The City of Lights. The City of Love. The City at-the-other-end-of-that-big-underground-tunnel.
Whatever you call it, its one of the most iconic cities in the world and it happens to be one of my favourites too. Below are some of my favourite literary, film, and music references to this great city. Think of this post as an almost goody box of randomness to play tribute to a place that I hope to visit again in 2016.
Literature
I recently finished 'Quiet Days in Clichy' by Henry Miller which is a novella detailing his, rather seedy, life as a struggling writer in Paris in the 1930s. There's no denying that the story included lots of wine and promiscuous sex with basically anyone that has a pulse it seems which is fab if all you're after is a bit of smut, but I loved Miller's descriptions of Paris itself too. He writes so eloquently in some parts:
"It's been a gray day, such as one often sees in Paris....It is the same hour, the same sort of day, and yet even the word gray, which brought about the association, has little in common with that gris which, to the ears of a Frenchman, is capable of evoking a world of thought and feeling."
and then so brutally (and I found rather funny) in others:
"I was that peppery, I could have raped a nun."
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| Artist Rattner and Miller at a cafe in the 1930s Paris |
Other interesting books set in Paris include:
-'A Moveable Feast' by Ernest Hemingway - similarly to Miller's works mentioned above, this is a memoir type account of Hemingway's life as a struggling writer in Paris in the 1920s
Favourite quote: “If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”
-'The Elegance of the Hedgehog' by Muriel Barbery - I mentioned another of Barbery's books (The Gourmet) in this post when I spoke about food in literature. The Elegance of the Hedgehog is a novel set in an elegant apartment building in the middle of Paris. Focusing on the concierge and her observations of the plethora of interesting inhabitants of the building, the book is as comical as it is touching (if a bit pretentious in some parts).
-'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' by Victor Hugo
-'Never Any End To Paris' by Enrique Vila-Matas
-'My Life in France' by Julia Child
Films:
Moulin Rouge - one of my all time favourite films which doesn't need much of an introduction...
...although I was significantly underwhelmed by the building itself when visiting it in person. I mean I wasn't expecting a Luhrmann-esque extravaganza of glitter and sparkle but...well...actually, I kinda was.
Ratatouille- it's a film about a mouse in a kitchen yes. Which is both a bit silly and a bit gross but I LOVE this film and all the wonderful shots of Paris.
La Haine - Set in the ghetto suburbs of Paris this film is a brutal account of one day in the lives of three young men. A lot of the film is quite violent, interspersed with rare glimpses of comedy, but this scene of a DJ from the estate playing a remix of Edith Piaf is just beauts.
Other great films set in Paris include:
-Before Sunset - the second in the trilogy of the 'Before...' films featuring Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy
-Midnight in Paris - not my favourite Woody Allen film but a good watch nonetheless
Fashion
Some of my favourite recent images of Parisians from Fashion Blog, The Sartorialist
Hello and welcome to This Ruth Is On Fire, a UK blog which is a haven for random thoughts and sarcastic observations.
I'm also into books, clothes and visiting places too.
