Paris in Love by Eloisa James

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I picked up "Paris in Love" solely for the title name, and if truth be told, the jacket cover picture. I have never been to Paris, and I knew nothing about Eloisa James. It tickled me to learn that Eloisa is not only a Professor of Shakespeare, but a popular and best selling author of romance novels for HarperCollins. Even though I have given up the sordid romance, I may need to try one of hers - perhaps "The Taming of the Duke", or, "Midnight Pleasures".

I loved Eloisa's writing. I enjoyed her fanciful imagination, and her use of language. It's my understanding that these days, when writing publicity, the guideline is to write for a sixth grade education. It often seems to me that this practice has also been embedded in the novels we read. It was a pleasure to read a book that uses words we don't see so much these days (like insouscience, ignominous and salient). I love words and it's a pleasure to see them used so well.

Her descriptions are lovely:

"Today is rainy, cool, and windy. The sky is silvery gray, like the watered silk skirts of a Victorian lady, long widowed, and still regretful".

 Or consider this fanciful imagining from viewing a Dior window:

"The mannequin came alive in my imagination. I could picture a sleek and gorgeous woman drifting into a drawing room--although she then regarded reproachfully my scuffed shoes and the smudged cuff of my white shirt".

If you have been to Paris, you should read this book for it's descriptions of the city, food and museums. If you haven't been, like me, you will be charmed by the city due to Eloisa's writing.

This memoir is really about family--how she and her husband took a year sabbatical and went to Paris with their children. How this strengthened their family, in part because they only had each other. Not that they didn't have other relationships and friends, they did, but their family unit was their main source of strength and connection.

I started out writing this review by giving "Paris in Love" four stars--but the more I've written, the more I've realized how much I really liked this book, so I'm changing it up to five stars.

Now hmmmm....should I try one of the romances?!

View all my reviews