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Jan 09, 2012

nicole rated it:

Eh. The first word that comes to mind (unless we're counting "eh") is "self-indulgent". But that doesn't really seem fair. I mean, it's a diary. Diaries are self-indulgent. That's the point of a diary. But it's hard not to wonder "...why is this published?" and "...why does she imagine other people want to read about what she ate AT EVERY SINGLE MEAL?" I finished it, of course, but I think that's only because I was at work, and I would rather read about wh More...

2 comments like (6 people liked it)

Jun 08, 2008

Mary Elizabeth rated it:

I suppose I was expecting something more substantive when I picked up this book. What I found instead was a collection of drawings and photos of what Knisley ate and bought while living in Paris for 6 weeks with her mother. And she ate and bought a lot (I'm pretty sure that if I could, I would, too.) The thing is, that doesn't make for a gripping or even an intriguing read. The comic became an inventory of consumption and anecdotes.

This was all the more frustrating given More...

4 comments like (21 people liked it)

May 16, 2009

Needleroozer rated it:

This comic tells the story of a young woman in her early 20s who spends a month in Paris with her mother. There wasn't really a plot to the story; this was the journal and sketch book of her day to day life. I liked that. I liked getting a glimpse of what this woman did in Paris, where she went, what she ate.

I was a bit bugged by money. The author/artist mentions several times that she is worried about her finances, can't afford to buy things, yet does manage to buy things and i More...

2 comments like (8 people liked it)

Feb 17, 2009

Ciara rated it:

for some reason, i was really obsessed with finding this book & reading it, even though i am not a huge fan of graphic books or books where spoiled 22-year-olds go to paris & spend half their time there crying because they miss their boyfriends or are worried about their finances. i think i liked the idea of the book more than i liked the execution, even though i knew on some level that of course the idea was bound to be better than the execution. but i put a hold on it at the library anyway, & More...

0 comments like (6 people liked it)

Apr 23, 2009

Miss Kitty rated it:

I started out alternately hatin' on (WTF? Her parents are paying for her to live in Paris for a month?) and liking (pages after pages of "This is what I ate and it was soooo good,") this book. I heard about it from my absolutely favorite young adult literature blog Readingrants.org so I had high hopes, despite my extreme jealousy of her City of Lights living. Hrmph. The book's cover says something about exploring the relationship between mothers and daughters. Well, I must have skipp More...

3 comments like (5 people liked it)

Feb 08, 2009

Jill rated it:

I thought this book would be a little more introspective, especially since the author herself mentions early on calling it French Milk as a reference to, well, French milk, but also to mother's milk and what's passed on by a mother to daughter. But there was no discussion of their relationship at all, and even the milk shows up late in the book -- strange for something that is, after all, the title image. I'd been hoping for something more along the lines of Alison Bechdel's "Fun Home." More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Dec 13, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

The three stars is actually an average. If I were basing the rating on the story alone, I would've given it two stars. Nothing happens to the author other than she spends six weeks in Paris with her mother shopping, eating, reading and visiting museums. Don't get me wrong- that sounds like a dream vacation, but the author's personal experience didn't translate into an amazing reading experience for *me*. It's kinda like you had to be there, you know?

On the other hand, the pen and ink More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 09, 2008

GraceAnne rated it:

utterly charming, slightly addled.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 20, 2009

Erik rated it:

Only twenty-two when she wrote and drew this, Knisely establishes herself as an up-and-coming creator in this medium with her graphic novel treatment of a month-long trip to the City of Lights with her mother. Aesthetically-speaking, her shapes and ink strokes most resembles James Kochalka crossed with Craig Thompson and Seattle’s own Ellen Forney. And therein lay much of her charm.

On a more critical note, Knisely’s awe of Paris – not to mention her affectation by taking up smoking f More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 13, 2009

Becky rated it:

I love her drawings, and the book made me want to visit Paris. I especially loved the incorporation of photographs, and would have liked to see them mixed with cartooning more often, as on the cover. The drawings of tabletops spread with food and wine glasses were very nostalgic to me. However, for a book that was marketed as a mother-daughter exploration, I didn't think it provided much. Lucy rarely got out of herself enough to analyze much of anything; she was with her mother, but I didn't see More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 01, 2009

Kristen rated it:

This was fun and sweet. It probably helped that I really did want to know what they ate for every meal. The reading was also enhanced by experiences I shared with the author, like visiting Paris, spending a college summer traveling around Europe with a friend, and later going to Europe with my mother. I certainly never had the budget for all that shopping to boot, but flea markets are fun so that was fine. One thing that was missing was an explanation of where the book itself fit into the trip. More...

