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erichendry 's review for:
A Walk Through Paris: A Radical Exploration
by Eric Hazan
Have you ever wanted to stroll through the streets of Paris with a retired Communist surgeon ready to share his encyclopedic knowledge of the city he loves? Eric Hazan is ready to show you his Paris on his terms.
When I was fortunate enough to live in Paris for a semester in 2016, I walked everywhere. I made a point never to take the same journey twice, which proved as easy as it was rewarding. I found myself wishing I had a guide like Hazan to share with me (in a classically Parisian, curmudgeonly voice) all the hidden stories that surrounded me at every turn. There is no greater city on Earth in which to be a pedestrian.
Hazan loves his city and is rightly proud of its history of revolution and resistance. The push and pull of revolt and reaction shaped the physical city of Paris probably more than any other on Earth. Hazan charts a path from South to North that showcases the scars and monuments of this history, both visible and invisible to the contemporary viewer. Interspersed are personal anecdotes about Hazan’s own life and notes about Paris from writers like Balzac and Beaudelaire.
Hazan, being Parisian, is not interested in holding your hand. There is little context to his cultural and geographic references. You are invited to keep up. I wouldn’t recommend this book to casual Luteciophiles (to coin a word?) but if you have a great love of crusty old Parisians and walking, this is a truly excellent read.
When I was fortunate enough to live in Paris for a semester in 2016, I walked everywhere. I made a point never to take the same journey twice, which proved as easy as it was rewarding. I found myself wishing I had a guide like Hazan to share with me (in a classically Parisian, curmudgeonly voice) all the hidden stories that surrounded me at every turn. There is no greater city on Earth in which to be a pedestrian.
Hazan loves his city and is rightly proud of its history of revolution and resistance. The push and pull of revolt and reaction shaped the physical city of Paris probably more than any other on Earth. Hazan charts a path from South to North that showcases the scars and monuments of this history, both visible and invisible to the contemporary viewer. Interspersed are personal anecdotes about Hazan’s own life and notes about Paris from writers like Balzac and Beaudelaire.
Hazan, being Parisian, is not interested in holding your hand. There is little context to his cultural and geographic references. You are invited to keep up. I wouldn’t recommend this book to casual Luteciophiles (to coin a word?) but if you have a great love of crusty old Parisians and walking, this is a truly excellent read.