Sure fromage and wine deserve to be together, but what’s a better pair than travel and literature? A good book enhances a trip and is often a better travel guide than anything Lonely Planet has to offer. New York Habitat has something for the Parisian and bibliophile in all of us, with plenty of Paris accommodations steps from France’s best English bookshops.
New York Habitat urges visitors to bypass the Dan Brown paperback on CDG newsstands. Paris is known for the quality of its English-language bookshops, stores offering more charm and literary range than the big chain stores stateside. Two literary standouts are Shakespeare & Co. in the shadows of Notre Dame cathedral, and Berkeley Books of Paris in the 6th arrondissement. New York Habitat has several accommodations within a short walk of both bookish hangouts.
One book worth a read on your next Paris vacation is Suite Française. The novel, written by Irene Nemirovsky, paints a vivid picture of life in France during the Second World War.
The book begins on the eve of German invasion in a city fraught with confusion, anxiety and disbelief. Parisians are under mass exile from their apartments and all but a stubborn few are heading south. While the less-fortunate walk out the gates of Paris on foot, the rich sit in a line of traffic, their cars packed with valuable cutlery and aristocratic heirlooms. The book moves to the occupation of a small Provincial town, a place where the line between patriot and collaborator is blurred. German soldiers and French townsfolk live suspiciously side by side and eventually garner feelings of resentment, reconciliation and even love.
Nemirovsky’s prose is nothing if not beautiful. Even in the ugliest of settings the author’s words and metaphors strum in harmony. Nemirovsky herself lived during the war and in 1942 was arrested, sent to Auschwitz and murdered for being a Jew. Her work, Suite Française, remained hidden and unknown for 64 years.
Pick up a copy of Suite Française at Shakespeare & Co. and head to your New York Habitat apartment in the 5th arrondissement, just around the corner. There is:
- A two-bedroom accommodation charmer for smaller groups in Sorbonne (PA-3233),
- An elegant one-bedroom apartment for couples or solo travelers in Saint Germain des Pres (PA-1045)
What is your favorite book to read while traveling? Comment Below.
I was in Aix en Provence last year and one of the first things I did was head to the English-speaking bookstore. My French is very basic and it helps to stave off isolation when you can speak and read your native language for a little while. I bought “Summer in Algiers” by Camus while I was there.
I look forward to visiting the ones in Paris the next time I’m there!
Your readers might appreciate this post from Gridskipper (ok, I wrote it) on literary Parisian wateringholes
helpful site