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Failing Paris
"Failing Paris is the story of a week in the life of Sabine Wilcox, the 19-year-old student who has left the stifling rural existence of the American Southwest in exchange for a year in Paris. But the City of Light offers her no refuge. With only one week to address a dire problem, Sabine's past and present painfully collide. Her life intertwines with two men who prove to be both more, and less, than they first appeared. This is a first novel by a young writer whose work must not be overlooked.
169 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1999
34 people are currently reading
171 people want to read
About the author
Samantha Dunn
6 books30 followersSamantha Dunn is the author of Failing Paris (Toby Press), a finalist for the PEN West Fiction Award in 2000, and the memoir, Not By Accident: Reconstructing a Careless Life (Henry Holt & Co.), a BookSense 76 pick. Her most recent memoir, Faith in Carlos Gomez: A Memoir of Salsa, Sex and Salvation, is published by Henry Holt & Co.
Samantha's work is anthologized in a number of places, including the short story anthology, Women on the Edge: Writing from Los Angeles (Toby Press), which Dunn co-edited with writer Julianne Ortale.
Dunn's essays have appeared in numerous national publications including the Los Angeles Times, O (Oprah) Magazine, Ms., and Shape. In 2000 Dunn received the Maggie Award for Best Personal Essay in a Consumer Publication. A widely published journalist, Dunn's bylines are regularly featured in InStyle, Glamour, SELF, Men's Health and a variety of other consumer magazines. She has also written for the stage, as a co-creator of the show "American Ese." Dunn teaches in the UCLA Extension Writers Program and is a writer-in-residence at the New York State Summer Writers Institute.
Dunn lives in Southern California with her husband, musician/politico Jimmy Camp and their son Ben.
Samantha's work is anthologized in a number of places, including the short story anthology, Women on the Edge: Writing from Los Angeles (Toby Press), which Dunn co-edited with writer Julianne Ortale.
Dunn's essays have appeared in numerous national publications including the Los Angeles Times, O (Oprah) Magazine, Ms., and Shape. In 2000 Dunn received the Maggie Award for Best Personal Essay in a Consumer Publication. A widely published journalist, Dunn's bylines are regularly featured in InStyle, Glamour, SELF, Men's Health and a variety of other consumer magazines. She has also written for the stage, as a co-creator of the show "American Ese." Dunn teaches in the UCLA Extension Writers Program and is a writer-in-residence at the New York State Summer Writers Institute.
Dunn lives in Southern California with her husband, musician/politico Jimmy Camp and their son Ben.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
January 11, 2019
Sometimes you go to Paris to escape your life and when you get there all you find is your same old life, and sometimes, surrounded by so much that's unfamiliar, your life actually gets worse. You won't find this viewpoint in any rom-com, but James Baldwin sure knew it, and Samantha Dunn knows it too. Failing Paris certainly has echoes of Giovanni's Room, but beyond that made me think of any number of novels about women who deal with their problems by going somewhere else (like this one, or this one, or this, this, or even this). The difference is that Failing Paris, published by the little-known Toby Press in 1999, came before all of those.
It's hard to quantify exactly what makes a book like Failing Paris valuable. The writing is beautiful and poetic and the story is interesting and even suspenseful, but oddly what appeals to me most is the sense that sometimes things are a big mess and they just don't work themselves out as quickly as we might want them to. I think women in particular are encouraged to put a happy face on everything, but sometimes there is just no happy face that's going to hide the disaster that is your life, and a city like Paris, a city of dreams, can easily become as nightmarish as whatever it is you've left behind. You thought getting out was some kind of victory, but still you end up failing. Books that are honest about this are a relief to me. I'm not going to say I identified with it, but I certainly identified with it more than some story that tries to tell us that everything happens for a reason and turns out all right in the end. Does Failing Paris have a happy ending, a sad ending? Both? Neither? I don't actually know, and I appreciate that more than I can properly express.
