A breezy book about St. Germain. Johnson writes as if she is talking while roaming the quartier. Musing on buildings, history, and inhabitants as the mood strikes her. The chapters seemed short and choppy to me, but the various tidbits of information were absorbing.

I enjoyed this book and found Diane Johnson to be a good writer. I love learning about Paris, so this book satisfied that desire. The book was informative, but a couple minor things bothered me: one, I felt that the author spent too much time talking about the Huguenots' role in Paris life, and two, small sections of the book were repetitious.

I, too, am interested in the Huguenots, but I think because they appear to be of special interest to the author, she spent too much time on them.

As for the repetition, I've noticed the same thing in other similar books and memoirs. It appears to me that some chapters of this book were essays that the author had published elsewhere; hence the repetition of certain facts and also the fact that she refers to her husband as "J" in some of the chapters and as "John" in others, indicated to me that the chapters were written at different times. I'm always amazed that editors don't catch these inconsistencies.

Overall, the book was an enjoyable read and reinforced for me some of the facts I have read elsewhere about Paris, especially concerning the quartier of St. Germain de Pres.

Lots of interesting history in here, but it also reads at times like someone bragging about all the famous people they've met. I did enjoy all the tiny details about the architecture and history of the 6th arrondissement, since it's where we'll be staying in Paris this spring. It's a good reminder that attention to detail is what makes things interesting, and this is especially true in a place with so much history to be discovered.

This is less about the Chapel and St.-Germain as it is one woman's thoughts (and some research) about her 'hood. As I was visiting Paris, I wanted to see what her insights were and possibly trace her footsteps around the quartier but the walking is - as happens when you live someplace - scattered and meandering. That's not to say this isn't interesting, but it's not quite what I wanted and I wonder if it would have been published had the author not already had a following thanks to her novels.

Boring.

I must have a copy of this book in my hands the next time I am in Paris! The history behind the architecture and the whole Saint-Germain-des-Prés area is as well crafted as the the buildings there and as well decorated as the façades if these buildings, too. Tho there is a lot of Diane Johnson in it, all of the little stories just show off the quartier as if one wandered it with an old friend--and I, who have written a literary walk of the area, learned enormous amounts about it all. But this is not dry history--it is funny and anecdotal and accurate and splashed about with all that we see there today--could not put this down once I started! Still dipping into it here and there......

A love letter to Paris.

I have thoroughly enjoyed Diane Johnson’s novels, Le Divorce, Le Mariage, L’Affaire and Lulu in Marrakech, and even though Into a Paris Quartier is not a novel, but a non-fiction memoire, she does not disappoint. Johnson’s focus is usually on the cultural snafus that involve Americans or Brits in France or Morocco. However, this book is more her musings on her favorite areas of Paris—heavy on the history—mostly around St. Germain des Près area of the Left Bank. She is most fond of recalling the people and events of the 16th and 17th centuries, citing the areas where Marguerite de Navarre, short-term wife of future King Henri IV, liked to frequent. (The subtitle to the book is “Reine Margot’s Chapel and Other Haunts of St.-Germain). She also provides some interesting tidbits about the three Musketeers, D’Artagnon, and Louis XIII, although she does share some memories of more recent history as well. She laments some of the heavy “Haussmannization” movement under Napoleon III in the mid-19th century, when the brilliant urban architect modernized and strengthened the city’s infrastructure, but regrettably, had many quaint areas torn down in the process. She also recalls 1942 when swastikas hung from the Pont Neuf while Gen. Charles De Gaulle bolstered his people in a speech recorded from England where he had been forced into exile. This is a very charming read for those of us who like to believe we still have at least one of two trips to Paris left in us, and want to list a few intriguing places we have not yet seen and make few petites promenades along the streets where Racine, Balzac, and George Sand and so many others once hung out.

A deep dive into the history, architecture. and moods of one Paris arrondissement, which just happens to be haunted chock-a-block by famous writers, artists, poets, existentialists, and royals.

Some parts are so good! But other parts are boring.
But I finished it and overall enjoyed. Rec if you love this part of Paris, like I do!

mehh.

8/10/2004