Summary | Excerpt | Reviews | Beyond the book | Readalikes | Genres & Themes | Author Bio
Book Reviewed by:
BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers
Buy This Book
A vibrant, enchanting tour of the Seine from longtime New York Times foreign correspondent and best-selling author Elaine Sciolino.
Elaine Sciolino came to Paris as a young foreign correspondent and was seduced by a river. In The Seine, she tells the story of that river from its source on a remote plateau of Burgundy to the wide estuary where its waters meet the sea, and the cities, tributaries, islands, ports, and bridges in between.
Sciolino explores the Seine through its rich history and lively characters: a bargewoman, a riverbank bookseller, a houseboat dweller, a famous cinematographer known for capturing the river's light. She discovers the story of Sequana―the Gallo-Roman healing goddess who gave the Seine its name―and follows the river through Paris, where it determined the city's destiny and now snakes through all aspects of daily life. She patrols with river police, rows with a restorer of antique boats, sips champagne at a vineyard along the river, and even dares to go for a swim. She finds the Seine in art, literature, music, and movies from Renoir and Les Misérables to Puccini and La La Land. Along the way, she reveals how the river that created Paris has touched her own life. A powerful afterword tells the dramatic story of how water from the depths of the Seine saved Notre-Dame from destruction during the devastating fire in April 2019.
A "storyteller at heart" (June Sawyers, Chicago Tribune) with a "sumptuous eye for detail" (Sinclair McKay, Daily Telegraph), Sciolino braids memoir, travelogue, and history through the Seine's winding route. The Seine offers a love letter to Paris and the most romantic river in the world, and invites readers to explore its magic for themselves.
To Come.
There are so many interesting things about the Seine that one would never think of. Even if one has never seen it, Sciolino brings the river to life. A good book prompts questions and explorations, and I can easily imagine a book group discussion on the many topics discussed here...continued
Full Review
(602 words).
This review is available to non-members for a limited time. For full access,
become a member today.
(Reviewed by BookBrowse First Impression Reviewers).
Lauren Collins, The New Yorker Paris staff writer and New York Times best-selling author of When in French: Love in a Second Language
A soulful, transformative voyage along the body of water that defines the City of Light. Elaine Sciolino is the perfect guide to the world's most romantic river. Diane Johnson, New York Times best-selling author of Le Divorce and Flyover Lives
Anyone who, like me, loves and collects books about Paris will be grateful for this wonderful addition. It's erudite and energetic, like the river itself. Read Elaine Sciolino's own story as it emerges from her pages and her travels. I recommend The Seine as both a guidebook and a great bedside read. David A. Bell, Lapidus Professor of History at Princeton University
This beautifully written and deeply personal book captures something profound, not just about the Seine and France, but about people's lives and how important rivers are to them…Elaine Sciolino writes with the authority of a historian, the sleuthing skills of a journalist, and the voice of a storyteller eager to recount the tales of those who have been touched by the Seine. Guy Savoy, chef and restaurateur
Every day, through the windows of my restaurant, I have the sheer pleasure of gazing down at the Seine, awed by its beauty and vitality. In her lyrical and touching book, Elaine Sciolino brings this magical river to life for everyone to experience and enjoy. This is the finest book I've ever read about the Seine, the river that is the most beautiful avenue of Paris!
In her fifth book, The Seine: The River that Made Paris, New York Times foreign correspondent Elaine Sciolino explores the history of one of the world's most famous rivers and its impact on the capital of France.
The 777-kilometer-long (483 mi) river runs from its source near Dijon in northeastern France, through Paris, toward its estuary in the English Channel (known to the French as La Manche, "The Sleeve"). It can be divided into five distinct parts: the Petite Seine ("Small Seine"), from the source in Burgundy to Montereau-Fault-Yonne, the Haute Seine ("Upper Seine"); from Montereau-Fault-Yonne to Paris; the Traversée de Paris ("Paris waterway"); the Basse Seine ("Lower Seine"), from Paris to Rouen; and the ...
This "beyond the book" feature is available to non-members for a limited time. Join today for full access.
If you liked The Seine, try these:
by Julia Child, Alex Prud'Homme
Published 2007
The story of Child's growth from a naive newleywed into a great cook and one of the best and most influential teachers of the twentieth century.
by Mort Rosenblum
Published 2001
In France, you are what you eat. Mort Rosenblum applies his superb nose for news and fine fare to the food-drenched culture of a country that takes its cuisine as seriously as its politics.
The Seine
by Elaine Sciolino
"A soulful, transformative voyage along the body of water that defines the City of Light."
—Lauren Collins
Reader Reviews
Ordinary Girls
by Jaquira Díaz
Reminiscent of Tara Westover's Educate and Roxane Gay's Hunger--a memoir that reads as electrically as a novel.
Reader Reviews
From the author of
Calling Me Home
An emotionally raw and resonant story of two young women connected by a home for "fallen girls," and inspired by historical events.
Visitors can view some of BookBrowse for free. Full access is for members only.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Subscribe to receive some of our best reviews, "beyond the book" articles, book club info, and giveaways by email.
