Deb from Sydney wrote a lovely comment last week - and mentioned that her book club has chosen Lunch in Paris this month. Here's a little Reader's Guide I put together. There is also an "imaginary bookshelf" with some of my favorites. If you let me know the date and timezone of your book club - we can try to work out an Skype session. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Enjoy!
READING GROUP GUIDE
Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes
By Elizabeth Bard
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. In Lunch in Paris, major life events are landmarked by food. Why is food such a potent force — and is this particularly true in France? Has a meal ever changed your life? Do you have a particular food that brings to mind certain memories, certain people?
2. Elizabeth is slow to assimilate into French culture, in spite of her eagerness to do so. Which parts of this adaptation do you think would be the most difficult?
3. Elizabeth faces some linguistic challenges as well as cultural ones, especially when she meets Gwendal’s parents — and introduces them to her own. How does she overcome communication barriers? Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you needed to rely on a form of communication other than language?
4. Halfway through a first date with her future husband, Gwendal, Elizabeth goes home with him. How key a role does food play in the seduction that follows? How does sex on a first date play differently between France and America? Does the author seem confused or liberated — or both — by the cultural differences?
5. Elizabeth has some difficulty adjusting to life in Paris after having grown up in New York. What are the main differences she sees between French and American culture?
6. In the beginning, Elizabeth has trouble understanding Gwendal’s lack of a concrete “five year plan.” Throughout the book, how do their different visions of success clash and,ultimately, complement each other?
7. In explaining his frustrations with the French system, Gwendal quotes the American author (and former Paris resident) Henry Miller: “In America, every man is potentially president. Here, every man is potentially a zero.” What do you make of Gwendal’s statement?
8. Elizabeth pushes Gwendal to pursue his career beyond what is generally socially acceptable. What do you make of her effort —and his eventual success?
9. Despite some misgivings, Elizabeth is helpless but to fall in love with French cooking. What would you say typifies Parisian cuisine? If you had to serve a meal "typical" of your culture to a French person, what would it be like? What do you think your way of eating says
about your country and its culture?
10. What meal or dish could you be seduced by — or which would you use to seduce someone?
11. When Elizabeth asks for a “normal”-size piece of cake at a family dinner, she makes a subtle cultural error that takes her a long time to understand. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt you missed a social cue but didn’t quite understand what you did wrong?
12. Elizabeth voices serious doubts about raising a child under the French system of health care, after seeing how doctors treated Gwendal’s father. Is her wariness justified? Would you be able to reconcile the French outlook with your own?
13. What will be the ongoing challenges — and opportunities — as Elizabeth and Gwendal continue to shape their life and grow their family in Paris?
Elizabeth Bard’s Suggestions for a Well-Stocked Bookshelf
Even before I discovered the joys of the kitchen, books nourished my soul. Taste in books is as individual as taste in food. Some like a creamy chocolate creation, lush and overflowing; some like the snap of a crisp green bean. Here are a few of my favorites.
Two cookbooks I read in bed:
The Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker
Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser
Two books that made me snort coffee through my nose:
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
A book so pitch-perfect it made me weep:
Home by Marilynne Robinson
Two books that made me say, “Dear God, I wish I’d written that”:
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
For Kings and Planets by Ethan Canin
Three books I wish I’d never read so I could read them again for the first time:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Possession by A. S. Byatt
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
Four books I stayed up all night reading:
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The only book I ever left on a train (on purpose):
Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
The one book I wish I had the time to memorize, unabridged:
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Two memoirs that made me want to have lunch with the author:
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa by Peter Godwin
Two Books I can’t wait to share with my son:
Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book by Dr. Seuss
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
READING GROUP GUIDE
Lunch in Paris: A Love Story, with Recipes
By Elizabeth Bard
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. In Lunch in Paris, major life events are landmarked by food. Why is food such a potent force — and is this particularly true in France? Has a meal ever changed your life? Do you have a particular food that brings to mind certain memories, certain people?
2. Elizabeth is slow to assimilate into French culture, in spite of her eagerness to do so. Which parts of this adaptation do you think would be the most difficult?
3. Elizabeth faces some linguistic challenges as well as cultural ones, especially when she meets Gwendal’s parents — and introduces them to her own. How does she overcome communication barriers? Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you needed to rely on a form of communication other than language?
4. Halfway through a first date with her future husband, Gwendal, Elizabeth goes home with him. How key a role does food play in the seduction that follows? How does sex on a first date play differently between France and America? Does the author seem confused or liberated — or both — by the cultural differences?
5. Elizabeth has some difficulty adjusting to life in Paris after having grown up in New York. What are the main differences she sees between French and American culture?
6. In the beginning, Elizabeth has trouble understanding Gwendal’s lack of a concrete “five year plan.” Throughout the book, how do their different visions of success clash and,ultimately, complement each other?
