Susan Loomis - On Rue Tatin (2001)

This is a good book, very descriptive and interesting. I was a little confused three-quarters into the memoir when it stopped moving sequentially through their years living in rural France and suddenly I was reading about something that happened in their first year there. The book continued to meander about like that until the last few chapters which described her *SPOILER*. No, I won't tell you. It was too nice an ending.

Loomis is a good writer, the book was simply written and very entertaining. I was amused with the constant misunderstandings between American-French culture. Yes, the French have their own ways, but no, they don't want Loomis to tell them how to do it the American way because she thinks it is better.  As a Morrocan put it to Suzanna Clarke in her book 'A House in Fez' when she wanted to know why they did things so differently and how it was done so much better at home - "But you are not in Australia!".

I think it's a common problem with all travellers - we're so used to the ways we grew up with and it's difficult to adjust to a new culture. The Loomis family makes a valiant effort to acclimatise to French culture. They were obviously in love with the country and threw themselves into it wholeheartedly.

At the end of each chapter Loomis added a couple of recipes relating to the anecdotes and I'm planning on trying the vegetarian ones. They looked delicious and there were a lot of combinations that I'd never thought of before.

The only thing I would have liked to see different were some pictures of their life in France and the house they slowly renovated. It just felt like the kind of travel memoir that really needed pictures, particularly of the first rug they bought, the face her husband carved in the beam, and the house itself. Even a sketch of the house layout would have made understanding its relation to the local church so much easier. On Rue Tatin Blog Loomis has some pictures in her blog, but since she is a cookbook author it is mostly recipes. Still, it's worth a look.

Ellie Nielsen - Buying A Piece of Paris (2007)

Nielsen has written a lovely book that is exactly what the title says - it describes a bumbling attempt to buy a Parisian apartment over the course of two weeks. 'Bumbling' because Melbourne native Nielsen and her husband Jack, with son Ellery in tow, seem to go into it all halfheartedly like a couple of dreamers who want the dream without the reality and end up making oodles of mistakes along the way

I really enjoyed this book even though I don't want to buy my own piece of Paris. It was just such an interesting look at another aspect of French culture. The way homes are sold mirrors Australian real-estate in many ways. I like the lack of Auctions, I've never liked them, they make me anxious, so I was happy to find out that they just do not exist in Paris. It's also interesting that apartments are sold by the square-metre, which doesn't count inhabitable space - like cupboards. That would be so confusing for a non-native to understand and makes me wonder how complicated our own system would be to a foreigner.

I liked Nielsen because she was so flawed - she knew it and was perfectly fine narrating her constant struggles with all things Parisian. I get tired of Travel Memoir authors who are so very perfect, have absolutely no problems while traveling and conquer every obstacle with such ease. It makes the book feel like a lie and I generally chuck it before I finish reading it. Nielsen's felt like the stark utter truth. I really felt for her attempts to get the language right as she hunted for the 'right' apartment - even when it would have been easier to run away, give up and go home.

The only problem I have with the book is that I am now craving Nutella crepes!

Eloisa James - Paris in Love (2012)

I'm on a travel memoir junket at the moment - and this one is quite possibly the worst so far. It's a bunch of Facebook posts and Tweets over the year Eloisa James spent with her family in Paris. The book, well, collection would describe it better, is disjointed and without depth. The only thing I feel when I read it is frustration, because she glosses over things I'd like more detail on, and boredom, because it's all just so random.

Suddenly they're in Paris, suddenly her daughter spots a homeless man with his dog, suddenly her daughter is slapped at school, suddenly her son is sick and will only eat Froot Loops. Yes, that was the order too. It didn't make any sense as a travel memoir. It shouldn't be marketed as such and I'm so glad I only borrowed the book from the library. If I'd spent $27 on it I'd be -really- grumpy.

If you have a short attention span and aren't really interested in learning more about the day-to-day life of a person living in Paris then THIS is the book for you. It's sad since this is the work of a Shakespeare Professor with a NYC university, James got her PhD at Yale and is a published academic and romance fiction author. I really expected more from her, instead I got tripe and who likes tripe???

Suzanna Clarke - A House in Fez (2008)

I really enjoyed this travel memoir. Clarke had the right blend of anecdotes, history & culture. Most travel memoirs are just someone whining about everything that went wrong & how different it was from their country. Not this author. I think the fact that Clarke is well-traveled & comes from a well-traveled family helped. Being conceived in Morocco, born & raised in New Zealand, but now living in Brisbane, Australia gives her a more relaxed attitude to being an easy-going wanderer who just accepts cultures even when they're way more out of left-field than she'd ordinarily be used to.

Meaning there's no way I would sit down with a family I'd just met & eat horse. But Clarke does with barely a blink. Even when the Moroccans give a whole new level of insanity to what passes for their bureaucracy, she takes it in her stride. The little things Clarke writes about give away what a nice person she must be - the way she described how much she liked her taxi driver because he stopped to get a kitten off the road, the rescue of the chameleons, and how she'd help anyone who asked, even when it was obvious that that person was being a bit dodgy - generally because they were poor & it was just the way of life to try & get more out of 'tourists'.

The book was great. Interesting, descriptive & well-written. I loved the pictures. I would have liked to see more of the finished house. Fez just sounds so amazing & historical. I'd really like to see it one day.