Sylvain Tesson is a French writer and adventure traveller with several books published based on his adventures. The book is based on a radio programme he did with the same name. He deep dives into the stories of The Iliad and The Odyssey. He looks at the actions in the ancient books and compared them with what is happening today. He says that " to open The Iliad and The Odyssey is like reading a daily paper ". Nothing is changing under the sun. " Man remains true to himself, a magnificent and desperate animal, flowing with light and full of mediocrity. Homeros allows us to save on newspaper subscriptions . Tesson rented a lonely cottage by the Aegean Sea with Homer as his only company. He reads, he ponders and asks question. What is the driving force in man? How should you really live? The answers are fascinating as we, together with Tesson, read Homer's account on life. " The Iliad was the musical theme of the curse of men. The shackles of the soul were let loose on the battlefield. The Odyssey is the prayer book of a man who escapes the collective frenzy and tries to reconnect with his situation as a mortal - free and dignified. The last axis of the Odyssey : the endurance of the soul. The biggest danger is to forget your goal, to get rid of yourself, to no longer follow the direction of your life. To deny oneself is the greatest shame." In nine parts he looks into Homer's world in detail. The story as it was told, what it meant for the people at the time, and what we can learn of it today. Or, the eternal question; are people so different today? He often compares events of antiquity with events today, and surprisingly often we do recognise what is happening. "The night with Penelope reminds us in a cosmic way that the Odyssey has been a series of adventures experienced only by men but instigated by women. Women have pulled the strings. Doesn't Penelope's web symbolize the warp of our fates being woven and unraveled? Athena helped Odysseus, Calypso restrained him, Penelope kept the plotters at bay, Helena was the cause of the Trojan War, the sorceresses set their traps, the monstrous daughters of Poseidon, Scylla and Charbydis, snatched away the sailors. The man thinks he is living his adventures. In fact, it is the women who manipulate him. It would be a really bad idea for the former to want to be men's equals when in fact they are superior to them." The book, as you see from the image above, is full of plastic tags where I have marked something worthy of going back to. If you want to understand the two books by Homer, Tesson's analyses of the books are worth reading. Tesson entertain us with a beautiful prose, full of wisdom and clarity. We do see the world in another light when we come to the end of the book. It is said that Alexander the Great travelled with The Iliad under his pillow. I think I could bring this book with me wherever I go. Not necessarily under my pillow, but in my handbag. A book to go back to over and over again. And, by the way, my book has a handy size, perfectly fitting into my handbag. And a hardy, durable cover. What is not to love? NB: The quotes are translated from the Swedish version by me and Google translate.

Hello, again. It was a long time since I posted something here. I have been travelling and having had a cold that drained me of energy, so not much has happened on either the blog or the newsletter. I have been enjoying reading your blogs though, although there might not have been so many comments. In the meantime, I have run into some literary happenings that I wanted to tell you about. Auster and Munro Two literary giants have left us. Paul Auster died on 30 April, 2024 and Alice Munro on 13 May, 2024. Munro received the Nobel Prize for her writing in 2013 with the motivation "master of the contemporary short story". I have only read one of her books with short stories, but they stayed with me for a long time. Ever since I read The Book of Illusions Auster has been a favourite author. Not long ago I read Brooklyn Follies and it is another master piece. I have now started on Report from the interior which I found in a second hand book shop in Ireland just two weeks ago. They will be missed, but, luckily they left behind many excellent literary works for us to enjoy. Gdansk and its authors I recently went on a trip (guided tour) to Gdansk in Poland. On the trip I 'met' with a couple of famous authors. On our short visit to Gdynia, I discovered a monument dedicated to Joseph Conrad . He was born Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski (1857-1924) in Berdychiv (now Ukraine). He served as a merchant-marine for 20 years before he went into writing novels. As far as one knows he had no connection to Gdynia so it must be seen as a homage to his love for the sea. There is a description in Polish taken from his novel Lord Jim which says: " Nic tak nie nęci, nie rozczarowuje i nie zniewala, jak życie na morzu " ("There is nothing more enticing, disenchanting, and enslaving than life at sea"). The monument was unveiled in 1976 and the artists are sculptors Danuta and Zdzisław Koseda and Wawrzyniec Samp. On the last day, on our way to the beautiful sea resort of Sopot, our guide stopped the bus in a suburb of Gdansk. In a small park between the apartment houses there is a sculpture of