Mary A

I knew I was in for a fascinating reading experience when the word "seduced" was used in the opening sentence of Elaine Sciolino's book The Seine. The "seducer" was the Seine itself.
Sciolino's has written an exhaustive volume, viewing the Seine from virtually every angle. The Seine's role in human history,in art,music,literature, movies and poetry reveal its remarkable influence on French culture.
The comprehensive nature of this book leads me to recommend reading the slowly, chapter by chapter so one can absorb Sciolino's insider knowledge.
Every serious traveler to France should read this book before leaving home. You, too, are likely to be seduced by the Seine as well!

I loved this memoir. Elisa James moved to Paris for a year following a cancer diagnosis.Her memoir allows the reader to share the tastes,sounds,and insights that occur during that year.

The structure of the book-similar to Facebook posts-was deliberate on the author's part. She felt it best captured "...the small explosions of experience (that) best give the flavor of my days." That format creates an easy reading experience as well.

The author's wry observations about family life weave a delightful thread of humor throughout the book,particularly regarding her daughter Anna's antics.

Life in Paris seen through the remarkable lens of James is a satisfying journey for the reader. James writes about topics as diverse as the homeless,school,food,art,her favorite Parisian bridge-and somehow elevates the ordinary into something special.
I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this book.I loved it and would recommend it.

This novel tells the story of Arthur Bell Nicholl's courtship of Charlotte Bronte.Bronte dreamed of passionate, romantic love and Nicholls, her father's curate for eight years, seems to be a most unlikely prospect. He's described as " a sort of inferior appendage to the Brontes one that performed a host of needed functions but was never accepted as worthy or equal."(p.175)So my curiosity was piqued as to how he would win over the reluctant Miss Bronte.

The author does succeed in not only revealing Arthur's growing love for Charlotte over eight long years (!) but also portrays Charlotte's conflicted emotions regarding his attentions through the use use of Bronte's actual correspondence.

Unfortunately, Gael interrupts the narrative by telling the reader what to think.For example, "There was in Arthur Nicholls much to recommend him to Charlotte Bronte not least of which was the disparity between surface and soul."(p.22)I'd rather have that revealed to me through the writer's art!

A better book dealing with the identical subject matter is the novel The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte by Syrie James.Although not without its flaws, James breaths life into Charlotte and Arthur and allows her readers to draw their own conclusions.