I discovered this new book, A Waiter in Paris: Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City, published just this month, August 2022, on another book lover’s blog.
The book summary reads … “A waiter’s job is to deceive you. They want you to believe in a luxurious calm because on the other side of that door . . . is hell. Edward Chisholm’s spellbinding memoir of his time as a Parisian waiter takes you beneath the surface of one of the most iconic cities in the world—and right into its glorious underbelly.”
An evocative portrait of the underbelly of contemporary Paris as seen through the eyes of a young waiter scraping out a living in the City of Light.
Simon & Schuster
I’ve a soft spot for stories set in Paris. I fell in love with Paris from afar in junior high school. In college I bought a street map of Paris, circling the spots where my favorite artists lived, loved and worked. I was finally able to visit in 2011 and joyfully celebrated my birthday on a drizzly, overcast November day. You can see how happy I am in the photo at the bottom.
I’ve also shared here how much I love learning about people’s work. I waitressed throughout my college years. I liked the energy of restaurants, the flexibility and coming home with cash every night. It was great work for that time in my life but I’ve often wondered how folks make it in a big city on a service-worker paycheck.
How could I not be drawn to this memoir!
Paris is an enchanting city with a high regard for aesthetics and service. The window displays in the small neighborhood markets are enough to make you swoon. I can only imagine the level of stress and hard work for those in the food service profession.
This book also made me think of the much-raved-about series, “The Bear”, set in the Chicago restaurant world. I haven’t seen this, I don’t have Hulu and I don’t have time for binge watching a show right now, most of my TV time takes place in the colder, rainy winter months, but getting around to watching this is on my list.
If you’ve discovered this memoir too let me know your thoughts.
If Paris makes you happy, tell me more about that!
And if you’ve watch “The Bear” feel free to let me know if its worth watching.
The Seventeenth Line 