Falling in Love With Paris Letters
April 13, 2015
Reading is like dating. There are the books you’re initially
infatuated with, but become irritated by as the relationship progresses. There
are the books you should love because they’re perfect for you, but you just
can’t seem to connect. There are the books you love secretly because they’re no
good, and you’d be embarrassed if your friends knew. There are the fix-ups, the
“meet cutes,” the love-at-first-sights, and the long-term relationships that
grow stronger over time. For me, Janice MacLeod’s Paris Letters was an
immediate friendship that grew into love. However, it was a romance that almost
never happened.
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| See below for downloadable stationery* |
I initially requested Paris Letters from the library
thinking it was a book of artwork, the painted letters from Paris referenced in
the title. When it turned out to be memoir, I nearly took it back, because do I
really need to read another story of a woman simplifying her life,
jetting off to see the world, and finding herself and/or true love? I mean,
I’ve read Eat, Pray, Love and many other stories both fictional and non-
of that ilk. Still, I decided to read the first few pages just to see…and I
connected with MacLeod immediately. I liked her turns of phrase and casual
voice. She seemed approachable, down-to-earth, real. Somehow, this story of a 30-something vegan
copywriter who goes to Paris and unexpectedly falls in love with a
French-speaking Polish butcher resonated with me.
For MacLeod, it all started with a New Year’s resolution in
2010. She wanted to become an artist, and began journaling nearly every day,
following Julia Cameron’s instructions regarding Morning Pages from The Artist’s Way. “Really, I just wanted to create something that made me feel
good, because what I was currently creating definitely did not,” MacLeod
writes. What was she creating? Junk
mail.
After two months of journaling and complaining about her
job, a question emerged: “How much money does it take to quit your job?” In
discussing it with a friend, she chose the figure of $100 a day (partly because
of the easy math!) multiplied by how many days she did not want to work (at
least one year). She spent the next year selling, saving and being vigilant
about where her money went, eventually saving $60,000! It helped that she had a
good job and was successful investing in the stock market. She quit her job in
December with the plan of traveling the world and writing about it. When her
money ran out, she would decide what to do next.
The rest of the book follows her journey to Paris, the UK,
Italy…and back to Paris to be with “the lovely Cristophe.” She writes
humorously about her struggles to communicate with Cristophe, the daunting
paperwork required for her visa, and the challenges of (spoiler alert) planning
a wedding in a foreign country. The title of the book comes from her unique
solution for refilling her dwindling bank account: she would write and
illustrate an original letter from Paris, and make personalized copies to sell.
(At the time the book was printed, she had sent out more than 10,000 painted
letters about life in France.) Some chapters end with copies of her Paris
letters, illustrated in black and white (an unfortunate decision made by her
publisher). She also includes a list of 100 ways she saved or didn’t spend her
$100 a day. You can see (and subscribe to) her illustrated letters here.
Paris Letters was a happy
read—and so far, one of my favorite books of 2015.
*Click here to download the stationery pictured beneath the book.
6 comments
Dear Kathy- sounds like a wonderful book. Sometimes a title or even a cover can start a story or book romance. Karen White is a new author for me and I am reading another novel "a time between" . Loving how this lady writes. Would recommend her! Thanks for sharing. Will check out your book. Have a great day.
ReplyDeleteDebbie--I agree that a cover or other detail can catch the eye and draw you in to a book romance. I'll have to check out Karen White--she is new to me, also.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading The Moonstone right now for my 19th century classic and I really love it. Much more than I expected, sconce myseries are usually not my thing. Or at least I didn't think they were my thing, but I've also enjoyed The Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries I've read. The Paris Letters sounds good too.
ReplyDeleteCheryl--I loved The Moonstone, too, and I didn't really expect to. It was the first Wilkie Collins book I read. Perhaps you're just a discerning mystery reader who needs more than a run-of-the-mill story to stay interested?!
ReplyDeleteKathy, I also enjoyed her book, but like the critics and the author herself, I wished that the illustrations werre in color...
ReplyDeleteAre you a fan of Paris? You have been there? Are going?
Rita--Maybe they'll reprint the book with color illustrations one day?
ReplyDeleteI am a fan of Paris and I've been there twice, long, long ago. I'd love to go back someday. I think from what you've said on your blog, you have been, too. Are you planning a trip back?