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Feb 16, 2009

Ru rated it:

i am giving this the full five stars for several reasons. the first is the potential it showcases. knisley is young, seems to know a lot of the right people (bryan lee o'malley, hope larson, etc), has a wonderful way with a brush/pen/ink (her sketch style is very reminiscent of craig thompson's carnet du voyages). several reviews i have read seem to take offense that a visual diary from a young woman in her early 20s appears to be written by a young woman in her early 20s (whiny, self-indulge More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 23, 2012

Violette rated it:

I just finished reading "French Milk" and came away with a strong feeling that this book could have been so much more than it was. Instead, it was very much "middle of the road" for me, with the one benefit of it being a very short read.

Knisley's travel diary is littered with photos and cute little drawings that recount her time in Paris with her mother. A large part of the book is spent talking about food. While food is such an essential component of Paris, I reall More...

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May 08, 2011

Mary rated it:

Generally a cute graphic-travellogue. The premise is that the author spends a few weeks in Paris with her mom while working on her final project for her undergraduate degree - which is essentially this book. The story moves along at a nice pace, includes quirky observations and does a nice job of balancing the grandiose history of Paris with contemporary references that keep it modern (the trip takes place in Dec 06 - Jan 07).

There is extensive mention of all the food the author and h More...

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Nov 30, 2010

Kathy rated it:

I can't remember where I heard of this book or why I requested it, but one day I had this and another book waiting for me to pick up at the library. Both were written by females and were memoirs in graphic novel form. This one was written by a young woman who went to spend a month in France with her mom. She tells about her experiences with the food and culture and her relationship with her mom, etc. I took a lot of French classes, spent a short time in France once, and am very interested in it, More...

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Nov 27, 2010

Wendi rated it:

What a wonderful book! Description: Through delightful drawings, photographs, and musings, twenty-three-year-old Lucy Knisley documents a six-week trip she and her mother took to Paris when each was facing a milestone birthday. With a quirky flat in the fifth arrondissement as their home base, they set out to explore all the city has to offer, watching fireworks over the Eiffel Tower on New Year's Eve, visiting Oscar Wilde's grave, loafing at cafés, and, of course, drinking delicious French milk More...

2 comments like

Nov 23, 2010

Heather rated it:

In December 2006/January 2007, Lucy Knisley took a six-week trip to Paris with her mother to celebrate her mother's fiftieth birthday and Lucy's twenty-second. French Milk is Knisley's travel journal from that trip, and it's a pleasing combination of photos, text, and drawings (Knisley is a cartoonist). I love all the Parisian details of this book—the buildings, the food, the great old stuff at the flea market, the art that Knisley and her mother see at the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, the Pantheo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 22, 2010

Tatiana rated it:

First of all, I am a sucker for travel writing. The synopsis sounded promising—self-proclaimed light reading, with a touch of mother-daughter relations and the trepidation of ending college and beginning "real life."

Yet even with such a charming and relatable context, the story itself falls flat. Development is sacrificed for mundane, throw-away "what did we eats" and "what did we sees." Her quotidian accounts are illustrated with a charming hand, yet More...

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Sep 14, 2010

Stephanie rated it:

As a 20 something, and recent college graduate contemplating graduate school I could certainly identify with Knisley's woes, the main subject matter of this travel diary. However, I feel her artwork deserved more consideration than being subjected to shopping lists and pity-parties on her Parisian sofa. Reading of her daily excursions of art and culture in Paris made me yearn for more substance. Perhaps educated by her recent completion of art school in Chicago. Knisley seemed to choose to cop o More...

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Jun 17, 2010

Sharon rated it:

I think I heard a couple of friends recommend this book/comic artist to me, one in particular when I was expounding on my recent Lynda Barry obsession, but to be perfectly honest I didn't really care for it that much. The sketching was skillful and competent, but as a travel journal it rarely felt insightful or even introspective in any way. Maybe I came in with unrealistic expectations, compared to Barry it seems very shallow and frivolous. I know this was really an on the fly thing about livin More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 17, 2010

Holly rated it:

Lucy Kinsley has hit the ball out of the park on this one. This is one of the most interesting books I have ever read. Its essentially a journal of the author's time in Paris with her Mother. The two rented an apartment for a month and saw the sites, ate the food, and watched Arrested Development in bed.

