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44th out of 569 books
—
590 voters
Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes
In Paris for a weekend visit, Elizabeth Bard sat down to lunch with a handsome Frenchman--and never went home again.
Was it love at first sight? Or was it the way her knife slid effortlessly through her pavé au poivre, the steak's pink juices puddling into the buttery pepper sauce? LUNCH IN PARIS is a memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love aff...more
Was it love at first sight? Or was it the way her knife slid effortlessly through her pavé au poivre, the steak's pink juices puddling into the buttery pepper sauce? LUNCH IN PARIS is a memoir about a young American woman caught up in two passionate love aff...more
Hardcover, 314 pages
Published
February 1st 2010
by Little, Brown and Company
(first published 2010)
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#13 - 2010.
Took a flyer on this when I was given a Barnes and Noble gift card and they didn't have a single one of the six current books I was seeking. It carries the reader into the heart of living in Paris with young American Elizabeth Bard who is having an extended affair with a young Parisian who sounds like a truly wonderful fellow. Her attacks of angst over not having a career or achieving enough or that her Parisian dreamboat is too happy can become rather annoying especially considering...more
Took a flyer on this when I was given a Barnes and Noble gift card and they didn't have a single one of the six current books I was seeking. It carries the reader into the heart of living in Paris with young American Elizabeth Bard who is having an extended affair with a young Parisian who sounds like a truly wonderful fellow. Her attacks of angst over not having a career or achieving enough or that her Parisian dreamboat is too happy can become rather annoying especially considering...more
Okay. This one is a little tricky for me to write. If you know me, you know that this is a sensitive subject. I have a Masters degree in French and did the hard work and the carte de séjour appointments and the years... YEARS of waiting and longing in between visits to France not knowing if I'd ever go back-- in short, anything other than just "find a French guy".
So, this is a story where the American girl meets the French guy and BEGRUDGINGLY moves to Paris. I'm crying for her, really. Everythi...more
So, this is a story where the American girl meets the French guy and BEGRUDGINGLY moves to Paris. I'm crying for her, really. Everythi...more
It would be easy to begrudge Elizabeth Bard her lovely life. As New Yorker living in London in the early 2000's, she met a nice French man at a conference in Paris. They had lunch and fell in love. Ten years on, she is married to that French man and they split their time between a Parisian pied-a-terre and a home in the south of France. In between, Bard became fluent in the French language and French cookery, penned a best-selling memoir/cookbook, her husband launched a successful digital film c...more
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I really enjoyed this book. It seems like it's going to just be about a woman meeting a man in France, but then it turns into so much more. Elizabeth has such an appreciation for food and for culture--both French and American. She meets and marries Gwendal pretty early on and from there it becomes about her search for herself in a new land and the challenge of letting go of expectations for what makes her truly happy. I wish I had the cooking skills to try some of her recipes...maybe one day, bu...more
Cute book, recipes are even better!
Lunch in Paris is really excellent. I haven't had it since summer of 2009, but I remember loving it. Lunch in Paris, the book, is comme ci, comme ça. The writing is enjoyable and engaging, but the stories are so all over the place. I wish there had been more fluidity.
Some complaints. First, where the hell was the baby??? Some French guy said that Elizabeth looked pregnant halfway through the book and there was no follow up. I get that Elizabeth is bigger than your average French woman, but they...more
Some complaints. First, where the hell was the baby??? Some French guy said that Elizabeth looked pregnant halfway through the book and there was no follow up. I get that Elizabeth is bigger than your average French woman, but they...more
With a first line of "I slept with my French husband halfway through our first date.", you can see why readers are sucked into this delicious story of an American finding her way in Paris. But, it was not until the description of shopping for vegetables in the market that had me drooling and wishing I could live Elizabeth Bard's life.
This well-written account of marrying a French man and setting into a Parisian life is stomach-grumbling good. I read it in one long, enjoyable sitting, like a good...more
This well-written account of marrying a French man and setting into a Parisian life is stomach-grumbling good. I read it in one long, enjoyable sitting, like a good...more
I recently read Paris in Love and decided that (a) living for some time in Paris sounds like a lot of fun (b) I probably would actually really like Mary Bly (or Eloisa James as she is more popularly known) in real life (c) books written in short, Facebook-style vignettes get old, fast, even if I really like the concept, the author, and the prose style.
