Cynthia D. Bertelsen's Blog, page 4

The Dying of the French Concierge

Last Days of an Iconic French Cultural Figure This photo hangs on a wall in my kitchen. It sums up the stereotypical essence of traditional concierges of the past. I stayed once in a garret in Paris on the Île Saint-Louis for a month. Unlike the woman in Robert Doisneau’s iconic photo, the building’s concierge … More The Dying of the French Concierge

The Art of Writing History: A Satirical Approach

A Meditation on Éric Vuillard’s The Order of the Day The thing about history I love most is that we know how certain events came to an end. Or we think we know. Most of the time, that is. Living through historical events, on the other hand, presents challenges, often life-threatening, with the outcome never … More The Art of Writing History: A Satirical Approach

A Little Side Trip to the Dordogne/Périgord

Reading Martin Walker’s Bruno, Chief of Police Novels It’s interesting how synchronicity works. My current, long-term writing project involves France – actually Paris – during World War II. However, there’re are only so many words about that time I can take in at once. So when I discovered a series of novels set in the … More A Little Side Trip to the Dordogne/Périgord

A Bookshop in Paris: Living the Dream … Until a Dictatorship Destroyed Free Thought

Shakespeare is the happy hunting ground of all minds that have lost their balance. JAMES JOYCE, ULYSSES Just about every book-loving tourist visiting Paris knows about Shakespeare & Company, a funky and unusual bookshop. Located at 37, Rue de la Bûcherie, overlooking the Seine, with a magnificent view of Notre Dame to boot, it’s usually … More A Bookshop in Paris: Living the Dream … Until a Dictatorship Destroyed Free Thought

What Scares Me More than Stephen King’s “The Shining”

This year – 2024 – scares me more than does Stephen King’s The Shining, published decades ago, 1977 to be exact. And that’s saying a lot, an awful lot. Truth be told, I have never been able to neither read the book all the way through nor watch the film to the ghastly end. (I … More What Scares Me More than Stephen King’s “The Shining”

Paris at War, a Review

This year, Santa Claus brought me a most unusual book, David Drake’s Paris at War, 1939-1944. In 2008, David Drake wandered through what he calls a “controversial exhibition of colour photographs staged in the library devoted to the history of the city” of Paris, the Bibliothèque historique de la Ville de Paris, 22, rue Malher. … More Paris at War, a Review

Chronicling Survival in the Face of Evil

Being alive, being in the world has always been a desperate struggle for survival. We sometimes dub this state of affairs “dog-eat-dog.” However, the root of this phrase actually means the opposite in its original Latin: canis caninam non est. Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro recorded this Latin proverb in his De Lingua Latin (About … More Chronicling Survival in the Face of Evil

A Different Slant: A German Officer in Occupied Paris

In today’s America, there’s a certain glorification of tyrants, certain ideologies. Most of the time, when reading of Germany’s Nazis and World War II, it’s easy to lump people together, to believe that everyone followed the party line. One exception to that, I recently discovered while doing research for my new writing project, was Ernst … More A Different Slant: A German Officer in Occupied Paris

An Appetite for Paris

You know those books you read years ago, loved, and then put back on the shelf? But couldn’t really forget, no matter how many years flew by? For me anyway, A. (Abbott) J. (Joseph). Liebling’s Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris (1959) counts as one of those books. Mr. Liebling’s writing included a lot more … More An Appetite for Paris

Clio, the Muse of History: Why History is Important

As a writer, I find inspiration in so many places. Gossip whispered at parties, current newspaper reportage, anecdotes revealed by family members over a few mugs of coffee, the odd remark overheard in a doctor’s waiting room or in an elevator, and on and on. History, however, provides me with more than enough material to … More Clio, the Muse of History: Why History is Important