A Corner in the Marais: Memoir of a Paris Neighborhood - Softcover

Karmel, Alex

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1567921981 ISBN 13: 9781567921984

Publisher: David R. Godine, Publisher, 2003

Synopsis

or anyone who loves Paris and the mysterious allure of old houses, this charming, personal and informed memoir makes for perfect reading. In a knowledgeable, literate style that conveys (and makes contagious) Karmel's love of his subject, A Corner in the Marais traces the architectural and social development of the City of Lights, from its origins as a Roman settlement, through major redevelopments brought about by Henry IV and Baron Haussmann, through the recent, and sensitive, renovation and restoration of its old neighborhoods.

The story begins with Karmel and his French wife fulfilling a long-standing dream: buying an apartment in the Marais, Paris's celebrated historic district, the site of some of city's oldest and most picturesque buildings. It soon becomes clear that their new home, which has witnessed six centuries of Parisian life, provides not only a refuge but a fresh and lively vantage point from which to view the city's history, revealing information that will surprise even the most confirmed Francophile.

The book concludes with a "walking tour" of Marais, in which the principal buildings are discussed with brisk authority. Although Karmel takes pains to fill in historical lacunae from town records, he never loses sight of the fascinating human details whether royal squabbles, commercial transactions, or family chicanery that have played their role in shaping Paris as we now know it.

Illustrated with photographs and period engravings, A Corner in the Marais is ideal reading for anyone who loves exploring the hidden byways of vieux Paris and experiencing history from a personal and singularly engaging viewpoint.
"Karmel illuminates shadows of French history, architecture, even character and theater with a novelist's knack for detail and an architect's eye for stories in stone."
The New York Times

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

A brief and impressionistic memoir that ultimately disappoints. Considering the momentous events swirling in and around the Marais district of Paris, this proves to be a surprisingly lifeless history. Karmel is the author of two previous works on the French Revolution (My Revolution, 1970; Guillotine in the Wings, 1972), and has lived in Paris for the past seven years. The book begins with a charming episode from the author's youth: his first visit to, departure from, and return to the City of Lights. No one who has ever been to Paris can fail to empathize here; common memories will unite reader and author. But the promising beginning fades into a mere chronicle, rather than lived history. Even the recounting of a terrorist attack on the very same day as he and his wife move into an apartment is told in dry, unemotional tones that miss the obvious opportunity for dramatic evocation. In the author's defense, he has claimed to have written neither a guidebook (although it is fairly good as one) nor a complete history. Instead, this is purely a microhistory. Karmel tells the tale of a particular house and district in intimate detail, using both as prisms to illuminate the larger canvas of Parisian and French history. The reader, though, may soon grow impatient with the minutiae of house contracts, legal deeds, and minor restorations. Notwithstanding revolutions, fires, and incompetent administrators, a house built in the 13th century leaves an extraordinary paper trail, all too diligently examined by the author. In the end, one feels curiously detached, though still pining for a home of one's own just about anywhere in Paris. (43 b&w illustrations) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

There is a self-indulgent charm about this mini-history of the Marais (former marshes), corresponding to Paris's third arrondissement, that is hard to resist. Karmel, who fell in love with the city in his teens and later married a Frenchwoman, owns a fifth-floor walk-up in the Marais at the corner of rue des Rosiers and rue Vieille-du-Temple. He invites us to share his delight in the neighborhood and his delving into its history. But despite his affection for the Marais and his elegant, leisured prose, this is not a book for the armchair traveler. You have to be there with this slim, illustrated volume in hand. Turning the pages, you could stroll past the house where Beaumarchais wrote The Marriage of Figaro or visit the Museum of the History of Paris in the H?tel Carnavalet, knowing that the greatest literary gossip of all France, Madame de S?vign?, made it her home. The area has gone through a number of misguided attempts at modernization, the author reports, but a combination of chance and economics has preserved its character and some of its great mansions. In the end, the reader is left with envy for anyone with a pied ? terre in such a wonderful placeAand a feeling that the narrow streets remain just out of reach.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: David R. Godine, Publisher
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1567921981
• ISBN 13: 9781567921984
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 149