Five Nights in Paris

March 15, 2015
Having lived in Paris for more than 20 years, Baxter (The Most Beautiful Walk in the World: A Pedestrian in Paris, 2011, etc.), a guide to literary walks through the city, won't show you exactly which streets to follow; rather, he'll teach you how to know Paris and truly feel the enjoyment of flanerie. The activity of flanerie encompasses wandering aimlessly, going with the wind, and observing life as you go. One day, a customer asked the author if he did night walks, and the author decided that the five senses should be his guides. The joy of his writing is to realize that, even after living there for two decades, Paris still provides him with new avenues to explore. He divides the book into itineraries guided by the senses, but readers will need to dig deep to appreciate the connections. Readers who love Paris will likely love this book. No one can successfully write about Paris unless they truly love every nuance, oddity, and secret of her life; here, the author shines. Baxter's knowledge of those who have written about Paris-for years, he has collected such work-will lead readers to all sorts of corners that do not show up in any tourist guides. The author cites surrealist Philippe Soupault's Last Nights of Paris (1929) to show that in Paris at night, there may not be as much to see as many believe. Rather, the nighttime is a perfect canvas for thinking, a blank page on which to exercise the imagination, developing ideas in the dark. In closing, Baxter writes, "each of us must, in our own way, as with a new lover, seduce, or allow ourselves to be seduced by the Paris night." This is not a walking guide to Paris, but it is most certainly a guide to seeing and knowing Paris, one no Francophile should be without.

Starred review from April 15, 2015

Well-known biographer and film critic Baxter (Paris at the End of the World) has produced a fourth book on his most beloved of cities, this time focusing on the peculiarities of the Paris night. Readers might presume that this is a suggested itinerary of sorts, and though Baxter reveals that he leads literary walking tours in Paris, this volume provides little in the way of practical information. Rather, this is armchair travel at its very best. Baxter, whose knowledge of Paris's recent cultural history is vast, is a worthy guide. Fascinating stories and anecdotes are framed by a tantalizing focus on sight, sound, scent, taste, and touch. As we stroll the crooked streets of the Marais, we can almost hear the faint, tinkling music and rowdy shouting of long-gone cafes. We smell the pissoirs and parfumeries in equal measure. Baxter's poetic language ("the autumn sun's rancid light," "that crocodile of preschoolers, hands linked") packs a punch. VERDICT Readers will emerge from the experience of this book feeling like well-traveled experts on the City of Light's sensual history. Charming personal photographs strewn throughout only increase the sense that one is dipping into delicious secrets.--Erin O. Romanyshyn, Frances Morrison Central Lib., Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2015
John Baxter, an Australian expat, film scholar, and seasoned and popular travel writer, has charmed and informed readers about the finer points of Paris, his beloved adopted city, in such smart and avid books as Paris at the End of the World (2014). In Five Nights in Paris, an entertaining mix of amusing autobiography and fluent expertise, he undertakes an intriguing new challenge. Baxter was conducting daylight literary tours when a visitor, enamored of Woody Allen's film, Midnight in Paris, asked him about nocturnal explorations. Baxter was game, and thought, Why not base my night walks on the senses? A veritable font of historical anecdotes and bonhomie, Baxter makes after-dark visits to the sites of once fashionable brothels and jazz clubs, follows the scent of perfume, and sumptuously indulges his passion for food, writing, at each turn, with wit and rapture. Along the way, Baxter unveils evocative connections among such Paris-based creative rebels as the surrealists, Henry Miller, and Brassai, all of whom also found Parisian nights intoxicating.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)