It's hard to quantify exactly what makes a book like Failing Paris valuable. The writing is beautiful and poetic and the story is interesting and even suspenseful, but oddly what appeals to me most is the sense that sometimes things are a big mess and they just don't work themselves out as quickly as we might want them to. I think women in particular are encouraged to put a happy face on everything, but sometimes there is just no happy face that's going to hide the disaster that is your life, and a city like Paris, a city of dreams, can easily become as nightmarish as whatever it is you've left behind. You thought getting out was some kind of victory, but still you end up failing. Books that are honest about this are a relief to me. I'm not going to say I identified with it, but I certainly identified with it more than some story that tries to tell us that everything happens for a reason and turns out all right in the end. Does Failing Paris have a happy ending, a sad ending? Both? Neither? I don't actually know, and I appreciate that more than I can properly express.
August 5, 2016
I wondered how others would review this book - would they understand or care about Sabine and her week-long "odyssey" in Paris? After reading several books in a row about ex-patriots traveling, eating and living in France, this one is totally and without a doubt not about the beauty and delight found in the City of Light. We are so used to stories about some amazingly fabulous transformative experiences people have had with their coming of age in Paris. This is not one of them.
This is another story about coming of age. Sabine comes to Paris with all of her past and her history with her. She cannot escape her dysfunctional family and its imprint simply because she picks up and moves elsewhere. Instead she has to confront it and move through it in ways only she knows how. And she knows she does not want to repeat her mother's past - although she is promiscuous and somewhat careening during this week - she knows she does not want to become her mother. Cashing in her return ticket, terminating the pregnancy (what does she really have to go home to anyway) and making herself a promise to meet Abe in Italy are all life affirming moves in a new direction.
I found it haunting and hard to put down. I liked the writing style, the internal world she experienced is not easy to write down and Dunn captured my attention anyway. I kept thinking of this as an indie film - yes it would be bleak and not all tidily wrapped up with a happy ending. But a week in a life rarely, if ever, is.
This is another story about coming of age. Sabine comes to Paris with all of her past and her history with her. She cannot escape her dysfunctional family and its imprint simply because she picks up and moves elsewhere. Instead she has to confront it and move through it in ways only she knows how. And she knows she does not want to repeat her mother's past - although she is promiscuous and somewhat careening during this week - she knows she does not want to become her mother. Cashing in her return ticket, terminating the pregnancy (what does she really have to go home to anyway) and making herself a promise to meet Abe in Italy are all life affirming moves in a new direction.
I found it haunting and hard to put down. I liked the writing style, the internal world she experienced is not easy to write down and Dunn captured my attention anyway. I kept thinking of this as an indie film - yes it would be bleak and not all tidily wrapped up with a happy ending. But a week in a life rarely, if ever, is.
February 9, 2021
My favorite genre is prose poetry because it allows me to view another inner life in a way I can’t with other forms of storytelling. I’m not sure this book or its author officially belong to this genre, but I liked it very much. A really stunning story about finding yourself and the very dark places you sometimes go while you are still looking.
May 29, 2012
I think some authors fancy themselves as poets, and in doing so, they neglect narrative for the sounds of the words. This is the story of a troubled young woman, who grew up in a backwater town in New Mexico and then amazingly wins a scholarship to study in Paris. She has always studied French, is fluent in the language, yet language does not always explain the people who speak it. She finds herself pregnant, having been used by many men, destitute and genuinely a fish out of water, unable to comprehend the hidden meanings behind the words. The story itself would be enough to carry a novel but it is hard to dig it out under the attempted poetic flow of the writing. Not great, not terrible, not recommended.
April 11, 2012
Thankyou Samantha Dunn. I will now never have to go to Paris. Sure, other parts of France ok, but the gloom you have beautifully portrayed I get enough of here in Happy Valley.
Anyhow, the four stars is for writing style only. Hard to separate the style from the story, but for these purposes here, the story was bleak and uninspiring while her style was absolutely all that I want in a writer. Would love to see Samantha do something that would inspire me; make me want to go to Paris and not be content with the oh so prevalent gloom of Central Pennsyltuckey.
Anyhow, the four stars is for writing style only. Hard to separate the style from the story, but for these purposes here, the story was bleak and uninspiring while her style was absolutely all that I want in a writer. Would love to see Samantha do something that would inspire me; make me want to go to Paris and not be content with the oh so prevalent gloom of Central Pennsyltuckey.
June 5, 2012
I admit I'm rating this one star out of emotion. The subject matter of this little book had so, so, so much potential. The author could have explored disenchantment, discontinuity, the ephemeral nature of language and issues of translation and perception all in beautiful depth, but no. This story is pure melodrama and I HATED the writing. Ugh.