another great author, namely Günther Grass . He was born here in 1927 in the then Free City of Danzig. He was drafted in late 1944 in the Waffen-SS and was taken prisoner of war by US forces at the end of the war. He was released in 1946. He was trained as a stonemason and sculptor and started writing in the 1950s. His writing often too him back to his Danzig days of childhood. His best know novel, which has also been filmed, is The Tin Drum, described as European magic realism. I have not read the book, but saw the movie in 1980. I think it might be time to read the book now. Grass received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1999 with the motivation that he was a writer "whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history." Donna Leon and Venice I have been to Venice again and that is always a treat. More will come through my newsletter soon. We were there for three days, but I managed to prolong my stay in Venice by reading three of Donna Leon's novels about Inspector Brunetti. Always a treat since Leon describes Venice and its inhabitants in an initiated way. So far read book #11 Wilful Behaviour and #12 Uniform Justice and I am reading #13 Doctored Evidence. That was my literary notes for today. More will follow and next notes will be about a visit to Oscar Wilde's home in Dublin and a visit to a wonderful second hand book shop in Galway, Ireland.

A few more literary notes. I think I might continue with these kind of posts, where I will talk on everything about books, including smaller reviews. I left off in my last notes with two literary trips and books/authors along the way. During my 5-day trip to Ireland with a group of friends, I also encountered some great literary ventures. Not surprisingly in a way, since Ireland is full of talented authors these days. I don't think I agree with Oscar Wilde who said: “ We Irish are too poetical to be poets; we are a nation of brilliant failures, but we are the greatest talkers since the Greeks. ” I think he would have had another view if he had lived today to see the thriving world of literature in Ireland. Maybe, he is even the inspiration to today's literary achievements. But, we start with a magic book shop in Galway. Charlie Byrne's book shop Charlie Byrne's Bookshop is said to be Ireland’s best-loved, independent bookshop. Here you find over 100,000 books: new, second-hand and antiquarian. A paradise for me, and I could have spent several hours in there. Around 6-8 different rooms, full of books from ceiling to floor. I grabbed a few and asked if I could leave them on the counter while looking for more. I asked if there was a limit on the number of books you could buy, but unfortunately there was not. I left with ten books. How I would get them into my hand luggage was a later problem. So what did I find? Mostly classics and nonfiction, but very interesting books. Books I have been looking for. A few images from the interior. I just wish we had book shops like this in Sweden. Jonathan Swift While in Dublin we visited St Patrick’s Cathedral. An imposing building both on the inside and the outside, it was founded in 1191. Since 1870, the Church of Ireland has designated the Cathedral as the national cathedral for the whole of Ireland and its 12 dioceses. The office of the dean has existed since 1219 and the most famous office holder was Jonathan Swift (1667-1745). He is more famous as an author, satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer and poet with his most famous work being Gulliver’s Travels . It might not come as a surprise that he originally published his works under pseudonyms. He was buried in the cathedral by the side of Ester Johnson, according to his wishes. Esther Johnson (1681-1728) was an Englishwoman, a close friend of Swift, and known as “Stella”. Still today, it is not for certain whether they were married or not, since it was never made public. Let’s hope that they were happy together, married or not. I have not read anything by Swift, but this might be the time? Any suggestions on what to start with, except Gulliver's Travels I guess? Oscar Wilde's home You can’t talk about Dublin without talking about one of its greatest sons, namely Oscar Wilde. On the last day of our tour we were supposed to visit the Trinity College where he studied and have a look at the famous library. Unfortunately, due to demonstrations in Dublin, the visit was cancelled. I decided to walk over to the Merrion Square park, situated opposite his first home, to have a look at the Memorial Sculpture in honour of him. I was lucky enough that the Monday was a holiday and therefore his home was open to visit. It is a beautiful house, now the home to the American University. You start by watching a film about his life which was very interesting. Afterwards you walk around the house. Most of the rooms are today lecture rooms, but there are a few rooms which are sparsely furnitured to give you an idea how the family lived. His father was Sir William Wilde a oto-ophthalmologic (ear and eye) surgeon. He also wrote books about Irish archaeology and peasant folklore. His mother, Jane, wrote poetry under the pseudonym “Speranza” and might have influenced him in his future career. Both parents were part of the social life of the city and kept a salon where famous