talk about France without talking about pastries. After all, I am the girl who spent four months searching for the perfect croissant (for those curious, it’s the “Ispahan” croissant from Pierre Hermé). My friends and I avidly followed his blog, and his memoir is just as funny and delicious.
Parisians, like New Yorkers, are obsessed with their neighborhoods. Elaine Sciolino examines Paris on the most micro level: the street. Every street is brimming with history, with culture, with stories. I lived on rue de Grenelle in Saint Germain on the border of the sixth and the seventh (If you’ve read THE ELEGANCE OF A HEDGEHOG, it may sound familiar). I still believe it’s the best street in Paris.
When in France, do as the French do—wait, is that not the saying? No list of books for Francophiles is complete without a quasi–self help title arguing that the French just seem to do life better. But I’ll be honest, French children can appear to be more well behaved than their American counterparts, but a toddler meltdown will happen no matter how you’re raised.
John Baxter, who has lived in Paris for decades, fell into a job giving literary walking tours. Like New York, Paris is a great walkable city, and its paths—along the Seine, through the public gardens, down wide boulevards—make traversing it by foot a pleasure. Unlike guide books, this focuses on sites of cultural significance and has plenty of places of interest for Americans looking to follow in the literal footsteps of the Lost Generation.
In this enchanting memoir, long- time Paris resident John Baxter remembers his yearlong experience of giving "literary walking tours" through the city. Baxter sets off with unsuspecting tourists in tow on the trail of Paris's legendary artists and writers of the past.