Parisians

An Adventure History of Paris

By: Graham Robb

Narrated by: Simon Vance

This is the Paris you never knew. From the Revolution to the present, Graham Robb has distilled a series of astonishing true narratives, all stranger than fiction.

A young artillery lieutenant, strolling through the Palais-Royal, observes disapprovingly the courtesans plying their trade. A particular woman catches his eye; nature takes its course. Later that night, Napoleon Bonaparte writes a meticulous account of his first sexual encounter.

An aristocratic woman, fleeing the Louvre, takes a wrong turn and loses her way in the nameless streets of the Left Bank. For want of a map - there were no reliable ones at the time - Marie-Antoinette will go to the guillotine.

Baudelaire, Baron Haussmann, the real-life Mimi of La Boheme, Proust, Charles de Gaulle (who is suspected of having faked an assassination attempt on himself in Notre Dame) - these and many more make up Robb's cast of characters. The result is a resonant, intimate history with the power of a great novel.

©2010 Graham Robb (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

“With his profound knowledge of Paris, its treasures and squalor, its heroes and victims, Robb reveals a city of not only lights but darkness.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Guide to Paris from Another Slant

Graceful prose and a superlative narration (I have a crush on Simon Vance) combine to beautifully present a view of Paris from unique guides - the experiences of historical figures presented by an inspired writer. The most appealing aspect of The Parisians is the sense of the immense and rich history of the place living in the streets and buildings and even the air. It offers the reader the same opportunity for intimacy and lived experience that a good novel would. For the would-be traveller, I would highly recommend this book over any "travel guide" to Paris.

What a journey!

Robb brings the City of Light to life in a unique and fascinating way, through the lives of people who have lived there. Napoleon, Mme. Zola, Hitler, and others unknown but remarkable. It makes one want to take the book to Paris and trace the stories. Wonderful, and beautifully read.

Enjoyable backstories

Hard to follow sometimes as dates moved forwards and backwards but the stories filled in parts of other common and major historical events with interesting details.

history told through random events

I enjoyed the stories but I would have enjoyed the printed version more; there were far too many street names I couldn't spell to look up.

Interesting at first

Interesting and compelling at first, the book gets very uneven at the end. I enjoyed parts of this book very much, and skimmed through others.

Difficult....but worth it

I completely understand the frustration of folks who find this book to be "too much." I had the same reaction to Robb's "Discovery of France," which does not have an audio version. I posted a 3-star review at Amazon taking some hard shots. But I always had the disquieting feeling that the book was simply difficult, not at all unworthy, the opposite, in fact. That feeling won out, over time, and ultimately I took down my carping review.

As of now, I have only the Audible version of this latest Robb book. It is difficult to casually follow. IT IS DIFFICULT TO CASUALLY FOLLOW. But for those with the inclination, the payoff is huge.

There is no need to be judgmental here. Some people -- most people, perhaps -- are mildly interested and wish to be amused and informed while remaining in a casual relationship to the material. Nothing at all wrong with that, but it does not work for this book. At least, not for me. I regard it as more like a college course; I plan to read the book and to listen more than once. For those who have that level of interest, it is a dazzling tale. To me, it is more than worth the effort...big investment, big payoff.

This audiobook is so good!

I was delighted by this audiobook. Was that in part because I have been to Paris a number of times, have a passable knowledge of French history and literature, can speak basic French, and am an unashamed Francophile? Would I have felt the same if Graham Robb had written a book called Berlinners, Madridians or Muscovites? I think that for people who feel a connection to things French or Parisienne this book will be pure Heaven
Simon Vance is superb as a reader on this audiobook. His tone changes to match the various moods of the narrative, and his French accent is impeccable for place and peoples' names. He reads rather quickly, so it does require some concentration so as to keep with the flow of the tale. I am not sure that this is the book to listen to when caught in frantic peak-hour traffic, but it is immensely rewarding with serious listening time.
This audiobook is so good.

Don't be scared away.

Brilliant book. A history told through stories, so prepare to appreciate its storytelling qualities, but don't expect a straight "history." Not every story captured me, but the vast majority did, and I learned something from each and every one of them. And I surely know more about Paris than I did before. (I've listened to several histories of Paris, so I'm not a novice). One story in this collection is a script, with camera directions, for a "movie.", It's one of the most poignan and important in this impressive and creative history. If those last two adjectives strike you as oxymorons, I challenge you to give this book a chance. Now I'm longing for the "story history" of Rome, London, Venice, Moscow, Madrid, Barcelona, etc. Get busy, people!

Delightful, informative, fascinating

Would you consider the audio edition of Parisians to be better than the print version?

Probably. I generally prefer audio since reading is hard on my eyes.

Which character – as performed by Simon Vance – was your favorite?

Simon Vance is good as usual. I give him 5 stars despite mispronounced French (at first surprising because of his generally excellent pronunciation of French sounds). French names are notoriously difficult and a foreigner almost inevitably makes mistakes. A few instances come to mind; I cite them not in a critical spirit but so that listeners should not be misled.

"Champs de Mars”: final s is not silent (Mars, a Roman god, is not a French word).

Saint-André des Arts: t in "art" is silent.

Auteuil is pronounced o-tou[as in English 'touch']-y, not o-toy-y (true of all instances of -euil).

Montagne Sainte-Geneviève: -ene- (and -enne- in other words) are pronounce 'en' as in English, without reference to the French nasal en [‘aun’] sound

Porte des Lilas: s silent [in most words the final s is silent, but there are exceptions such as the city Reims]

Boulevard Haussmann: Hau pronounced ‘o’ (not ‘ao’ or ‘hao', though the origin of the name does in a sense justify pronouncing it the German way, but in Paris nobody would understand)

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The deportation of Jews and Jewish children.

I also wanted to cry at the wanton burning of hundreds of years of Parisian archives during the Commune of 1871.

Any additional comments?

This book is particularly interesting to those who already have an interest in French history and/or know or love Paris.

The parisians that shaped city of lights

Parisians is a collection of anecdotes covering Paris, from the revolution to the 21st century, by Graham Robb. The author presents a human perspective on essential events, figures and places. Each story is written in a different style, reflecting the theme and characters. This is pulled of excellently, only the story about Juliette Greco, written in screenplay style, fails to engage.

It is interesting and well written – almost poetic at times. An excellent read for those inclined to history or those just fascinated by the city of lights