authors like Sheridan Le Fanu, Charles Lever and others participated. Once I finished the tour, I had a small conversation with the lady in the cashier. We talked about his sad life, at least the latter part of it. She said that he was, several times, at cross roads, where he could have taken another route, but choose not too. Even when he was sentenced to prison the police waited some hours to pick him up, so that he could take the easy route and run away. Obviously, he choose not too. One must admire such courage to stay tuned to one's beliefs. After the visit I crossed the street and went into the Merrion Square Park to have a look at the statue of Wilde. I was waiting to get closer since an Italian school class just had walk up to the memorial. The guide spoke in English so I presume they were also there to improve/practise their English. She showed them the statue and asked if anyone knew who it was. There was total silence. Maybe, I should have spoken up, but I did not want to interfere. It is an unusual statue, which very well personifies the man. Quite a suitable memorial and different. Reading in May May has so far been a slow month for reading. Only four books. I just finished listening to The Searcher by Tana French. I love the other books I have read by her, but this is a very slow book where nothing much happens. Kay at Whatmeread has an excellent review of The Hunter the follow up of The Searcher. I don't think I will continue reading that one. Otherwise, I am reading for the Classic Spin The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton and hope I will get through it. That is all for today, soon back with some more notes.

Finally, I did finish a spin with The Classic Club . My treat this time was The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton. I recently read Ethan Frome by Wharton and liked it very much. Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton   My first read by Wharton and it is a good one. A wonderfully, sad story of Ethan Frome, and his harsh life, both work and private wise. When he falls in love with their inmate, a cousin of his wife, life takes a more dire turn. Beautifully written and the characters go directly to your heart. Now it was time for one of her longer novels, and maybe one of her most famous and popular one. It was written in 1905 and tells the story of Lily Bart, born into high society but without the money to go with it. Both her parents are dead and she is depending on an aunt and other relatives for her support. When we meet her she is already 30 years old, and still unmarried. As we follow her during a two year period we see her struggles in trying to keep up her social life, at the same time as she is looking for a rich man to marry. In his " A critical history of the House of Mirth ." Shari Benstock (1994), says that Wharton uses Lily to describe "an irresponsible, grasping and morally corrupt upper class." It is highlighted in the story when the newly rich are trying to enter high class society. They are welcomed due to their riches, but are, at the same time, looked down upon, as having to work for money. Wharton describes it so well in the novel. Not stressing the fact, but weaving it into the story in a very smart way. The novel was considered as a genre novel, and categorized as a social satire and novel of manners. Carol Singley, in her introduction to Edith Wharton's The House of Mirth: A Case Book says that the novel "is a unique blend of romance, realism, and naturalism, [and thus] transcends the narrow classification of a novel of manners." It seems that the initial title of the novel was "A moment's ornament", which is the way Lily is described in the novel. There are lots of references to her beauty and well-bred manners, and maybe that is why we see her as an ornament, something that makes people happy to look at. At the same time, Wharton shows women's limitations at the time. There are several characters that are not as beautiful as Lily, and they are either unmarried or they are married due to their money. Being a non-english natural speaker, I had to look up the word Mirth, which I found means joy, happiness, amusement and similar adjectives. It seems The House of Mirth title is taken from the Old Testament: "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth." (Ecclesaistes 7:4) Seen in this context the story becomes even clearer. The upper class lives solely for their own amusement and benefits, rarely thinking on how people in general are living. They go from one dinner or ball to the next, and their social society is full of rules on how to behave. Mainly this is for the disadvantage of the women who, like Lily, were trapped and had to make a good marriage to be successful. Wharton herself was part of the privileged Old New York society and one can suspect that she knew what she was talking about. " When I wrote House of Mirth I held, without knowing it, two trumps in my hand. One was the fact that New York society in the nineties was a field as yet unexploited by a novelist who had grown up in that little hot-house of tradition and conventions; and the other, that as yet these traditions and conventions were unassailed, and tacitly regarded as unassailable ." Introduction by Edith Wharton to the 1936 reprint of The House of Mirth . One could say that struggling is the theme of the novel. The struggle between who we are and who society tells us to be. It is so well detailed in Lily Bart's life. She is the narrator and we have all her private thoughts which are mostly in opposition to what she really would like to do. You feel that she always have to hold back the person she really is. She is not free to be who she want to be, but always dependent on other people, and that she behaves and acts in the right way. The novel clearly highlights this struggle that Lily has to go through. She tries, but does not always act as society expects, leading her into trouble and bad rumours. Lily is a multifaceted character, but we do see the beginning of a modern woman in her character. However, she is still aware of the behaviour she must abide to. Sometimes she does act out of character of the general behaviour and I think, yes, Lily, do it, go on, follow your dream. Somehow, she is always going halfway and misses out in the end. It is a wonderful novel, describing an era that was coming to its end. How it affected people, high and low. Edith Wharton has created a timeless story and it is still very much readable today. I thought it would be a little bit old fashioned, out of touch with today's world, but it is not. On the contrary, it still seems like a very modern story. Maybe it is the way she writes. This is only my first novel by her, after having read her novell Ethan Frome. I loved both books and will eagerly read her other production. I also have a biography on my shelves, Edith Wharton by Hermione Lee, which I want to read now as well. Back in 2015, I read Mysteries of Paris: The Quest for Morton Fullerton by Marion Mainwaring about Wharton's time in Paris and her possible love affair with Morton Fullerton. Have you read The House of Mirth? In that case, did you like it, or not? I am eager to hear your views, since I think this is a novel which can be discussed for a long time. I would alos like to see the film, and I think there are several versions. The latest came 2000 with Gillian Anderson as Lily. She would be perfect for the role, I think.

May is over and we have entered June. In Sweden this is considered to be the first of the summer months. Weather wise we don't talk of summer, although it seems there were some sunny and very warm days recently. I am still in Innsbruck and here it has been raining for the last couple of days. In spite of not so good weather my May reading was very slow. I ended up reading only six books. Sometimes it seems I read a lot but I never finish a book. Well, May was such a month. Anyway, let's have a look at what I did read. Övergivenheten by Elisabeth Åsbrink This title translates like "The Abandonment" and is a partly auto biographic book about the authors family. Elisabeth Åsbrink is most famous for nonfiction books, excellent books on various, interesting and personal topics. This novel was about three generations of women during the 20th century, during wars and migration and what it did to these women, and how each generation had a different remedy for how to live. Wilful Behaviour and Uniform Justice by Donna Leon We visited Venice once again so I took up where I ended with my earlier reading on Donna Leon's detective stories from Venice. Always a pleasure to meet Chief Inspector Brunetti, his colleagues and family during his search for culprits in Venice. The Searcher by Tana French I am a big fan of Tana French and have loved everything I have read by her. But this was a strange, very, very slow story of almost nothing. " Retired detective Cal Hooper moves to a remote village in rural Ireland. His plans are to fix up the dilapidated cottage he's bought, to walk the mountains, to put his old police instincts to bed forever. Then a local boy appeals to him for help. His brother is missing, and no one in the village, least of all the police, seems to care. And once again, Cal feels that restless itch. Something is wrong in this community, and he must find out what, even if it brings trouble to his door." Sorry, but can't recommend this one. I have understood that there is a continuation of the story in her new novel "The Hunter". Will not go into that one. However, there are other books by her I have not yet read, so I can always go back to her. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton I read the classic The House of Mirth for the Classic Spin and the first spin book I finished in a while. It is definitely the best read this month, I really liked to the story of high class society in New York at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. My review under link above. Rivieran inom räckhåll, Med tåg till de bästa upplevelserna i södra Frankrike by Kristina Svensson och Maria Unde Westerberg The Riviera within reach is a set of travel guides for going by train in Europe. I happened to run into the author Maria while here in Innsbruck. I got fascinated by her books and bought this one and her other book on Languedoc. I do want to travel more by train in the future. It is another pace in life. You can read more about are meeting in the article " Ticket on a train " in my latest newsletter. That was it for May. I have already read some of your wrap-up and it seems you have been busy reading and reviewing.

