Books in Brief: Pariswalks

Pariswalks, by Alison and Sonia Landes (New Republic Books, 232 pp., $5.95).

It is difficult to believe that what the world needs is yet another guidebook to Paris. But if the book is Pariswalks by Alison and Sonia Landes, it is much more difficult to believe that anyone could resist its unique combination of charm, wit, erudition, and practicality. Pariswalks is a revised and expanded version of an earlier edition; the somewhat awkward title can be forgiven because of its exactitude in describing the authors’ distinctive method of exploring the five oldest neighborhoods of Paris. The writers, a congenial mother and daughter, present step-by-step walking tours of five quartiers, four on the Left Bank, the fifth centering on the Place des Vosges. Both the quartiers and what the Landeses have chosen to say about them convey a sense of the city, its life, and its people seldom achieved by even the most assiduous tourist. Long sojourns in Paris, a charming inquisitiveness of mind, wry humor, and a gift for sketching the historical perspective differentiate Alison and Sonia Landes’ work from any run-of-themill guidebook. Pariswalks is as captivating for the wistful, would-be traveler as it is indispensable for those with ticket in hand.

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Rene Kuhn Bryant

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Pariswalks, by Alison and Sonia Landes (New Republic Books, 232 pp., $5.95).

It is difficult to believe that what the world needs is yet another guidebook to Paris. But if the book is Pariswalks by Alison and Sonia Landes, it is much more difficult to believe that anyone could resist its unique combination of charm, wit, erudition, and practicality. Pariswalks is a revised and expanded version of an earlier edition; the somewhat awkward title can be forgiven because of its exactitude in describing the authors’ distinctive method of exploring the five oldest neighborhoods of Paris. The writers, a congenial mother and daughter, present step-by-step walking tours of five quartiers, four on the Left Bank, the fifth centering on the Place des Vosges. Both the quartiers and what the Landeses have chosen to say about them convey a sense of the city, its life, and its people seldom achieved by even the most assiduous tourist. Long sojourns in Paris, a charming inquisitiveness of mind, wry humor, and a gift for sketching the historical perspective differentiate Alison and Sonia Landes’ work from any run-of-themill guidebook. Pariswalks is as captivating for the wistful, would-be traveler as it is indispensable for those with ticket in hand.