Then I saw Lunch in Paris at the library. And I thought again about Paris....the bread, the cheese the chocolate, the American navigating the fore...more
Then I saw Lunch in Paris at the library. And I thought again about Paris....the bread, the cheese the chocolate, the American navigating the fore...more
As a member of the 1% of this book's readers who possess a Y chromosome, I think my rating should be weighted more heavily than average. This is a clearly chick-lit, but I went in acknowledging as much and enjoyed the book because the author is clearly a good writer, unifies her theme around the food that highlights her experiences in Paris, and is masterful at developing the reader's intrigue by revisiting and adding detail or clarity to thoughts previously discussed in the novel. For example,...more
What is not to love about this book? It's about love, Paris, adventure, great food...it's wonderful. Who wouldn't want to leave it all behind for a sexy love in Paris? Elizabeth Bard got to do just that and thankfully has written this book for the rest of us.
This book is pretty terrific because Elizabeth Bard is a straight-shooter. She tries to live the Parisian life, but also points out the ridiculous nature of particular French habits and customs. From trying to return merchandise at a store t...more
This book is pretty terrific because Elizabeth Bard is a straight-shooter. She tries to live the Parisian life, but also points out the ridiculous nature of particular French habits and customs. From trying to return merchandise at a store t...more
I didn't start this with high hopes, but it turned out to be a fun, quick read. Who doesn't fantasize about being able to pick up and move to Paris sometimes? Plus, it comes with recipes.
Our intrepid author is a New Yorker living in London when she falls in love with a Parisian she meets at a conference. It's not too long before they've moved in together in a tiny Paris apartment. There's a lot of discussion of how she fits into French culture, and how she conceives of herself. At times she come...more
Our intrepid author is a New Yorker living in London when she falls in love with a Parisian she meets at a conference. It's not too long before they've moved in together in a tiny Paris apartment. There's a lot of discussion of how she fits into French culture, and how she conceives of herself. At times she come...more
I picked this up for 2 reasons: the first was that I have recently gotten into the (admittedly fairly recent) trend of memoir/recipe books and wanted another one. The second reason being, of course, that it was about Paris, where my heart lies.
Normally this book would have warranted a 5-star rating, so I want to explain why it's a 4 for me. It has wonderful recipes, great writing with a clever, loveable and unique voice, and tells a captivating story while bridging 2 continents and 2 cultures,...more
Normally this book would have warranted a 5-star rating, so I want to explain why it's a 4 for me. It has wonderful recipes, great writing with a clever, loveable and unique voice, and tells a captivating story while bridging 2 continents and 2 cultures,...more
I'd been wanting to read this book for a while. It had been on Barnes & Noble's "Discover Great Writers" bay for over a year and I finally bought it about a month ago. It was a great true story--an autobiography of a woman who fell in love with and married a Parisian man. It's about her acclimation to French ways, her love of open-air markets, and her confusion over what to do with her life besides visiting these open-air markets (and cooking). I felt at times sympathetic to her situation, h...more
There's a community on Tumblr called Better Book Titles where people post snarky photoshops of book covers. This book inspired my first contribution:
How long before aspirational memories from entitled, self-deluded, white women becomes its own genre? The protracted adventures of global trotting Mary Sues, no longer content with self inserting themselves into fiction they must now self insert into entire cultures where they can act out their ingenue fantasies for all eternity. It's a little sad h...more
How long before aspirational memories from entitled, self-deluded, white women becomes its own genre? The protracted adventures of global trotting Mary Sues, no longer content with self inserting themselves into fiction they must now self insert into entire cultures where they can act out their ingenue fantasies for all eternity. It's a little sad h...more
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I don't want to completely slam the author because she is very good at creating visual images for the reader of great food in a beautiful city. It's been a decade - at least - since my trip to Paris but this book does a great job of bringing back memories. I also liked her portrayal of her husband.