We are nearing one of the most popular blog challenges, Paris in July. Introduced by Tamara @ Thyme for tea many years ago. Tamara has now taken a time out and Emma @ Words and Peace has generously taken over the running of the challenge. It turned out to be a huge success last year, and this year Emma is already planning for another Paris, and French, month. If you are not familiar with the challenge, head over to her blog for more information. During July we talk, read, travel, eat or do anything connected to France. All participants bring something to the rest of us for inspiration and enjoyment. I am starting to think of what I should do during the month. I will be travelling in our van, which makes it a little bit more difficult to arrange events like a dinner. I will take Emma's bingo card as an inspiration. Let's see what's on the card. PARIS in title - The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl . Reichl takes readers on an adventure of food, art, and fashion in 1980s Paris in this dazzling, heartfelt novel. Sounds like an adventure I could like. The novel seems to fit in, not only with Paris in the title, but also French Food and Fashion. It would also go with Art and History, but I will find something individual for these titles. One book ticks three boxes. Hopefully, it is not outside the rules. There might be a special event with French food, but in case ... FRANCE in title - to be updated. BOOK set in France - Marie Antoinette's Head: The Royal Hairdresser, the Queen, and the Revolution by Will Bashor. I bought this novel last year, but had no time to read it. Will be interesting to see what the hairdresser to MA had to say about his most famous, or maybe only, client. MOVIE set in France - The Billionaire, The Butler, and the Boyfriend is a French docuseries which follows the lift of L'Oreal heiress Lilianne Bettencourt and the scandals around her. How did a conflict between the world's wealthiest woman and her daughter spiral into national scandal? Sounds intriguiging enough. Although it is a series I might go for a French movie as well. Under Paris - In order to save Paris from an international bloodbath, a grieving scientist is forced to face her tragic past when a giant shark appears in the Seine. Not exactly my cup of tea, but I will keep an open mind. Both on Netflix. French FOOD - The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl - I might try to make a French dinner of my own. French FASHION The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl French MUSIC - I am sure I can find some nice French music to listen to. French FLAG on book cover - to be updated. French HISTORY - I am thinking of a biography of Napoleon. TRAVELS in France - I have travelled in France so might go down memory lane and write about one or two of them. PLAY set in France - I have to OTHER! - French Windows by Antoine Laurain EIFFEL TOWER on book cover - to be updated CROISSANT on book cover - to be updated, but could be difficult to find ... or not? French ART - so much to look for here. To be updated. French LANGUAGE - I will not be able to read a novel in French, but maybe a poem. To be updated. So much to look forward to. I will certainly be inspired by your posts as well, as regards books, arts, history etc. Looking forward to exchanging views on everything French.

The Heron Legacy is the new historical fiction be Leona Francombe. I have read two of her earlier books, The Sage of Waterloo and The Universe in 3/4 Time which I loved. Leona's new historical fiction is a story about a legend of love, hate and misdeeds, which keep you occupied until the end. Charles Fontaine is a young man, around 16 years old when the story starts. His favourite passtime is to be with his uncle Theodore who is a history teacher. Theodore lives in the old family estate, Blancherhon, although it belongs to Charles' father Hugo. Charles is interested in history and spends time with his uncle who tells him of the old Heron legend. Although Charles would like to study history his father, a rather harsh and unloving father, has other plans. He takes Charles with him to New York to study law. Father and son have a troubled relationship but Charles is not strong enough to oppose his father. All his life Charles has heard the story of the ancient legend of the heron. It was sung by troubadours and tells the story of a strange seeress and healer. Her music and songs enchanted a local aristocrat preparing to leave for the crusade. She was said to have taken the form of a white heron after her mysterious death. The locals claim that you can still se her at the pond near Blancheron. Before Charles left Belgium for the United States he took a last walk around the estate and was totally absorbed by its surroundings when he actually saw a heron in the pond. At the same time he heard somebody sing and saw a quick glance of a girl who disappeared into the forest. Charles could not say wether it actually happened or was just an illusion. It was all too close to the legend. The strange meeting did stay with him during his exile, and would have an influence in his future. Seventeen years later Hugo and Charles receive the information that Theodore has died. Hugo sends Charles to Belgium to sell the