Maybe when I come to my senses I'll come back and change it to two or even three stars. It had a few good parts, but I'm just too disappointed to talk about that right now.
Maybe when I come to my senses I'll come back and change it to two or even three stars. It had a few good parts, but I'm just too disappointed to talk about that right now.
May 2, 2012
This book was ugly and haunting, but the writing was beautiful...even when the subject matter made me recoil. I'm not sure whether the story itself was good or bad, but the writing will stay with me.
June 22, 2017
“I have just erased the last vestige of the notion that the future should be charted with careful planning.”
*
Failing Paris follows an American girl in Paris for a week — through scheduling a abortion, dropping out of school, becoming a nude model for an intimidating man, meeting an intriguing fellow wanderer. It’s a moody, emotional, and gorgeous snippet of a life — very different from Samantha Dunn’s hilarious salsa memoir that made me curious to pick up her fiction!
*
Failing Paris follows an American girl in Paris for a week — through scheduling a abortion, dropping out of school, becoming a nude model for an intimidating man, meeting an intriguing fellow wanderer. It’s a moody, emotional, and gorgeous snippet of a life — very different from Samantha Dunn’s hilarious salsa memoir that made me curious to pick up her fiction!
March 30, 2018
A most depressing book. She makes Paris feel like gray skies, gray buildings. There is no City of Light for Sabine. One week of time devoted to being depressed about her life, her direction, her anything. Needing an abortion because like so many others she finds herself in a predicament of failure according to her. Bah! Didn’t like the book or the mood of it.
December 13, 2023
I read this just after a manuscript BootCamp in 2018 and recently pulled it out to study Dunn's deft insertion of back story. This tale never fails - pardon the pun - to move me. Dunn's writing is visceral. A story teller extraordinaire This particular book resonates in today's climate, with powerful themes of family, loss, the making of a woman. Read this!
August 4, 2024
Samantha Dunn is, quite simply, an impeccable writer. Her writing is emotional and evocative. I will go with any journey on her in any book she writes.
August 12, 2015
Very enjoyable and related to my personal experience of living in Paris so four stars for readability but perhaps more like three for the novel.
Love the evocations of Parisian life and this alone contributed to a high score - steam rising off baguettes, the bouquinistes, the smell of sliced nuts roasting outside supermarkets. The small details and "sharing the ordinary" take precedence in this novel over the classic landmarks, and the tourist sites are never allowed to become rose-tinted.
Descriptions of what it feels like to think and even dream in another language rang true. It is absolutely true that certain ideas are easier to express in French and it does indeed offer "the comfort of analysis and dissection". Ultimately Sabine concludes that learning a language is about more than mastering a complete vocabulary or a local accent but it is about slotting into the culture and understanding the subtext.
In places the writing felt disjointed and although it was often evocative and poetic ("his lips are full and they touch me like summer"), such phrases came out of the blue and the whole didn't quite hang together. The stories from the past and present jolted and collided rather than flowed. I wondered if it was a first novel?
Love the evocations of Parisian life and this alone contributed to a high score - steam rising off baguettes, the bouquinistes, the smell of sliced nuts roasting outside supermarkets. The small details and "sharing the ordinary" take precedence in this novel over the classic landmarks, and the tourist sites are never allowed to become rose-tinted.
Descriptions of what it feels like to think and even dream in another language rang true. It is absolutely true that certain ideas are easier to express in French and it does indeed offer "the comfort of analysis and dissection". Ultimately Sabine concludes that learning a language is about more than mastering a complete vocabulary or a local accent but it is about slotting into the culture and understanding the subtext.
In places the writing felt disjointed and although it was often evocative and poetic ("his lips are full and they touch me like summer"), such phrases came out of the blue and the whole didn't quite hang together. The stories from the past and present jolted and collided rather than flowed. I wondered if it was a first novel?
December 27, 2012
Man, if there was ever a novel which seemingly came out of the stereotypical Bohmenian experience, this is it. Paris, the Left Bank, ersatz poverty, perverse artists, drunkenness, self-absorption, misty walks through narrow streets, intellectual decadence and reminiscences of the pains of childhood - it's all here.