The pictures are charmingly whimsical, and I love the candid nature of the Journal, it's really quite personal. In addition to chronicling their sightseeing adventures, the author write More...

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Nov 17, 2009

Parka rated it:

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

French Milk is a sketchbook travelogue on the author Lucy Knisley and her mother. They spent 6 weeks together travelling in Paris. It seems pretty long for a holiday but hey, it's Paris!

Using her brush pen, she records her adventure in the new city, visiting museums, dining, shopping and taking pictures. Through the single panel cartoons and writeup, we're let how she sees the world as a young adult. She's 21 when she drew all these. More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 04, 2009

Shannon rated it:

At a book club recently, I was asked whether I've ever had a book come to me at just the right time. I listened to a friend share an example while my mind filled with many books that came to me at just the right time. So how appropriate was it for me to read French Milk the very next day? Because this book was nothing if not exactly what I needed.

My daily life has been a bit chaotic as I have been over-extended with volunteering and having work done on our house, so I felt like an More...

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Jul 17, 2009

Sally rated it:

I stumbled onto this charming book while searching for potential reading about Paris, my delightful vacation destination this summer. The title refers to one of Knisley's favorite French beverages, which she documents in her sweet graphic travelogue of a six-week vacation in Paris with her turning-50-years-old mother. French Milk combines Knisley's fun cartoon sketches about her experiences in Paris and impressions of France with confession-like comments about life as a 22-year-old -- just about More...

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Apr 22, 2009

The Loft added it

Lucy is graduating from college soon and wonders aloud what it will be like in this journal. The title comes from her love of French milk which is sold in glass bottles and is full-fat not skim. The drawings in the story are vivid accounts of her time in Paris during January with her mother. After Christmas, she and her mom depart the United States and fly to Paris living in a rented flat for 6 weeks.

The story is beautifully told with drawings and photographs carefully framed in the More...

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Aug 01, 2011

Penelope rated it:

Knisley's illustrations are cute, and occasionally funny. Aside from that, this book falls flat. There is no development in terms of Knisley's relationship with her mother, or even in terms of personal development. We're never given an idea of what Knisley's relationship with her mother is like before the trip, and even during the trip their interaction is primarily described in terms of where they went shopping and ate dinner.

Knisley spends about half the trip being homesick, worry More...

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Jan 08, 2010

Dorothy rated it:

I had seen this book in a store, and then got my library to order it for me (and add it to their collection)! How cool is that? I'm glad I didn't buy it, though, because it was generally uninteresting.

I knew I already disliked the author when, on page ONE -- ONE! -- she writes, "I started smoking to prepare for smoky Parisian cafes". OK, eye roll, I am going to be irritated by this person no matter what she has to say. And I was. She really likes oysters, fois gras, se More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 13, 2010

Jeremiah rated it:

I did not enjoy this. I haven't had a reaction this negative to a book for a long time.

I wish I were exaggerating. This "story" is mostly an unimaginative account of things she bought and food she ate. The drawings were interspersed with distracting (and often unfocused) photography, all of which completely broke the immersion.

Nothing interesting happens to anyone. It's as if the artist never stopped to ask herself if the story needed to be told at all. The clos More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 02, 2010

khatch rated it:

all the france travel guides were checked out at the richmond branch library, but this was there, so i took it partly because the cover is lovely.

the depth of narrative here is not very striking. the intro claims the book explores a mother-daughter relationship, but i think that basically means here momma buys you a trip to paris for a month, then she buys you shit in paris, then you eat stuff in paris your mom buys, you whine about growing up and how you'll have to work maybe somed More...

1 comment like

Jul 25, 2011

Peacegal rated it:

If your life is lacking in annoyingly self-centered travel memoirs written by needy, goose-gobbling 22-year-olds, French Milk is for you. I, personally, could have done without.

Some may see this book as a love letter to Paris, but I was perpetually distracted (and disgusted) by the author's celebration of foie gras. Here’s what our narrator has to say about the bizarre delicacy:

Chicago banned the selling of foie gras last year. It’s made by force-feeding a goose or duc More...

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