Dear Paris: The Paris Letters Collection by Janice MacLeod: A Review for #ParisInJuly

🎨 It's all started when Janice MacLeod sent illustrated letters about her beautiful Paris to her friends years ago. Then she started a letter subscription service in Etsy, through which, her subscribers monthly receive her illustrated letters. This book is a selected collection of 140 of those letters, written within the span of  eight years, from 2012 to 2020.

🎨 These letters are addressed mostly to her friend named Áine, and only one is addressed to another woman. They celebrate the day-to-day of Parisian's life, as well as Janice's growing love of the city. She met Christophe, her future husband, there. She lives in an apartment on Rue Mouffetard, and while sitting at the cafe watching the world goes by, she used to make sketches. What an unexpected business future lays await for her from these seemingly idle occupation! This book contains those snippets of things that makes Paris dear to many people - citizens as well as tourists. It's a real joy to read, especially for anyone who loves Paris, like I do.

🎨 Besides some usual landmarks like Montmartre, Shakespeare and Company, or Jardin du Luxembourg, Janice also wrote about interesting facts or hidden gems that ordinary tourists might seldom know. The Zouave statue, for instance. I didn't know there's such statue located at the foot of Pont de l'Alma which Parisians use to gauge the water level in case the Seine was rising. Or, the fact that there were already 35 permanent carousels in Paris before the city added 20 more when Janice wrote her letter on January 2013!

🎨 If you have watched Midnight in Paris (I have, perhaps five times!), you'd probably remember the steps where Gil Pender is sitting while the clock strikes 12, and a vintage car which brought him to the 1920s era appeared? Thanks to Janice's February 2014 letter, now I know that the legendary steps belong to Saint-Étienne-du-Mont church! If I ever go back to Paris one day, I'd certainly visit this church, if only just to sit on those steps!

🎨 I loved Janice's writing, but much more than that, her gorgeous paintings! She really captures the true heart and soul of the city. In futile I have searched for favorites, I loved them all! But if you need a few peeks, here are two of them:

🎨 This might not be her best, but I think it captures the Parisian soul perfectly. It's about an old lady, Janice's neighbor, who said that "at my age I could "expire" at any moment". Janice's been keeping an eye on her ever since, but one day she saw her dancing at the Sunday market with a handsome man. "Every Sunday on Rue Mouffetard there is music, dancing, and a sing-a-long." The painting says it all, doesn't it? It makes me longing to move there!...

🎨 This one is titled Covered Passages, and I've found through Google that this is actually the Passage Jouffroy in 9th arrondissement. Details in the painting are slightly altered, but who cares when the final painting looks that beautiful?

The actual Passage Jouffroy

🎨 I have loved Paris since I took a French course at CCF (Centre Culturel Français) more than twenty years ago, and then loved it even more after my short visit there. But now, if it's possible, I love Paris even more after reading and enjoying this book. If you are a Francophile or loves paintings, this book is definitely for you!

🎨 My only complaint is that Janice included several letters about her journeys to other countries: Italy, Germany, UK, Belgium, Canada, US, even Japan. When you titled a book Dear Paris, one expects to find Paris (or at least French) things only in it. It's better to have only 100 illustrated letters about Paris or France, than having got 140 but finding random countries in it! It is that aspect which costs this book half star of otherwise a solid five, but other than that, it is a most delightful charming memoir to read!

Rating: 4,5 / 5

 

4th book for Paris in July