And so I would say skip it, you've seen it all before, and certainly the general arc of the story takes us nowhere new. But the sentences within that arc! Not only are they beautiful - downright gorgeous at times - but they constantly surprised me by taking me into what I thought was a familiar direction only to end somewhere surprising and new. They let me into, again and again, a deeply interesting mind - one which when presented with typical cause, skips to far-off effect both intriguing and deeply revelatory.
I kept thinking this was a novel that would come out of a writer's workshop, and it certainly has that feel. But if it did, it came from an excellent workshop and a gifted author. I look forward to reading more of her work.
And so I would say skip it, you've seen it all before, and certainly the general arc of the story takes us nowhere new. But the sentences within that arc! Not only are they beautiful - downright gorgeous at times - but they constantly surprised me by taking me into what I thought was a familiar direction only to end somewhere surprising and new. They let me into, again and again, a deeply interesting mind - one which when presented with typical cause, skips to far-off effect both intriguing and deeply revelatory.
I kept thinking this was a novel that would come out of a writer's workshop, and it certainly has that feel. But if it did, it came from an excellent workshop and a gifted author. I look forward to reading more of her work.
March 9, 2013
This book was a disappointment. One other reviewer pointed out that the story had great “potential.” And that is true—an American exchange student living in Paris for a year, discovering a different culture, meeting new people, learning new things—but that the potential was simply not fulfilled. Obviously, one picks up a book because of the potential, but this one failed to deliver.
Have you ever ordered fish in a restaurant only to find under the pretty coating that it is terribly undercooked? That is how this book made me feel. Rather than sharing anything beautiful about Paris, she focused on everything negative that she could possibly find.
Yes, there were a few scattered lines of nice prose, but overall it was depressing. It also felt rushed, like the author didn’t take the time to develop anything: characters, story, or even back-story. We were just propelled through this one depressing week in the life of a lost soul. Even that could have been beautiful. Alas.
Have you ever ordered fish in a restaurant only to find under the pretty coating that it is terribly undercooked? That is how this book made me feel. Rather than sharing anything beautiful about Paris, she focused on everything negative that she could possibly find.
Yes, there were a few scattered lines of nice prose, but overall it was depressing. It also felt rushed, like the author didn’t take the time to develop anything: characters, story, or even back-story. We were just propelled through this one depressing week in the life of a lost soul. Even that could have been beautiful. Alas.
February 6, 2016
Boo. I hate writing negative reviews but this book was just not worthy of a good one.
Failing Paris is the story of Sabine Wilcox – a young girl from America studying in France. So far, so good, except that is where the concept gets a little lost and muddied. The story takes place over a few days and is about how Sabine tries to fix a problem that she has encountered.
Great a story set in France with a clear conflict – a great start…except that it just it. There is nothing to make the story plausible or even readable. It just merges into one big confusing blur that doesn’t evoke sympathy or emotion.
Maybe I am being too harsh. Towards the end, the burgeoning relationship between Sabine and Abe does elicit some interest from the reader but it is too short a part of Failing Paris to be actively interested in.
Overall, Failing Paris failed as entertainment.
Failing Paris by Samantha Dunn is available now.
Failing Paris is the story of Sabine Wilcox – a young girl from America studying in France. So far, so good, except that is where the concept gets a little lost and muddied. The story takes place over a few days and is about how Sabine tries to fix a problem that she has encountered.
Great a story set in France with a clear conflict – a great start…except that it just it. There is nothing to make the story plausible or even readable. It just merges into one big confusing blur that doesn’t evoke sympathy or emotion.
Maybe I am being too harsh. Towards the end, the burgeoning relationship between Sabine and Abe does elicit some interest from the reader but it is too short a part of Failing Paris to be actively interested in.
Overall, Failing Paris failed as entertainment.
Failing Paris by Samantha Dunn is available now.
June 1, 2014
The first thing you notice about this book isn't the story or the plot or the characters, rather it's the descriptions that are so vivid and graphic you can actually see them. The author's command of language is amazing, her descriptions spell bounding but never so detailed you forget what she's talking about. At times I wanted to break apart the words just to hold them in my mouth for a moment longer before moving on to the next sentence. So wrapped up was I in the style of the writing that I initially thought little of the story, taking longer to fall in love with the dark plot and more than a little slightly sad characters. But fall in love I did and I found this book an excellent read. I loved the descriptions so much I bought a hard copy so I can highlight and underline my favorite passages. They really are that good.
