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“It's only 175 pages but it packs a strange, round-house wallop that leaves you inspired with life and writing. What it isn't, however, is a thrilling page-turning read. Peculiar, I know, that a novel that breathes with such creativity doesn't keep you locked from chapter to chapter. Instead, 'Last Nights of Paris' tempts you with sly invitations to explore the streets of the city that it takes its name from. This book is about Paris, she is the character Soupault keeps coming back to, and even when the novel's line of action is good, the author spends more time on her then any other aspect of this book. He's in love and, like listening to anyone speak of their lover, the tale is both mesmerizing and boring.
Alan H wrote this review Monday, March 31, 2008. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
That said, this is a tale well worth reading. The narrator wanders through events, paying attention, dissecting them, learning things, but ultimately unchanged by the general turbulence of the lives around him. His disconnect is not sociopathic, only a pragmatic understanding of how little his presence influences the world. Georgette is the books other star role and her mingling with what Paris is (and is not) is where Soupault gets sentimental. Largely that's okay, because he is describing how one woman (and city) can be both what men create her as and yet exist totally without them. That the truth of the individual transcends the expected and, hence, Georgette lives out her existence in this novel as both a male curiosity and a character who does not in the slightest bit need men. What does this say about the author? Nothing other then he is a product of his age.
This book deserves three and a half stars, as it straddles the line between good and excellent. Read it when you need inspiration. Somehow that worked for me.”
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