Lunch in Paris - Elizabeth Bard (Lunch in Paris #1)

I came to this book a bit out of order; it's Bard's first book, taking the form of a memoir about her life and romance in Paris, but I read her second book, Picnic in Provence (which continues on in the same format, but about her move to Provence) first.  While Picnic was nice, dealing with Bard's move to the country, her husband's struggles with his job, the birth and raising of her child, and so on, it was a bit domestic for me.  Not that I don't like domestic; I'm a pretty domestic person myself.  But generally, when I read a book, I want to read about someone different than me.  So when I realized that Bard had written another book that dealt with her life before she settled down into motherhood and such, I was intrigued.  There's something just so romantic about love stories in Paris, don't you think?  I certainly do.  So when I saw that the library had this one available for Kindle loan, I snapped it up!

The book is formatted like a memoir, with each chapter focusing on a theme or event and ended with a handful (generally 2-4) recipes that tie in with the chapter.  Holidays, outings, changes in life...all of these things are included.  The "story" itself, as it is, is fairly chronological.  Bard is in Paris, has a date, sleeps with the guy (which does not normally do, she is sure to emphasize) and, in relatively short order, finds herself in a committed relationship and moving to Paris, to her boyfriend's tiny studio apartment that doesn't even have built-in heat.  Seriously.  They have to use a space heater for everything.  That does sound...not so romantic...but the rest of it, the food, the markets, the sights, all have this mist of glamour over it that I think most people who haven't ever been to Paris see in their heads when they imagine the City of Lights.  I certainly get it in my head.  Bard has a light sense of humor, nothing too sharp or too deep, and this is a light read.  There are a few heavier events, such as death or the deep, deep loneliness that can come with being immersed in a culture that is not your own, with no one else who belongs to your native culture, but it's not a very thought-provoking book.

The one thing that drove me absolutely crazy here was the same thing as in Picnic: sometimes Bard writes in present-tense, and sometimes she writes in past-tense.  The tenses even change within the same chapter.  It's a memoir; pretty much everything in it is going to be past-tense, and the lack of standardization here is mind-boggling.  Even if Bard wrote it in a mix--which I understand, because when you play around with styles or write at different times, things sometimes come out differently--her editor should have made sure the tenses were standardized before the book went into production.

Bard's struggles to find employment and a sense of purpose while in France are much more apparent in this book than in the second one, probably because by the second one, she had it mostly figured out.  It doesn't have the quirky aspect of starting a business, but it has more of a self-exploratory tone, and definitely a tone of exploring Paris.  But at the same time, Bard sometimes makes herself feel more like a side character than a main character in the book, because while other people are doing interesting things--when Gwendal is digitizing European cinema, his father is making wonderful art, and so on--Bard just goes to the market and cooks, over and over again.  Now, I get that this was reality--but it's also a book, and sometimes things need to be weighted a little more evenly.  This gets tied together some as Bard reaches a sort of identity crisis--why can't she spend all her life food shopping and cooking?--but the repeated episodes can tend to drag a bit.  They're thankfully broken up by other things, but the monotony is there in the background, dragging on an don.

Overall, I don't think I liked this better or worse than Picnic.  It was a cute memoir, with the same style as Picnic; I can't really say that I think Bard evolved much as a writer between the two.  Paris is, I think, generally a more intriguing setting than the town of Cereste, but most of things Bard did weren't as interesting.  It's a delicate balance, and I don't think she's quite hit it yet--but then again, it's probably hard to strike that balance precisely in life, too.

Just like Picnic, I give it 3.5 stars out of 5.

This book also fulfilled my Popsugar Reading Challenge 2016 category of "A book set in Europe."  Paris is, of course, just about as European as it gets.

Picnic in Provence - Elizabeth Bard (Lunch in Paris #1)

The Popular Reading section strikes again!  I haven't actually read Bard's Lunch in Paris, though I certainly intend to now, which should tell you something about my attitude toward this one.  And I'll be honest--it was the combination of "Provence" and that little sub-title, "A memoir with recipes" that got my attention, because I fricking love food and there's no secret about it.

In this book, Bard talks about her experiences moving to the small town of Cereste in Provence, France, with her husband and small child.  Consequently, the book follows several themes: living in a new place, food, and the struggles of motherhood.  Two of these appealed to me.  One of them did not.  Can you guess which two I liked?

You got it, new places (I long to travel freely; someday I might actually make enough money to do it) and food.  Motherhood strikes no chord for me because I am not, and never intend to be, a mother.  Children are not my cup of tea, to put things politely.  That said, the sections about Bard's struggles with her son, Alexandre, didn't alienate me.  Bard has a warm way of writing and while I certainly don't envy her status as a mom, let alone a mom in a foreign land, I never felt like I needed to skip portions or roll my eyes in exasperation.  She also had a good way of interspersing the different themes so that they balanced each other out, not leaving one portion of the book more "top heavy" than the others.  Toward the middle/end, Bard and her husband decide to open an ice cream shop, which largely devours their lives and hence the narrative, but I suppose that's to be expected for a memoir.

The recipes sounded scrumptious, and there are even a few I think I might make.  Ice cream recipes do me no good, because I do not own an ice cream machine and have little inclination toward buying one, but there seemed to be a few good, hearty recipes in here that anyone could use, ice cream machine owners or no.  White beans with tomatoes and herbs sounded scrumptious, and while I'm pretty sure that the folks at Safeway would look at me like I was crazy if I asked for a butchered rabbit, zucchini soup, zucchini gratin, and many other recipes might need to make an appearance in my kitchen.  I'll have to hold on to the book a day or two longer to glean out the ones I want before returning to the library.  Bard has a way of describing food that just makes it sound delicious, and while I'm pretty sure I'll never roast a whole lamb, no part of me would object to eating such a thing if it's as good as she says it is.  She even made me want to give blood sausage a try, and let me tell you, that's an accomplishment.

There were a few things that did bother me, though.  First, Bard switches between present and past-tense a lot, which drives me absolutely crazy.  I am a very firm believer in writing entirely in past tense, especially for things like memoirs.  Very rarely is present tense necessary, even when what you're discussing might technically still be true--yes, Bard loves her husband and child, but the tense switching wasn't necessary.  She could have left it in past tense and I wouldn't have found her feelings suspect.  And there's this string of logic through it that I just can't quite seem to get my head around.  Bard talks about taking her son to day care, about working full-time and not being around him, and yet, for the life of me, I can't figure out what she actually does.  She talks about writing, but it's in a way that makes it seem like she puts off writing (as all writers do!) and that getting a few hours to write is a blessing, so I have no idea what all of this "full time work" she talked about actually was.  Her cover bio says she's a journalist, but given that she can't drive, I don't exactly see her roaming all over the countryside looking for stories, and I'm not sure how much Cereste has to offer--it's beautiful and charming, I'm sure, but even that can be exhausted at a point.

Still, I definitely want to pick up Lunch in Paris, Bard's first book.  It's another memoir with recipes, but it seems like it will focus more on her early relationship and experiences in France, before her wedding and subsequent move.  Given where I am in my life, that seems like it'll be more up my alley.

3.5 stars out of 5.