PARIS METRO TALES CTA PAPER

by Helen Constantine (editor/translator)

Following Helen Constantine's highly successful Paris Tales, Paris Metro Tales offers 22 remarkable short stories set throughout Paris--all connected by the underground tunnels of its famed Metro.
The journey begins at the Gare du Nord, stops at 20 underground stations along the way, and ends at Lamarck-Caulaincourt, each story corresponding to one of the 20 arrondissements of Paris. Readers are invited to find their way through the underground, changing trains when necessary and imaginatively emerging to read a story it its original setting. The stories range from the 15th-century account of the miraculous Saint Genevieve, patron saint of Paris, through tales by favorite writers such as Zola, Simenon, Balzac, and Maupassant. Though connected by the metro, the subjects of these short stories vary from Martine Delerm's gripping narrative of the last hours of Modigliani's mistress to Gérard de Nerval's rich evocation of the bustling market in Les Halles in the 1850s, Colette's unlikely involvement in a traffic accident near the Opéra, and Boulanger's fine description of a blackly funny experience in Père Lachaise. In addition to writers well known to the English-speaking
world, this collection also includes French authors whose work deserves wider attention, including Frédéric Fajardie, Martine Delerm, Marie Desplechin, Paul Fournel, and Claude Dufresne. Each story is illustrated with a black-and-white photograph and the book includes a map and suggested itinerary through the metro system.
Perfect for fans of Paris Tales , connoisseurs of French fiction, and all short story enthusiasts, Paris Metro Tales offers rare glimpses of the darker side of the "City of Light."

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, France, Travel

321 pages, Paperback

First published March 24, 2011

About the author

Helen Constantine read French and Latin at Oxford. She was Head of Languages at Bartholomew School, Eynsham, until 2000, when she gave up teaching and became a full-time translator. She has published volumes of translated stories, Paris Tales, and French Tales and edits a series of City Tales for Oxford University Press. Paris Metro Tales will be published in March 2011. She has translated Mademoiselle de Maupinby Théophile Gautier and Dangerous Liaisons by Choderlos de Laclos for Penguin and is currently translating Balzac’s La Peau de Chagrin for OUP. She is married to the poet, David Constantine and with him edits Modern Poetry in Translation.

(from http://www.mptmagazine.com/author/hel...)

Reviews

[Fred Misurella · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you love and know Paris, as I do, then you'll like this book for the evocation of the many neighborhoods in the city and the people who inhabit them. I also like French writing a lot, and you find a great variety of them in this collection from 19th century greats, like Balzac and Zola to contemporary writers and journalists. I'm moving on to Paris Street Tales next.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great variety of tales from around Paris Inspired by metro station names and districts in Paris. Great to pick up and put down. I read the Paris tales last year and this is just as good. Recommended

[Jelena Nemet · Rating 3 out of 5]

You never knew this place? It was like a forgotten garden from the last century, a pretty garden as pretty as the sweet smile of an old lady. Thick hedges separated the narrow, regular paths, quiet paths running between two assiduously pruned walls of foliage. The gardener’s large shears never ceased aligning these dividing hedges; and here and there one came across flower-beds, borders of small trees lined up like schoolboys on an outing, companies of magnificent rose bushes or regiments of fruit trees. One whole area of this charming little grove was inhabited by bees. Their straw hives, cleverly spaced on planks of wood, opened to the sunshine their doors no bigger than thimbles; and all along the paths you came across golden, buzzing bees, the true mistresses of this peaceful place, the real visitors to these quiet corridors. Almost every morning I was there. I sat on a bench and read. Sometimes I let the book drop upon my lap, let my mind wander, listened to the sounds of Paris all around me, and enjoyed the infinite repose of these alle´es of a bygone age.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally interesting and highly varied short stories, linked by the Paris métro stations. Has some well-known, and not-so-well-known, authors, so some are a pleasant discovery. Even more meaningful if you have lived, or live, in Paris. Thanks to a good friend for giving it to me as a birthday gift!

[theirishbooklover · Rating 3 out of 5]

Classical, Historical, Imaginative.
The way in which modern and classic short stories are juxtaposed together in this novel of short stories gives it a classical yet modern feel to it. This book was all the more appealing to me since I bought it on my first trip to Paris. The twenty two short stories are by a mix of classical and contemporary authors which lends the book a historical feel. Many of the stories feed your imagination and really let you create images of the times they are set in. My favourite aspect of this book is the way in which you can follow the map from the very first métro station, which is the very first short story to the very last métro station and the very last story. It gives you an authentic feel of Paris in which you can get lost in alongside your imagination. This is a very enjoyable read, especially for a lover of Paris.

[Adam · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mix of stories by authors across the years, translated from French. Mainly based around Parisian areas as defined by Metro stops. As always with a collection, some are better than others. Probably best read in a pavement cafe in Montmartre, whilst sipping red wine.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good collection of tales - without veering too far into any one direction, this group reaches towards different branches of the human experience in Paris, spanning age, time, and gender.

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully varied & quite poetic.