April 30, 2012
I noticed this book in a list of recommendations of older books on Amazon. Not only was it a relief to read a short book in the midst of the Game of Thrones tomes I'm reading, but I really enjoyed Dunn's writing style, the descriptions of Paris, and her ideas on learning and living with a foreign language. The novel covers a week in the life of Sabine Wilcox, a young woman in Paris for a year on scholarship. It begins when she seeks an abortion and then recounts how she earns money to pay for it, the people (mostly men) she meets, and her memories of her former life in the desert of New Mexico.
January 26, 2012
This book doesn't have a strong storyline, but I thought the prose was well-written. It came across to me like a rich painting of one week in this young woman's life. She is American and studying in Paris, going through something which is making her reflect back on her childhood and her life back home in the US. Far from idyllic, it is genuine and gritty but at times dream-like. Triggering in places, and includes some untranslated French.
Want to read
August 8, 2007took a personal essay writing class with Samantha Dunn as she was finishing her most recent book and telling us a bit about the real people in her life involved with the book. She also gave us the backstory on how this book bloomed. Sounds like a fantastic story-- I read a bit from it while in her class but somehow other things get pushed in line before hers-- poo.
April 18, 2012
Dark but still interesting story of a young American exchange student in Paris who is living on the edge of poverty, is newly pregnant and needs to raise money for an abortion. All the disfunction of her life merges in a seven day period when she hits bottom but then finds some redemption. Very good look at the side of Paris that tourists don't see.
May 5, 2012
I absolutely hated hated hated this book. I wish I could give it 0 stars and pretend that I never read it. It was terrible, vile, made no sense - had no purpose but to be depressing. I should have taken a clue when I added it to good reads and it said "Other depressing books you may enjoy". Seriously.
May 19, 2012
A beautiful story of one week in the life of a girl who moves to Paris to pursue her studies, but strays from them as she gets caught in a Parisian lifestyle of romantic intrigue. I loved the writing style of this novella and wished it had been longer than the mere 150 pages that it was. If this author were to write another novel, I'd definitely read it.
January 25, 2013
It reads more like a short story than a novel, but I loved the writing. Somehow she was able to put into words things that you do/think but maybe have never considered, so it makes you smile or laugh in spots. As I finished it, the book left me with prickling eyes and a tight throat, for reasons, like the book says, there are no words to explain. It was an enjoyable, emotional read.
November 4, 2014
Meh... It was OK. Barely worth my time. A young woman is in Paris, on a scholarship. She is from New Mexico and her success in school will bring much pride in her hometown. But, she is wandering around wasting her time and not much happens. Well, things happen, but nothing really worth reading about!
May 6, 2012
This is not my normal type of book and the truth is I really didn't like it. I didn't really understand where Sabine was coming from and why she was the way she was. However, I did seem to be well written.
February 8, 2013
Horribly written with disjointed phrases and tons of typos, even grammar mistakes. The premise of the story is depressing but still could have been an enjoyable read if the characters and their struggles were developed fully. Half the time I was annoyed while reading it.
February 4, 2013
I liked the book overall. Samantha Dunn is obviously a gifted writer. However, I thought she got a bit heavy handed at times, trying to show her writing prowess. It was a bit obvious, and I just wanted her to tell the story, and leave the precocious imagery aside. It was quite annoying at times.
March 23, 2013
I have to go to Paris! This book makes me want to move there in one second flat. I love how this writer gets you into the flow of life in that city. It's a pretty sad book, but worth it. Great writing!
October 20, 2019
Didnt finish
I read several chapters and quit. I just had trouble following what was going on. Perhaps that was the point but it resulted in my not being able to get into the story. So I put it down to read a different dog and never picked it up again.
I read several chapters and quit. I just had trouble following what was going on. Perhaps that was the point but it resulted in my not being able to get into the story. So I put it down to read a different dog and never picked it up again.
Currently reading
June 14, 2009So far this books pretty good, not a style I typically pick up but a refreshing change.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews