#20 - Paris To The Moon #1

In Paris to the Moon, Adam Gopnik compiles various journal entries and short stories from his time of living in Paris. Gopnik, a staff writer for The New Yorker and a Philadelphia Native, had been infatuated with the City of Paris for a majority of his life and finally moved there with his wife and son, Luke in 1995. To his readers, in various instances he uses humor and imagery in order to tell his story of life in Paris and experiencing their culture. His use of humor makes his writing more relatable and enjoyable. On page 20, he writes, "For most of those months in fact, Juppé has probably been the only person more preoccupied with apartments on the left bank more than I was, though he and I approached the matter from opposite ends. I was trying to find one, while he was trying to explain to the French people why he had so many and what all his relatives were doing in them." This strategic use of humor, regarding the French prime minister of the time, Alain Juppé, shows the fact that Gopnik has a lot of knowledge of French Culture and was really involved in what was going on while he lived there. Humor also has the tendency to make writing more enjoyable and its various quips like this that help make his writing more entertaining. Gopnik also uses imagery throughout the book, in order to describe his life in Paris and to seemingly bring the reader along with him. On page 17, he writes, "..when I think of Paris, I think of Them: Martha and Luke in matching fur hats at the Palais Royal; waiting with Luke in the courtyard of our building for Martha to come downstairs; waiting with Martha in the courtyard of an odd building on the boulevard Raspail for Luke to come from his gym class, peering through dirty windows and the cage like grill, one child among many, and then getting a Coca-Cola, five francs from the machine." Throughout this excerpt, he uses imagery in order to provide some examples of experiences he had with his family, while also experiencing French culture. In a sense, it brings the reader with him and helps them truly grasp what happened to him. So far, I think that Gopnik has done an excellent job in attempting to achieve his purpose. There are so many instances that I feel as though I am right there next to him in Paris. Although I am not too far into it, I already love this book and so many of the author's thoughts are similar to mine. In Paris to the Moon, Adam Gopnik does an excellent job describing the true essence of the amazing city of Paris.