7. In explaining his frustrations with the French system, Gwendal quotes the American author (and former Paris resident) Henry Miller: “In America, every man is potentially president. Here, every man is potentially a zero.” What do you make of Gwendal’s statement?
8. Elizabeth pushes Gwendal to pursue his career beyond what is generally socially acceptable. What do you make of her effort —and his eventual success?
9. Despite some misgivings, Elizabeth is helpless but to fall in love with French cooking. What would you say typifies Parisian cuisine? If you had to serve a meal "typical" of your culture to a French person, what would it be like? What do you think your way of eating says
about your country and its culture?
10. What meal or dish could you be seduced by — or which would you use to seduce someone?
11. When Elizabeth asks for a “normal”-size piece of cake at a family dinner, she makes a subtle cultural error that takes her a long time to understand. Have you ever been in a situation where you felt you missed a social cue but didn’t quite understand what you did wrong?
12. Elizabeth voices serious doubts about raising a child under the French system of health care, after seeing how doctors treated Gwendal’s father. Is her wariness justified? Would you be able to reconcile the French outlook with your own?
13. What will be the ongoing challenges — and opportunities — as Elizabeth and Gwendal continue to shape their life and grow their family in Paris?
Elizabeth Bard’s Suggestions for a Well-Stocked Bookshelf
Even before I discovered the joys of the kitchen, books nourished my soul. Taste in books is as individual as taste in food. Some like a creamy chocolate creation, lush and overflowing; some like the snap of a crisp green bean. Here are a few of my favorites.
Two cookbooks I read in bed:
The Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker, and Ethan Becker
Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser
Two books that made me snort coffee through my nose:
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding
A book so pitch-perfect it made me weep:
Home by Marilynne Robinson
Two books that made me say, “Dear God, I wish I’d written that”:
Fugitive Pieces by Anne Michaels
For Kings and Planets by Ethan Canin
Three books I wish I’d never read so I could read them again for the first time:
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Possession by A. S. Byatt
The Known World by Edward P. Jones
Four books I stayed up all night reading:
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The only book I ever left on a train (on purpose):
Enduring Love by Ian McEwan
The one book I wish I had the time to memorize, unabridged:
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Two memoirs that made me want to have lunch with the author:
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa by Peter Godwin
Two Books I can’t wait to share with my son:
Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book by Dr. Seuss
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
I just read your book and love it! Your discussion throughout of the cultural negotiations that take place in a marriage really resonate (I'm American married to an Israeli). Congratulations on a wonderful book.
ReplyDeletePS Made the Yogurt Cake with Berries and my two year old devoured it.
Elizabeth is definitely not slow to assimilate into French culture. This sounds like a comment made by a person who may have never lived abroad in a very, very foreign culture for any length of time.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth -- Kim from WHSmith here! I am now reading Anne Michaels' new book -- it's wonderful as well . . . so beautiful with its imagery, and the scope and detail of her research is amazing. Funny, while we were hanging out at the registers last night after the reading, I was telling my colleague I recommended Fugitive Pieces to Laura Bush before her first trip to Poland as First Lady (who knows if she took me up on it, but being the reader that she is, I wouldn't be surprised). I also loooove Possession, and Amanda Hesser.
ReplyDeleteBook I'm an evangelist for: Everything Is Illuminated.
Fun to see your list! Getting started on Lunch in Paris now, what a treat.
Hi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI am about to finish your book, it's been fun and a very easy read, I'm also pending to try some of your recipies especially the chocolate souffle and the chocolate molten cakes. I have been living in the USA for the past 10 years after growing up in Puerto Rico, which has a lot of the American culture but with a Latin American flair. But like I said the last 10 years I've been in the mainland, so I've gotten used to the American standard of accessibility and customer service. I married an Italian and we recently moved to his town in Sicily, much like you depict in your book, I've always have had a passion and intrigue for Europe i n general starting with my first trip to Paris when I was 14. And know I find myself here in Italy, reading your book, and noticing how your stories are so similar to mine as well. Especially those of the lack of customer service and indifference, and above all the language barrier...
Anyways,good luck with your book and career.
Ciao!
nice
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth
ReplyDeleteI have just finished your book and loved it! I have already made the Molten Chocolate Cakes and they were a big success. Will now make sure that I cook them for all our friends in the coming months!
i read your book AFTER we returned from our first ever trip to Paris. Wish I had read it before we went. Your really captured the way that I felt during the visit....thehistory, the arts & culture were everything and so much more than I ever expected. Coming from Australia which is such a young country comparitively, I loved walking the cobbled streets of Montmartre, sensing the worn marble steps in the Lourve and being enfolded in the peace and and amjesty of Notre Dame.
Can't wait to go back!