Returning to Reims

 by Didier Eribon

A memoir by a gay man who now is a successful academic, it tells the story of growing up in a working class family and having to leave to fully discover his sexuality and realise his academic aspiration.

There is a lot of points in crossing class barriers that rang true. The difficulty and outright violence faced by being part of a minority group was painful to read.

I felt at times it tripped over itself as to whether this was a book about sexual awakening or about leaving family but I guess that was partly the point - the two were intertwined and difficult to separate, 

It was very good on the shift in working class voting behaviours from left to right and what may have brought that about. 7/10

Poulenc a biography

 by Roger Nichols

An interesting biography of one of the key French composers of the first half of the twentieth century. He comes across as a complex figure but whose musical stature grew and endures. The biography has definitely coaxed me into listening to more of his music which has been a good experience 7/10 

Far-Right France

 by Victor Mallet

Victor Mallet is an FT journalist and makes it clear from the beginning that he is writing with his journalist hat on. That makes this book very readable and it is very current. He looks at how the RN has moved from the fringes of politics in the days of Jean-Marie Le Pen to being the most popular party in France today. He describes how Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella have made themselves and the party so popular, how far left and far right have much in common but also how so much of their policy may not stand up to the realities of government. I found this a very informative and balanced book which is great to read going into the Presidential race next spring. 8/10

Now, the people!

 by Jean-Luc Melenchon

Originally published in France in 2023 this English edition was published in 2025.

He highlights the problems the world is facing in terms of climate change, overuse of resources, wealth imbalance, and finds the culprit sitting firmly in the neo-liberal, capitalist system. So far, so good and most of his analysis I could agree with. Where I felt the book gets weaker is regarding solutions. Looking for a common world order, while appealing -and probably the only solution to some of these issues - is too idealistic, and ignores the inbuilt greed humans seem to be born with. I did like his call that we have to start somewhere, so why not do what we can. At least we can go down fighting for what is right! 7/10

Eugenie

 by Desmond Seward

A life of the last empress of France by a not totally unbiased biographer. He clearly is a fan and has a remote family connection back to the second empire.

That aside, I enjoyed this book and it gives a good introduction to the workings of the second empire and the contradictions it contained. She is painted as a formidable woman but with a love for France that was never wholly accepted by its citizens. The book discusses but reaches no clear conclusion on the thing that drove her. Was she swayed more by her desire to see her son as emperor or by her love for France? 8/10

The Mistress of Paris

 by Catherine Hewitt

The rags to riches story of a nineteenth century courtesan. The story was really interesting, Comtesse Valtesse de la Bigne as she ended up calling herself moved in the highest circles of society and became one of the richest people in Paris. She was clearly single minded and ruthless in the operation of her profession. I did at times feel the author was a frustrated fiction writer but that aside had clearly done a lot of research. 7/10

Growth, A Reckoning

 by Daniel Susskind

The author sets out to explore a number of questions such as what is economic growth, what is good about it and what is bad about it and finally, how should we approach growth going forward.

The first parts of the book are uncontroversial and interesting. However, he makes it clear that in his opinion we have to continue to pursue growth. He is rather quick to dump the arguments of those who struggle to see how growth can continue and I found his arguments for how it might a little fanciful.

He tackles the problem of the trade-offs necessary between growth and desirable outcomes  really well and this I found the most thought provoking part of the book. The answers he offers didn't work for me but I don't have anything more plausible to offer so you have to applaud this attempt and if it gets more of us thinking about this issue then bravo DS. 8/10

Emile Zola

 by Rachel Bowlby

Part of the Writing modern life series this is a short introduction to Zola's novels looking at the beginning, middle and end of his life and concentrating on character profile, shops and Zola's exile in London. 

It was a very interesting book and I particularly enjoyed the middle section on shops, contrasting the department store on The Ladies Paradise with the smaller shops of L'assommoir and Le Ventre de Paris. 8/10

The Invisible Doctrine

 by George Monbiot and Peter Hutchison

The subtitle of this book is The Secret History of Neoliberalism.
It is a short history of capitalism and the rise of neoliberalism from the second world war and in particular rhe damaging effects it has had on the world and society since the 1980's. It is at times a bit of a rant and there will be few who will agree with it 100% but reading it against the unfolding of the second Trump presidency makes for sobering reading. Much of the root of neoliberalism is found in Hayek they state and it is well known that Thatcher adored him. 

