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harukoharu's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
3.5
hellojoie's review against another edition
3.0
Paris, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down is American author Rosecrans Baldwin's humorous documentation of his several seasons spent living in Paris and working as a copywriter at a French advertising agency. I was thrilled to discover this was an actual book after reading an excerpt (and loving it) online.
The book was a fun read, and really shone in the passages in which Baldwin shares his misadventures arising from lack of fluency and cultural awareness. (The section dealing with his confusion about when it was and wasn't socially acceptable to dole out les bises, the kisses, remains one of my favorites.) His coworkers act as a wonderful supporting cast, and their confusion or humorous exasperation with their American coworker made for funny stories. And of course, it's difficult not to feel envious (both for the reader and for some of his coworkers) as he shares details of his extravagant travels paid for by his agency as they woo luxury brands.
But after some time the book began to lag for me, and after about the first half I had lost some interest. I missed the self-deprecating silliness of the beginning. And Baldwin's conversational writing style was generally fun... until a sentence was riddled with so many commas or back-and-forths as to become unreadable. On top of that, a recurring problem my uncultured self had with the book was that some phrases---in fact, some punch lines---were left untranslated in French. I'm sure these were things most people with even a smattering of French vocabulary should have been able to understand. But alas, I am well-described by a joke told in the book:
What do you call someone who speaks three languages?
Trilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
Bilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks one language?
American!
D'oh.
This would be a great read for Francophiles and those who love to travel. I am the kind of person who has the opposite of wanderlust (wanderfrigidity? stationarylust?), but I love reading memoirs and tales of other people's travels. This book is a decent humorous entry in the genre.
The book was a fun read, and really shone in the passages in which Baldwin shares his misadventures arising from lack of fluency and cultural awareness. (The section dealing with his confusion about when it was and wasn't socially acceptable to dole out les bises, the kisses, remains one of my favorites.) His coworkers act as a wonderful supporting cast, and their confusion or humorous exasperation with their American coworker made for funny stories. And of course, it's difficult not to feel envious (both for the reader and for some of his coworkers) as he shares details of his extravagant travels paid for by his agency as they woo luxury brands.
But after some time the book began to lag for me, and after about the first half I had lost some interest. I missed the self-deprecating silliness of the beginning. And Baldwin's conversational writing style was generally fun... until a sentence was riddled with so many commas or back-and-forths as to become unreadable. On top of that, a recurring problem my uncultured self had with the book was that some phrases---in fact, some punch lines---were left untranslated in French. I'm sure these were things most people with even a smattering of French vocabulary should have been able to understand. But alas, I am well-described by a joke told in the book:
What do you call someone who speaks three languages?
Trilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks two languages?
Bilingual.
What do you call someone who speaks one language?
American!
D'oh.
This would be a great read for Francophiles and those who love to travel. I am the kind of person who has the opposite of wanderlust (wanderfrigidity? stationarylust?), but I love reading memoirs and tales of other people's travels. This book is a decent humorous entry in the genre.
latetotheparty's review
4.0
I thought this was great and funny. I'd like his wife to write a response about her time in Paris because I feel it wasn't as enjoyable for her.
khjb's review against another edition
3.0
A nice memoir, especially for anyone who's lived in a foreign country for a bit. I probably would have enjoyed it even more if I had even a rudimentary knowledge of French. A quick read, with some genuine LOL moments, but ultimately not anything particularly revelatory.
kristinapp's review against another edition
2.0
Really a 1.5 star review, but I rounded up. Easy to read, but not worth the time.
opentopersuasion's review against another edition
4.0
I really loved this book, for several reasons. Baldwin's writing style is wonderful. He can write a straightforward, simple story while embellishing it perfectly. I don't like getting confused in books, and baldwin never jumped around or lost track of the reader, while still writing very beautiful prose. The second reason is of course, I love France, so I couldn't help loving this book. I think it might be difficult to visualize some parts of this book for those people who have never been to Paris, but hopefully it is incentive to go, because it is a great city. Even if non-Parisian French people tell you it's nothing to get worked up about ;).
corrompido's review against another edition
3.0
Nice little memoir about the author living as a working expat in Paris with his wife. Nothing revolutionary in here, but a good set of fish out of water stories that were often amusing.
katarinamilica's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
5.0
perfect summer read. if i'm ever sad, this always hits the spot. this book is my champion, my mushroom, my boyfriend.