Parisians

Graham Robb's "mini human comedy of Paris" takes the city from the French Revolution to recent times through the lives of its people. Simon Vance narrates the history with an eloquent British-accented voice that leaves room for human moments and humor. He gives a lively tone to stories such as Marie Antoinette's flight from Paris and the rise of Vidocq, the ex-con who headed the S₧retÄ. Elsewhere, he lingers reflectively over the description of an old photo and captures the poignancy of the experiences of Jewish Parisians during WWII. The strong sense of place in Robb's descriptions may make listeners feel like they're visiting the City of Lights. J.A.S. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

April 26, 2010
With the same exhilarating sense of historical adventure and narrative elegance he brought to "The Discovery of France", Robb's new book might be called "The Discovery of Paris". Through a series of chronological episodes, Robb relates little-known events in the city's history, each featuring a fascinating figure, some well-known (Napoleon or the great criminal-turned-sleuth Vidocq), some less so (Henry Murger, the struggling writer whose Latin Quarter vignettes became "La Vie de Bohème"). Each figure discovers or reveals an unknown Paris. In the 1770s Charles-Axel Guillaumot explored the ancient quarries beneath the city and built the catacombs there; a little-noticed carved panel at Notre-Dame is at the heart of a 1937 episode involving espionage, alchemy, and a future nuclear inferno. The most thrilling chapter tells the supposedly true tale (the original records are lost) behind "The Count of Monte Cristo"; only the tale of actress and singer Juliette Greco framed as a shooting script fails to entice. With his profound knowledge of Paris, its treasures and squalor, its heroes and victims, Robb reveals a city of not only lights but darkness, which, though discovered, remains unknowable and alluring. "(Apr.)" .