Paris in July ... Once More!

July is almost here and my reading list of French literature is ready to be tackled. I love reading in French, especially French authors because, as with Japanese literature, the French writing style is quite different and unique in capturing the French way of living and understanding life.

For this July I decided to read Michel Houellebecq's "Extension du domaine de la lutte" because I enjoyed "Platforme" years ago when I first took part in the challenge managed by Tamara here, and Houellebecq is quite a controversial figure on the French literary scene. Also, I hope to find time to watch the adaptation for the screen of the same book.

I will also read something "easy" because we need to escape the heavy, more serious literature and drown into something romantic, and what is more romantic than falling in love in Paris? So, "Love in Paris" will just come in handy. I have not read anything by the French writer Juliette Sobanet but I hope I will not be disappointed.

Trying to keep up with the novelties, I came across the title "Tigre, Tigre!" by the French writer Margaux Fragoso. Although I know nothing about her, I will give this book a go because the subject of the book is quite controversial and I am curious to see if the book is as good as it was praised by journalists from The Guardian here. 

And since the French mood is nothing without some French music, I will immerse my ears into some French sounds sung by Navii. Here is a taste of his style and his adorable Paris.

BONNE LECTURE A TOUS! 

One Very Special Rendez Vous

Elle: "Mon seul tabou, c'est l'homme marie."(My only taboo is the married man.)
Lui: "C'est fou ce que tu me plais, c'est dingue." (It's crazy how much I like you, it's mad.)

Even if "Paris in July" is over, I could not stay away from a supposedly great movie, with the talented Francois Cluzet, whose movies are a must and the beautiful Sophie Marceau. I was right. This is a piece of cinematic artistry one cannot soon forget. "Une rencontre" or "Quantum of Love" (2014)  tells the story of two people - a not so single woman and a very married man - who meet, fall in love but, for their "story not to end, in must never begin." Still, we can all create a reality that is quite what we wished for... or can we?

Belle de Jour in July

"Belle de Jour" (1967) was considered one of the most famous French movies, especially since it was directed by Louis Bunuel. With a Jesuit upbringing, the director left Spain in order to join the Surrealist movement in Paris. "Belle de Jour" is his first out of six movies he shot in France.
The universe he creates is quite strange, and the line between what is real, what is wished for and what is a mere dream is so often blurred that it becomes disturbing more often than not.

The 24 year old Catherine Deneuve plays the part of Belle de Jour, a prostitute who sells herself out of too much boredom, not because she needs the money and this is her only way of acquiring it. However, her kinkiness and depravity get the best of her and still, I felt I was left wondering what was real and what not, so this was indeed an avant-garde experiment. It is worth seeing, especially as it is seen as one of the world's cinematic masterpieces, not to mention that Bunuel himself defined his movie as "the search for truth, as well as the necessity of abandoning it as soon as you’ve found it.”



You can read a great review here. 

Le Voleur des Moments Banales

"Le voleur d'ombres" (The Shadow Thief) de Marc Levy, un des plus connus et admires ecrivains francais, est un des romans magiques qu'on ne peut pas mettre de cote avant de le finir. Pourquoi le faire, quand il s'agit des histoires d'amour?   Les ombres peuvent nous dire des secrets et partager les chagrins et les espoirs de ceux qu'on aime ou qu'on connait. Cet etrange pouvoir aide le petit a comprendre les adultes et meme a se reconcilier avec le passe. Ecrire des mots doux dans le ciel avec un cerf-volant est toujours possible :)

Voici quelques citations que je prefere:

Et si l'adulte que vous êtes devenu rencontrait l'enfant que vous étiez ?

A écouter mon coeur tambouriner dans ma poitrine, je me suis dit qu'on pouvait peut-être mourir d'un baiser.

Il ne faut jamais comparer les gens, chaque personne est différente. L'important est de trouver la différence qui vous convient le mieux.

C'est drolement dangereux de s'attacher à quelqu'un , c'est incroyable ce que ça peut faire mal . rien que la peur de perdre l'autre est douloureuse . sans nouvelles d'elle ; tout s'écroulait autour de moi . c'est moche de guetter un signe de quelqu'un pour se sentir heureux .

"Le Figaro" presente Marc Levy racontant la genese du "Voleur d'Ombres".

Vive le Pain Perdu!

Every July it's time for some simple, yet tasty recipe to try. Here's my favorite from Rachel Khoo's book, "The Little Paris Kitchen".

