One of the best books of the moment for its excellent writing and the perfect 1980’s lifestyle it describes, is Eva Ionesco‘s “Les enfants de la nuit” (children of the night). It is the story of how she, 11 1/2 years old met Christian Louboutin, 13 1/2, on the street, near her house, and how they discovered they were (not) … Read More
Aline Vidal takes us on a walk and Stéphanie des Horts writes about Doris
Aline Vidal who used to have a beautiful gallery on rue Bonaparte, has become an itinerant curator and manages many projects, more original one than another. After creating special artists seats for theatre La Scala, she invites us to wander around the bouquinistes of quai de Conti (across the street from the French Academy), and discover little boxes designed by … Read More
Marcel Proust and his mother at MahJ
Marcel Proust was baptized but he loved his mother who was Jewish. At Musée d’art et d’histoire du Judaïsme, Professor Antoine Compagnon and curator Isabelle Cahn have produced an exhibition on the writer’s Jewish world with -disappointingly- already well known paintings recently shown at Musée Carnavalet and at IMA. The greatest discovery of the show is Baruch Weil, 1780-1828, his … Read More
“The Christie affair”, by Nina de Gramont
I had read only one book of short stories by this talented and distant cousin, “Of Cats and Men” published in 2001. She has since published five more books and her latest one, “The Christie Affair” is on the New York Times best seller list. And it is a fantastic read. Nina used an article on Agatha Christie’s disappearance for … Read More
At Château de Fontainebleau, balls and parades are on tapestries …
“There never was in France such a display of magnificence and “courtliness” as during the last years of the reign of Henri II” writes Madame de Lafayette in her historical novel La Princesse de Clèves. This is one of the reasons to go and see the new show “L’Art de la fête à la cour des Valois” (Festivities at the court … Read More
Cameroun is celebrated twice this week at l’Odéon and at Quai Branly
This week marks a double success for Cameroun, the large country in Central Africa, which is home to Djaïli Amadou Amal, the writer (in French) of “Les Impatientes”, winner of Prix Goncourt des Lycées in 2020 and Ambassador for UNICEF since. She has been named Writer of the Year 2021 by Trophées de l’Edition, and a ceremony at Théâtre de l’Odéon … Read More
At Chantilly, Orientalism and a new administrator, Anne Miller
This year should be very festive for Château de Chantilly where a new administrator, Anne Miller, has just been named and the 200 th anniversary of Duc d’Aumale’s birth is being celebrated with two exhibitions of drawings and rare Arab manuscripts under one title “Le Duc d’Aumale and Algeria“. A show of Ingres drawings curated by Nicole Garnier, will open … Read More
Books on films, Films on books, Paris has never been more ebullient.
The publication of one of Nicolas d’Estienne d’Orves‘s book is always a fun and trendy event since 2001 when the hero of his first book was a cannibal. This time, “Ce que l’on sait de Max Toppard” (what we know of Max Toppard), was launched at le Grand Rex, a mythical movie theatre on the Grands boulevards, which also has … Read More