I find it a bit trite that she took a formulamatic approach of comparing our two cultures. It seems like every American expat living in France that wants to write a book or memoir presents us as the d...more
I find it a bit trite that she took a formulamatic approach of comparing our two cultures. It seems like every American expat living in France that wants to write a book or memoir presents us as the d...more
Oh my god, LOVE! This book chronicles the ultimate love story and pairs it with food, but not just any food, PARISIAN food! Elizabeth Bard couldn’t have written this book better, because as her story of love and happiness unravels, the recipes become increasingly delicious. Truthfully, the tea she describes in the first chapter is AMAZING and any tips that she has advised on in the book, I have used with success. The evolution of her journey from an American Jew disenfranchised in London into a...more
"When I spotted him at a seminar on a hypertext version of Finnegan's Wake, I knew he had to be European." So begins Elizabeth Bard's attraction to a future lover in her 2010 offering Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes. The man in question happens not only to be European, but French to boot. What follows is a witty and well-written chronicle of a relationship with that man, his culture, family, and, of course, the food.
I am sure many of us have been nervous about meeting a significant ot...more
I am sure many of us have been nervous about meeting a significant ot...more
This full title of this book indicates that it is "a love story with recipes" written by an American woman who met her French husband while visiting France and never returned. This book just didn't deliver in the same way that books like Under the Tuscan Sun and A Year in Provence did. I was disappointed. I got the sense that the author was a bit self absorbed.
That said, I appreciated some of her commentary about the differences between life in the US and life in France. Even though she has left...more
That said, I appreciated some of her commentary about the differences between life in the US and life in France. Even though she has left...more
Lunch in Paris was a delightful, easy read from front to back. It was one of those books I felt I was meant to read because it paralleled my life at the time. I absolutely loved the idea of each chapter ending with a few recipes, especially when those recipes were featured in the previous chapter. In some cases those recipes motivated me to finish the book as quick as possible.
This is the type of book you'll love depending on how much you can relate to Bard's situation, or if you are intrigued...more
This is the type of book you'll love depending on how much you can relate to Bard's situation, or if you are intrigued...more
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I love a memoir about a spunky girl moving to a different culture and learning to cope. (Just look at my reading list; it’s true.)
Elizabeth Bard’s Lunch in Paris is just another in a long line of memoirs I love. As a grad student in England, Bard meets Gwendal (pronounced Gwen-DAL), a Frenchman with a passion for cinema. What begins as weekend trysts en Paris becomes marriage and a proper expatriotism to Paris. Bard recounts eight years in Paris — from the time she had her first lunch with Gwen...more
Elizabeth Bard’s Lunch in Paris is just another in a long line of memoirs I love. As a grad student in England, Bard meets Gwendal (pronounced Gwen-DAL), a Frenchman with a passion for cinema. What begins as weekend trysts en Paris becomes marriage and a proper expatriotism to Paris. Bard recounts eight years in Paris — from the time she had her first lunch with Gwen...more
My favorite type of non-fiction is the foodie/travel/memoir. Kim Sunee did an excellent job with her 2008 book Trail of Crumbs, which details her story of adoption from South Korea to New Orleans, then eventual move to France, and now I've found my next Sunee -- Elizabeth Bard and her memoir Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes. Bard is a journalist from the United States who found herself living in London, and then -- by accident of love -- in Paris.
As Bard recalls her romance with Gwenda...more
This book is a charming memoir about an American woman who falls in love with a Frenchman. Because my husband lived in France for a couple of years and loves everything about the country and the people, and I have been in love with France since elementary school (I still don't remember how this obsession began. Did I see Forget Paris? Did I think I would look good in a berret? Did I sneak the candy cigarettes that I bought from the ice cream man [total contraband in my house:] into my backyard a...more
Lunch in Paris is Elizabeth Bard's memoir of falling in love with a Frenchman over a pave au poivre for lunch. As the relationship advances she moves to Paris and encounters all the typical, but somehow never tiresome, dilemmas of an American in Paris. Like many before her she also falls in love with the culinary scene, discovering butchers and bakeries, markets and chic, little, sidewalk cafes. The recipes are doable and sound delicious - especially Pork Tenderloin with Four Kinds of Apples and...more
If one were to whip up what I would consider a pleasant confection of a book, Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard would, on paper, have all the right ingredients. I love to travel and I love food - so a memoir about an American who chronicles her life in Paris with recipes seemed to have my name all over it. I settled in with anticipatory delight to what I thought would be a charming and delicious read. And it was - for the most part.