Pain Perdu avec Compote de Cerises et Basilic (French Toast with Cherry and Basil Compote) 

"Pain Perdu" means "lost bread" and you can top it with compote or eat it just as it comes. You need 1 egg, a tablespoon of sugar, 250 ml of milk, 4 slices of bread and a tablespoon of butter. For the compote you need 450 frozen pitted cherries, 150 g of icing sugar and a bunch of basil, but you could use any compote you like.

To make the compote, place all the ingredients in a pot and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir occasionally during this time to help dissolve the icing sugar.

To make "the pain perdu" whisk the egg, milk and sugar together in a dish. Place the bread in the egg mixture and soak for a minute on each side. Heat the butter in a large frying pan on a medium heat. Add the bread and cook for 2-3 minutes or until golden, then flip the slices over and cook the other side. Serve the "pain perdu" straight from the pan, with the compote spooned over and around.

Rachel has her own show on BBC Two. Click here for more info on her cooking preferences. 

Madame Bovary

What an excellent adaptation this was! I am thrilled directors still choose to return to classics and create beautiful pieces of art. I few years ago I saw "Madame Bovary" starring Isabelle Huppert (which appeared in 1991) and I really enjoyed watching it, but then, Huppert is one of my favorite actresses. This time, I think Mia Wasikowska is among my favorite young actresses. I was impressed with her acting in "Alice in Wonderland", "Jane Eyre" and "Stoker" and she did not let me down playing the part of Madame Bovary.

We all know Emma's story. She marries a country doctor and starts feeling bored in the small village where he practices medicine. She also begins to see him in a different light, until she cannot stand him any longer. If at first she can say "no" to a younger man who shows affection towards her, she then longs for a different life, with more money to spend on clothes and trifles next to a man who can have time for her. Her wish does come true, but Gustave Flaubert's novel is not a fairy tale...

Reasons to watch "Madame Bovary" (2014): Mia, the story, the scenery, the inner struggles.

Another Beautiful July in ... Paris!

There is no such thing as July without Paris and since I can choose whatever I want to read, watch or listen to, this month is going to be fantastic!
I will be watching the controversial "Belle de Jour", starring Catherine Deneuve and the new adaptation for the screen of Flaubert's famous story "Madame Bovary", starring the young and talented Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland, Jane Eyre). I am really looking forward to this one. Also, I have some plans for one or more French movies, depending on my free time.

Bookwise, I am planning on reading Marc Levy's "The Shadow Thief", Simone de Beauvoir's "The Woman Destroyed" and David Foenkinos' "Lennon". It is such an eclectic range of books that I know I will have quite a blast going from one to the next.

However, what will Paris be without its lovely chansonettes? To my huge surprise, one of my all time favorite French singers, Benjamin Biolay has just released a tribute album to Charles Trenet and Paris. The first released song is "Revoir Paris". Can you think of something more beautiful Paris related?

Enjoy your own Paris in July! 
P.S. Visit Thyme for Tea for more info on the challenge :)

"Le Week-end" in Paris

 If there is only one movie you should see this month, then it has to be "Le week-end", a British bittersweet comedy/drama written by Hanif Kureishi, whose book "Intimacy" I also enjoyed watching on the screen years ago.
The movie is about a married couple who decide to celebrate their 30th anniversary by going to Paris, where they spent their honeymoon. Nothing spectacular so far, except that they seem to feel differently about the stage they are in, and their relationship.
Although Nick feels that she is the only one he could love, Meg may be on the brink of asking for a divorce since she feels there is more than "THE one" in one's life. To quote her, "love dies only if you kill it", while Nick honestly states that "love is the only interesting thing, far more difficult to do than sex".
However, they do meet somewhere in the middle (on a Parisian bridge, maybe) to realize that the love between them is stronger than any whim or even resentment they may have. As The Telegraph put it, it is simply "sophisticated, sharp and funny". Is there anything else to ask for in a movie? Maybe that it be set in Paris? Checked :)

Paris in July est la!

To celebrate Paris, France and other lovable things that are related to these, in July, everything turns into French, even the music I listen to ...


On attendra l'hiver
Pour s'écrire qu'on se manque
Que c'était long hier
Que c'est long de s'attendre.

Sous le Ciel de Paris...

