Jacki (Julia Flyte)'s Reviews > The Thing about Prague: How I gave it all up for a new life in Europe's most eccentric city

At the age of 41, and experiencing something of a mid life crisis, writer Rachael Weiss decided to leave behind her life in Australia and move permanently to Prague, lured by the thought of "cobbled streets, midnight-blue evenings, snowflakes and cheap beer". In the end she would last three years and the book charts her journey from giddy adoration for all things Prague to disenchantment with the communist bureaucracy, unfriendly locals and her inability to find a well paying job.

Weiss has a chatty writing style and a gift for anecdotes. The first half of the book is particularly strong. It catapults the reader into the Czech capital and is frequently amusing. Gradually over the second half of the book Weiss becomes a little - dare I say it? - whiney and I got tired of hearing about her frustrated libido. But overall it strikes a good a balance between a travelogue and a personal memoir and it definitely had me longing to revisit Prague.

If you've enjoyed this book, I recommend Penelope Green's trilogy about living in Italy (start with When In Rome: Chasing La Dolce Vita and also Sarah Turnbull's story about moving to Paris: Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris.

I understand that Weiss is now living in Dublin and I hope that there will eventually be a book about her experiences there! She's a fun writer.