Bard's journalistic roots are evident...more
Bard's journalistic roots are evident...more
What a sweet little gem of a book. Elizabeth Bard tells a true-life love story, complete with trials and tribulations and successes and sweet moments of joy. And recipes. The story itself is wonderful as Elizabeth tries to find a balance between American and Parisian cultures (and trust me, there IS a huge difference beyond simply language!). The recipes are an added bonus, like icing on a cake.
This book is kind of like "Eat, Pray, Love" in its style, but I liked it better. This story's Elizabe...more
This book is kind of like "Eat, Pray, Love" in its style, but I liked it better. This story's Elizabe...more
I truly enjoyed this book. Unburdened by classic marital issues, family issues, the book is a pleasant read, reminiscent of catching up with an old friend. I loved that her relationships are rock solid and there isnt any overpowering insecurity in the story. I really did admire that. The book felt light, but not so light that it felt chick-lit-ish and during the saddest moments, I did feel sad, but also still thoroughly enjoyed it. Some books give me that starry eyed feeling again, and add an ex...more
I really hated this book at first and fully expected to give it a 1-star review (unusual for me). Too pretentious and lacking in intrigue to qualify for decent/fun chick lit, too lacking in poignant stories and interesting details to qualify for a worthy memoir, and too self-absorbed and lacking in cultural observation to be a decent travel novel. These things all seemed true at first, but somewhere in the middle Bard seems to find her story (or maybe I just became accustomed to her rather grati...more
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I love food memoirs. I admit to it, even though they are rarely different and often times merge together in my head, swimming so that I can hardly keep one separate from another.
Bard's memoir is more than just a food memoir. It is, like the subtitle implies, "a love story, with recipes." It centers around the life she builds with her boyfriend-turned-husband, Gwendal. Bard's writing is laced with an incredible sense of humor that had me laughing hysterically and snorting, which is often rare. In...more
Bard's memoir is more than just a food memoir. It is, like the subtitle implies, "a love story, with recipes." It centers around the life she builds with her boyfriend-turned-husband, Gwendal. Bard's writing is laced with an incredible sense of humor that had me laughing hysterically and snorting, which is often rare. In...more
I devoured this book.
The day I picked this up, I really had no intention of buying a book. I just thought I'd flip through, really just to look at the formatting (story + recipes), but ended up completely absorbed.
French culture doesn't have the same appeal to me as it does for a lot people, but I'm a sucker for both love stories and travel memoir and I recently started baking souffles. This book made me want to learn French, start a food-related book club and enjoy a cheese plate and glass of...more
The day I picked this up, I really had no intention of buying a book. I just thought I'd flip through, really just to look at the formatting (story + recipes), but ended up completely absorbed.
French culture doesn't have the same appeal to me as it does for a lot people, but I'm a sucker for both love stories and travel memoir and I recently started baking souffles. This book made me want to learn French, start a food-related book club and enjoy a cheese plate and glass of...more
I tend to love books that are memoirs entwined with recipes (see also A Homemade Life and Hungry Monkey) so when my friend Cheryl sent this book to me thinking I'd like it, she was definitely barking up the right tree. I also love a fish-out-of-water tale and a my-kooky-self-assembled-family story, which also describe Bard's book. While I can see myself trying fewer of these recipes (there's a preponderance of fish and goat cheese), there are some that tickled my fancy, and I enjoyed above all t...more
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Elizabeth Bard is an American journalist based in Paris. She has written about art, travel and digital culture for The New York Times, The International Herald Tribune, Wired, Time Out and The Huffington Post. She makes a mean chocolate soufflé.
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“They weren't tears of sadness or even tears of joy. I was just overflowing. Like so many things since I'd been here, I didn't yet understand it, but I felt it.”
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14 people liked it
“No better way to avoid making a decision than burying yourself in a big fat book.” (p. 105).”
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8 people liked it
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