By PJ Parrish
I am home. But my heart is still elsewhere. Call it jetlag or maybe just Post-Paris Depression. All I know is that is always takes me a while to come back down to Earth after vacation.
We’ve been to Paris many times, but this time was a little special. Maybe it was because we didn’t do much. We’ve been to all the museums and seen all the sights, so this time we did things differently. The Italians have a great expression for it: Il dolce far niente. The sweetness of doing nothing. The closest French phrase is l’art de ne rien faire. The art of doing nothing. Which really is an art in a city where the Louvre is two blocks away and everyone else is running around trying to keep to their Chatgpt schedules. (Oh geez, gotta hurry, Mildred. The Eiffel Tower sparkles at 10 p.m.!)
We ate. We drank. We walked our dog Archie in the Palais Royal gardens. We did a Seine dinner cruise for my husband Daniel’s 80th birthday. We went inside the refurbished Notre Dame. While I dog-sat, Daniel and my bestie Linda went to the French Open (outside court access only for 30 euros…we’re not rolling in dough. But we did watch Coco’s great win on TV). That was about it.
Except we read. A lot. This is where I always catch up on my to-read list. But I always take books that are set in the country or city where I am visiting. This time, I started out with The Paris Widow by Kimberly Belle. It won the Edgar this year in Best Paperback Original. It’s a solid thriller, redolent of the city. I took it to lunch with me at Bistrot Valois.
Finishing that, I headed over to The Abbey Bookshop to pick up some used books. I don’t use an E-reader so this bookstore, run by Canadian Brian Spence, is always on my itinerary. I picked up and devoured The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George, a beat-up copy of Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal (because I love the movie) and Georges Simenon’s The Yellow Dog (because I have one).
Reading a book while you’re actually in the book’s world doubles the pleasure, I think. It deepens your appreciation for the culture and history. It connects you emotionally. And it enhances your memories once you leave.
That said, I did not read Under the Tuscan Sun when visiting there. Seemed a bit too spot-on, you know? In Rome, I brought a copy of Ross King’s Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling because we intended to visit the Sistine Chapel. Didn’t make it due to a mild illness, but I am STILL plugging away at this one. Dense but very interesting book. Maybe, like the pope implores Michelangelo, I will finally make an end of it one day.
So, crime dogs. Good to be home and among you again. Ready to get back to planting my tomatoes, walking around my lake, and trying not to miss duck confit and fresh-squoshed orange juice. Tell us, if you will, what books made your vacations more memorable. In the meantime, indulge me while I share a snap I took of Archie. It was 6:30 a.m. and raining. We were on our way to the boulangerie to pick up our daily croissants. We had the Louvre to ourselves.
I was also just in Paris! My husband and I have a small apartment there, and I’m always looking for books set in Paris or in France to read when we visit. On one of our recent trips, I read Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities, which was great, especially since our place is in the area he is writing about. Love your picture of Archie. The Abbey Bookstore freaks me out — it is so cluttered I feel the bookshelves will collapse on me!
Yes, Abbey is very claustrophic! And it was hot the day we were there. Luckily, I found what I needed quickly and got out! The owner Brian was outside about to take possession of two big boxes of used books from some dude. Where he intended to put them I don’t know.
I don’t know if there are books set on the Faroe Islands–didn’t search very hard. But I wrote one. I read “James” prior to our Mississippi River cruise, but that was because it was my book club’s pick. And we weren’t in the same part of the Mississippi that Huck and Jim sailed.
Most of my trips have been filled with “Doing Things” so not a lot of time for reading.
“Doing things.” Ha! I get that. But we’ve been to Paris often enough that the allure now is doing as little as possible and sort of roaming unfamiliar areas and streets. For the stand alone I wrote set in Paris “The Killing Song” I had to venture into neighborhoods I would never had dared to hit before, like the infamous Gout d’Or. Was eye-opening.
The Killing Song might be my favorite books of yours, Kris.
Aw thanks. One of mine as well. And not becasue it was one of the few that came out easily.
OMG, Archie is adorable! Love the Italian expression: The sweetness of doing nothing.
What an adorable pup! He looks like he owns the place… 🙂
We don’t “go” vacationing much–never, I guess, is more accurate. We’d rather be at home, on our 5 acres in apple and cherry orchard country.
