French Milk in Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge

Jun 01, 2018 Julie rated it it was ok

I love Paris and food, so I'm giving it two stars for those aspects.

I do not love over-privileged twenty-somethings who basically spend an entire graphic novel about living for six weeks in Paris:

1. Whining about how worried they are about finances, while simultaneously spending every other page describing the fancy restaurants at which they are eating and all the crap they are buying. Especially when mommy and daddy are probably bankrolling the whole trip anyway.

2. Whining about how much they m ...more

2 likes · Like · see review

Apr 01, 2017 Ashley Holstrom rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, nonfiction, print, read-harder, favorites, memoir, travel, food, comics

I always had lofty ideas of what traveling to Paris must be like, based purely on romantic movies and novels. But Lucy seems like my kind of gal, and her journal of her trip to Paris with her mother is almost exactly what I’ve imagined. Food! Shopping! Cobblestones! Cigarettes! Coffee! And, since she was about to graduate from college and become a full-fledged adult, there’s a whole lotta angst — this is a journal, after all. The best part of Lucy’s work is the detail to what she eats. Every day ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 04, 2009 Shannon rated it really liked 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 over-stimulate 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 over-stimulated baby when I started this book Saturday morning. But by the time I finished it a few hours later, I felt refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to head straight to the nearest French bistro. (Instead I just had good french fries!)

I loved the way Lucy Knisley took a supremely personal experience (a month in Paris to celebrate her mother turning 50) and turned it into travelogue meets coming of age memoir meets food journal meets comic book.

If I had to pick the component of this book that I loved the most, it would be the coming of age one: there is a scene in the book where Lucy's 22nd birthday brings on a panic attack and her mother reassures her that she will not end up living in a ditch after graduating from college. This took me back to a very similar scene from spring of my senior year of college when I called my mother, crying, to express fear that I would never be able to support myself. None of my own friends ever shared similar fears, so I thought I was the only one who faced college graduation with a fair about of fear and trembling. I loved that Knisley made me feel normal by sharing her own craziness.

I also loved the reminder of Paris' charms and her descriptions of museums and their artwork took me back to my own college days there. The book let me daydream about how fun it would be to celebrate my own 50th birthday in Paris with one (or two or three) of my daughters. (Better start saving now!)

If you've been interested in graphic novels, but haven't given one a try, I highly recommend this slim volume. If you could care less about graphic novels, but want to spend a few hours in Paris, this book is a cheap and fun alternative. ...more

Like · see review

Nov 15, 2014 Melissa rated it really liked it

Shelves: reading-graphically

Adorable "comics" travel memoir from Lucy Knisley (LOVE her Relish and An Age of License). This is apparently the journal of her 6 weeks in Paris with her mom - I always love how she draws what she ate. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 08, 2009 Rebecca rated it really liked it

I was unexpectedly impressed by this graphic non-fiction book. I expected to like it, but I didn’t expect to find it almost heartrendingly familiar at times. Lucy Knisley travels to Paris for six weeks with her mother to celebrate her mother’s fiftieth birthday and her twenty-second birthday. While there, she experiences homesickness for her college apartment, her boyfriend, her childhood home, and all things familiar and normal. But of course she falls in love with Paris and is loathe to leave ...more

Like · see review

Dec 14, 2012 Mycala rated it really liked it

I really liked this book. Lucy and her mom spend several weeks in France. It's been a few months since I read the book, but I'm close to my mom too and I enjoyed reading about a mother/ daughter team and their travels together. ...more

Like · see review

Oct 10, 2009 Molly rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, fast-read

French Milk is the tale of one girl who explores Paris for one month with her mother. What she finds is how to grow into herself and her adulthood. I think I enjoyed this book not only for the detailed comics, but also for the story of a time in Paris.

I may have especially enjoyed it more since I’ve spent some time in Paris and recognized many of the places, but all in all, it’s a quaint true story told in an honest voice. The photographs interspersed with the comics give it a nice touch.

Like · see review

Apr 20, 2010 Sarah rated it liked it

Shelves: graphic-novel, memoir-and-bio, food

This graphic novel is by a young woman who in the few weeks leading up to her 22nd birthday, spends 5 weeks in Paris with her mother. Knisley is a cartoonist and they roam the city in search of good art, good food and stay in an apartment. Graphic novels aren’t my favorite, but the drawings were fun, and the book was light yet interesting. This would be a good graphic novel for adults (especially women) who are hesitant to get into graphic novels.

Like · see review