July is over and what a Paris - related month it was, with lots of books and French music and movies! Oh, how I love holidays with worries aside...
Here are some of the movies I have seen this month, hoping you will be curious enough to give them a try:

"Ma Mere" (My Mother), starring Isabelle Huppert, whom we talked about months ago, is a movie based on Georges Bataille's book with the same title and it presents quite a disturbing story between a promiscuous mother and her troubled son. Having watched an interview with the director, I was made aware that the sex shown was meant to make us cross moral boundaries... It is a movie I would recommend to those who want to check where the new French cinema is heading.

"Dieu Est Grand, Je Suis Toute Petite" (God is great, I am Really Small) is a light movie about Michele, played by now the famous Audrey Tautou ("Amelie") , who struggles with becoming Jewish and still keeping her Jewish boyfriend.

"Amour" is probably one of the most beautiful movies I have seen so far and I am so thrilled that such cinematic jewels are still made by talented directors such as Haneke, whose two other movies I will surely watch. "Amour", which premiered in Cannes in 2012 and won Palme d'Or, the highest distinction tells the story of a love beyond common understanding between an old couple. It is definitely a must see for anyone who still believes in the powers of simple yet touching love stories.

"Dans la Maison" (In the House) was such an amazing discovery. The story is so intricate and captivating, the actors (Kristin Scott Thomas included) are so talented that you find yourself on the edge of your seat impatiently waiting to see what will happen next between the bored teacher and the student whose inspiration goes beyond the limit. Excellent movie!

All four movies seen for my pleasure but also for Paris in July Challenge :)

The Paris Wife - Six Word Sum Up

Paradise is lost when you stop believing.

"The Paris Wife" is probably the best book I will have read this year. I was expecting a love story, but what a love story that was. One between the mighty Ernest Hemingway, just before he became famous and Elizabeth Hadley Hemingway, his first wife. Hadley recounts the years she spent married with Hem, from the first year when he was struggling to finish his first stories and up to the end, when he almost finished "The Sun also Rises" (which he dedicated to Hadley and their son, Bumby).
Eight years older than Hemingway, Hadley dedicates her life to become a supportive wife, while they spend most of their marriage in Paris, befriending Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound or Zelda and F. S. Fitzgerald.
Paula Mclain portraits the couple as a single being, with identical haircuts and nicknames, each one calling the other "Tatie", they ski and drink together, but one day Ernest meets Pauline, whom he seduces in front of Hadley and who will become his second wife.
Although it may seem like a simple love story, filled with betrayal, it is not just that. It is a love story that scares you forever, since Hemingway, married for the fourth time, will write in  his memoir "A Movable Feast" that "I wished I had died before I ever loved anyone but her."

You can find an interview with the author about this book here.

Read for Paris is July and  New Authors Reading Challenges. 

La Musique de Paris en Juillet

I decided to join, for the third year, Paris in July Challenge, which is one of the simplest yet most entertaining challenges, mainly because one can mix books with movies or music, not to mention other fun activities, all related to France and/or Paris. You can read book about France, written by French authors or listen to some French piano bar music... your choice and your delight, since you cannot think about Paris without a smile lingering on your face, but what happens or will happen in Paris stays in Paris, right? :)

The soundtrack for this July will be Patricia Kaas and Vanessa Paradis, whose latest albums are simply beautiful.
Do you have a preference for one of the two? :)

Paris en Juillet

"Il faut avoir vécu des années dans le rien pour comprendre comment on peut être subitement effrayé par la possibilité." (Foenkinos' La Delicatesse)
Unexpectedly, Paris was quite cold this July, but that did not keep me from enjoying its beauties :)  
Seine's banks, full of souvenirs and old books...

My friends, the gargoyles, up the Notre Dame, always waiting for something...

Le Marche aux Fleurs, one of my top 5 favorite places in Paris...

"La Delicatessse", by David Foenkinos and "Paris Revealed" by Stephen Clarke were two reads I loved and recommend if Paris is on your mind for a future vacation and if you want to discover either its secrets and past, or if you want to get an intimate account of a sad Parisian's life and loves...

...and "Cafe de Flore" is a superb film, mostly set in 1960s Paris, starring Vanessa Paradis.

Paris in July

Nothing beats Paris in July... well, maybe Venice in February :)

I decided to join yet another reading challenge - Paris in July - since I love Paris and I will be visiting the city this month so, this July it is time for Paris again and since we're talking books, I will be reading Foenkinos' "La Delicatesse" (which I plan on buying from Paris), Patchett's "Bel Canto" for Orange in July Challenge and "Paris Revealed" and "The Last Time I Saw Paris" because they seem just the books to read while in Paris (actually, while waiting for planes to take off).
See you soon! :)