Which means I can go to any of several book shelves and pick. Or, pick up my Kindle (which has several hundred books on it).
Just downloaded four more of my new fave author–Andrew Turpin. I already had the first three in one series, so in a mad, mad moment I downloaded the rest.
I’m set.
I’ll quit rambling now. Glad you had a great time in Gay Paree and that you’re home safe and sound.
I get that, Deb. This was a special trip for husband’s birthday, but I really am sure we are done with any city trips. Am going to northern Italy next year (it’s a gift to my sister), but we’re doing a small-scale tour where everything is taken care of and it’s all small towns. And like you, I am very lucky to live in a place that feels like I am on vacation. I have 18 months to find a good book set in northern Italy. Open to suggestions!
I just found this website…maybe you can find a book here.
https://www.amongstromans.com/books-set-in-italy-thriller-and-mystery-lovers/
Your trip sounds perfect–relaxing and immersive. It’s too easy to let an itinerary take over–well I know 🙂
During the first time we visited Ireland, in 2010, I read Thomas Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization which brought the history of the ancient abbeys and ruined monks towers we visited to life.
Sounds perfect, Dale.
Hey guys, Just read that Frederick Forsyth died. Bummer. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czj4ljxv17xo?fbclid=IwY2xjawK1NhNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETF5em9HN1oyN0pNNXNLOHdqAR40GLnph2E9RyTMqTZw-CxepZpE7BJEH5lyaMJBSmWWYiELGV7CDMum0Pr4Tw_aem_xRHPRedK-9snQOww87h-qQ
🥲
Another favorite author…
I discovered I am a very poor traveler when I went to South Africa for three weeks for my brother’s wedding. Plane seats are back death, and I was in pain through the whole trip. And my body refused to acclimate so I was sleep deprived. These days, I’m happy to drive to visit siblings.
Some mystery books set in France I can recommend. I like the paranormal so lots of ghosts and weirdness. Most of these are by self-published authors so mainly ebooks. I don’t recommend badly written books.
THE LAST GARGOYLE OF PARIS, Gigi Pandian. “An Accidental Alchemist Mystery.” Paranormal mystery. Novella. A fun series. This book is really a love letter to Notre Dame Cathedral.
GHOST TALKER, Byrd Nash. “A Gaslight Ghost Mystery.” Historical fantasy in a variation of Victorian France. Book 1. Novella. Elinor Chalamet is a ghost talker, a person able to talk to the recently deceased. She volunteers her skills to the city’s police.
PARISIAN GHOSTS, Janna Ruth. Young adult paranormal mystery. Suitable for older middle schoolers. Novella. The French heroine sees historical ghosts. This one is about Josephine Baker. So, lots of digestible history and Paris sites in the series.
BEYOND THE GRAVE, RW Wallace. “Ghost Detective” series, Book 1. Paranormal detective mystery. Set in Toulouse, France, current day. A corrupt dead cop joins forces with a living cop to solve crimes. More gritty than the usual paranormal mystery.
GHOST TALKER, Byrd Nash. “A Gaslight Ghost Mystery.” Historical fantasy in a variation of Victorian France. Book 1. Novella. Elinor Chalamet is a ghost talker, a person able to talk to the recently deceased. She volunteers her skills to the city’s police.
THE TOWER’S ALCHEMIST, Alesha Escobar. “The Gray Tower.” Paranormal historical fiction. Alternate WWII with supernaturals involved. Alchemist Isabelle works undercover in France for the British, and she’s determined to stop an horrific supernaturally created poison from being deployed against the Allies.
Oh geez. Thanks for that list Marilynn. I go through France-set books pretty quickly and I don’t know any of these. Great! As for long long long distance travel. I have found that 8.5 hours is about all I can withstand in my old age. Even then, we fly Comfort plus or better if we can afford it or have the miles. I just can’t do it anymore. We flew to Rome and it almost killed me (9.5 hrs). We did a trip to India years ago for a relative’s wedding but got bumped to first class. Made all the diff. Still, I am increasingly happy to stay home. Best to you.
I love to read books set in a country I’m travelling in. Of course while in Egypt I had to read Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie – I also visited the hotel where Agatha Christie stayed while in Aswan. I also love to visit movie locations and then watch the movie – Hobbiton in New Zealand is one of the most memorable.