Synopses & Reviews
A fresh, exhilarating take on one of the worlds most popular topics — Paris, the City of Light! — by an acclaimed young novelist.
A self-described Francophile, Rosecrans Baldwin always dreamed of living in Paris — drinking le café, eating les croissants, walking in les jardins — so when the opportunity to work as a copywriter for an advertising agency in Paris presented itself, he couldn't turn it down. Despite the fact that he had no experience in advertising. And despite the fact that he wasn't exactly fluent in French.
Paris, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down is a nimble, comical account of observing the French capital from the inside out. It is an expedition into the Paris of Sarkozy, smoking bans, and a McDonalds beneath the Louvre — the story of an American who loves Paris all out of proportion, who loves every beret and baguette cliché, but who finds life there to be very different from what he expected. At first, it's just the joy of running across the lingerie section in the hardware store, but over the next eighteen months, Rosecrans must rely on his American optimism to get him through some very unromantic situations — at work (where he discovers a shockingly long-honored Parisian work ethic), at home (where his wife, who works at home, is dismayed not just by his hours but by the active construction that surrounds their apartment on five sides), and everywhere in between.
An offbeat, up-to-date, surprising entry in the expat canon, Paris, I Love You is a book about a young man who witnesses his preconceptions replaced by the oddities of a vigorous, nervy city — exactly what he needs to uncover a Paris of his own, and fall in love with the city all over again.
Review
"A charming entry into the expat canon, this book is Baldwins true story of moving to his favorite city in the world — favorite to the tune of obsession, mind you — and realizing its not quite as he had imagined." Emily Temple, Flavorwire
Review
"Baldwin proves that with the right attitude, everything in this perhaps most magically remembered of all cities is either beautiful, hilarious, or both, and his friendly voice and approachable style will grab those who want to be there and those who have never been." Booklist
Review
"A charming, hilarious account of la vie Parisienne as experienced by an observant young American... his vivid impressions of Paris and its people (expats included) are most engaging. Great fun and surprisingly touching. Great fun and surprisingly touching." Kirkus (starred review)
Review
"Paris, I Love You but You're Bringing Me Down is a charming, hilarious, keenly-observed and surprisingly poignant journey into the Parisian state of mind. I read it late at night and kept waking up my wife because I was laughing out loud." Anthony Doerr, author of Memory Wall and Four Seasons in Rome
About the Author
Rosecrans Baldwin's first novel, You Lost Me There, was named one of NPRs Best Books of 2010, a New York Times Book Review Editors Choice, and a Time and Entertainment Weekly Best Book of Summer 2010. He is a cofounder of the online magazine The Morning News.