The most notable quote for me was by Roosevelt in 1938 when he said "the liberty of a democracy is not safe if the people tolerate the growth of private power to a point where it becomes stronger than their democratic state itself. That, in its essence, is fascism." Sobering stuff. 7/10

Chip War

 by Chris Miller

A fascinating history of semiconductors that places them front and centre of the last 60 years and the centrality of our reliance on them for our current way of life.
Both breathtaking it what has been achieved and frightening in how quickly we have become reliant on them. Very readable 8/10

Capital & Ideology-A Graphic Novel

By Claire Alet and Benjamin Adam

An introduction to the ideas in Thomas Piketty's book of the same name. Based around one French family this book moves the argument along really well with a bit of humour thrown in. 8/10

The Shortest History of Migration

 by Ian Goldin

This was a really interesting book. Written in 2024 many of the figures quoted are up to date, but as well as trends in current migration this book gives a succinct history of migration over the centuries and points out how as a species we have always moved. He also emphasises how people fleeing adversity tend to stay as close to their home country as they can, rather quashing the myth of being overrun with asylum seekers. 

The only downside-apart from the inevitable skimming across the surface- was the referencing which was not easy to follow back to sources. 7/10

Goodbye Globalisation

 by Elisabeth Braw

Through various interviews, press publications and research this book traces the path of globalisation through the past forty years and examines why it may now be coming to an end. Actually, it postulates that it is coming to an end. It explores the rise of China and western businesses love affair with China which now is cooling significantly. It looks at Europe's interactions with Russia that came to a juddering halt after the Ukraine war started. You leave the book thinking, with the benefit of hindsight, how could we have been so naive as to think such massive growth could be achieved without harming the planet, to think that trade would trump ideological stances and desire for power or that people would think cheaper goods were fair recompense for losing their jobs. This is a very readable and thought provoking book 9/10 

Metropolitan: An ode to the Paris Metro

 by Andrew Martin

Who could have thought that a book about trains could be so interesting and amusing.

I finished this book while on a short visit to Paris and I have to say that as a result of reading this book I was looking at trains and stations in a much more interested way. Martin takes us through the history of the metro before diving into a line by line description and it is readable at every stage-well maybe not the details about the different types of train. Loved it 9/10

The Waste Land: Biography of a Poem

 A voyage through Eliot's sources and his friendships and his marriage as he spends 1917 to 1922 developing what will become the Waste Land. 

I found it fascinating and at times a fraction overlong but a good read. There is much about Ezra Pound which I found informative and he also spends a considerable time on Eliot's attitude toward the Jews.

He is sympathetic toward Vivian and recognises how she and Eliot both struggled in their marriage. Well worth ploughing through 8/10

City of light, City of shadows

By Mike Rapport

A history of Paris in the Belle Époque. Very readable, I found some parts flowed, whereas others-a long section on the philosophy of Bergstrom - dragged. 

It was at its best talking of the press and of the artistic scene. 7/10

Balzac's Paris

 by Eric Hazan

A book about a man who loved Paris by a man who loved Paris. This book is full of interesting detail but you do want a map to hand to locate streets and areas that he mentions. Really enjoyable if you like Paris or Balzac or both 8/10

Knife

 by Salman Rushdie

A look back on a horrific knife attack that cost Rushdie the sight in one eye and multiple stab wounds that nearly cost him his life. The book is mesmerising in places and although it went a bit flat for me when he started an imaginary conversation with his attacker, it did sort of make sense.

I assume it was all true but he is such a good story teller that you feel in the middle of a plot of some novel at times. Enjoyable is probably the wrong word to say how I found this book. Fascinating works better 9/10

Fixing France

 by Nabila Ramdani

This is a very frustrating book.
It has editorial errors-claiming the returning Bourbons were on the throne until 1848 for instance-that could easily have been fixed. It is very repetitive, telling us the same thing in different chapters. The author also seems enamoured with the Anglo Saxon world and the UK in particular. She highlights institutional racism in the French police but forgets the problems of stop and search in the London met and the ongoing reports of racism there. Also, while berating the French education system it would have been helpful if she had outlined how she managed to beat the system.

Having said all this, the book is well structured, looking at different facets of society in different chapters and it is great to have the anger of ethnic minority groups spelt out. The call for a sixth republic is heartfelt and well reasoned. I also found the final chapter on foreign policy informative and scary. 7/10

Bibliomaniac

 by Robin Ince

Subtitled An Obsessive's tour of the Bookshops of Britain, this is a diary of that tour which did what it said on the can. It is tiring just to read but what a trip that must have been. It leaves you with a list of shops you want to visit and another list of books you want to buy.
A good book to read when you don't want to be concentrating too much and are happy to let the references you don't get float off into the ether 7/10