ASK Musings

No matter where you go, there you are.

Monday

19

June 2017

0

COMMENTS

How To Be Parisian Wherever You Are

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Three Stars

Best for: Anyone who likes Paris, needs a bit of a quick, distracting read, and is willing to overlook the heteronormativity of it all.

In a nutshell: Four friends from Paris decided to write the type of advice book one might buy on impulse when shopping at Anthropologie.

Line that sticks with me: “darkest Africa” – used when referring to places where people might be from. I just … was a bit gobsmacked that this weird bit of racism made it past the editors.

Why I chose it: I’m pretty sure I bought it at a non-bookstore store because I’m a sucker for Paris and for advice.

Review: This book is fine. Yesterday my mind was not in a great place, and I just wanted something distracting. A book that talked about pretty clothes and a city I love and tips for making my hair looks good. And for the most part, this fit the bill.

It definitely assumes the reader is a woman who likes men, and it assumes that the reader has access to money. And is slender. But this is probably not a surprise, because the whole goal of the book seems to be to bring the stereotypes of Paris to life on the page. And they do, and mostly it just made me want to go out and find some jeans that actually fit and start wearing my red lipstick all the time.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.