estate. As Charles returns he contacts his aunt and friends of Theodore. Very soon he realises that it is more to the death of Theodore than meets the eye. When Charles gets hold of an old document concerning the legend, he is determined to find out what happened to Theodore and find the truth behind the old story. Leona Francombe uses the legend, and the historical accounts of the crusaders, to build up a story of love, hate, and misdeeds. Together with a famous medievalist and a woman from his youth, Charles is determined to find out what really happened nine centuries ago. The search is not without danger and he finally finds out what he is capable of, and what is important in his life. As usual Leona Francombe builds up the characters, and above all historical events, and turn them into an exciting story with many depths. With beautiful prose she takes us into nature and its fascinations, which becomes an important background to the story, and the legend itself. The search for the truth of the legend is thrilling and borders on magic. When the puzzle is finally done, the story takes an unexpected turn. This novel is a must for any one interested in history, but also for those who enjoys a good mystery and riddle. The characters are well defined and the excitement is kept up until the very end. Leona Francombe not only writes, she is also a pianist and composer, so music has thus an important role in her books, as in the Heron legend. She lives in Belgium with her family, and often integrates places in Belgium in her books. If you are familiar with Belgium and Brussels you will recognise many places in her telling of the Heron legend. For me, who have lived in Belgium for some years, it was a nice welcome back to read about familiar places. I received a copy of the novel for a fair and impartial review. These are my personal thoughts of the novel.

No, I am not referreing to Hemingway's book about Paris, but my own travelling library. We have been out for a tour with our van, and I did bring a few physical books with me. I used this tote bag from Charlie Byrne's excellent bookshop in Galway Ireland, as my moveable library. So, what did I bring with me on the trip. I choose books from my own library, also on my TBR list. Howard's End by E.M. Forster Faust by Johan Wolfgang von Goethe The World of Yesterday by Stefan Zweig The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman Min bokvärld by Kerstin Ekman Report from the Interior by Paul Auster Twelve Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson Tychonium, experimentet by Jan Johannesson Krysalis by John Trenhaile We did shorten our trip due to bad weather, so I only finished two books; Paul Auster and Trenhaile. Back home again, I will continue with this pile of books. However, there is Paris in July, so I will prioritise that challenge. Second hand books On our way home we stopped by a small village called Limmared. It is famous for having around 15 second hand shops of various qualities. You go from one shop to the next, quite fascinating. We managed to buy a few small things, and I also found a few nonfiction books that I found interesting. Mostly about Sweden historical men and women and their lives. On the trip we also visited the birth house of Verner von Heidenstam in Olshammar. I recently read a biography, Ett hemligt liv (A Secret Life) by Martin Kylhammar about Verner von Heidenstam (a very famous Swedish national icon and author), and Kate Bang a Danish woman who had a relationship with him for 20 years. They were also living together, although discretely at the time. We are talking beginning of 20th century. It is a fascinating story of two intellectuals, falling in love and arranging their life as it suited them. Heidenstam was furthermore 30 years older than Bang. Not always easy, especially, since Heidenstam was a very famous person in Sweden. Kylhammar has made extensive research, and also managed to get never before privat correspondence from Kate Bang's family. Two fascinating lives, lived out in private for good and worse. I had mistaken his birthhouse for the house he built with Kate Bang, which is Övralid, situated on the other side of Lake Vättern. That visit has to be for another time. I was happy though to find one of his most famous books, Folkungaträdet, in one of the second hand shops. A few bookish things on this quiet, but rather warm day, back at home.

Today is the French National Day, congratulations to all the French people. Believe it or not, this is my first post for this challenge. July has been very busy, reading very slow and I had no time to catch up with this my favourite challenge. Thank you so much Emma, at Word and Peace , for hosting the challenge. I do hope to catch up at the latter part of the month. Only yesterday did I finish my first book about Paris and France, The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl. It is the kind of book I needed to read now. A charming novel about Stella, an American girl, somewhat at odds with life. She has grown up with her mother, who never revealed the name of her father. The only clue, if it is a clue, is a painting of a man that her mother held on to. When her mother dies, Stella inherits some money that has to go for a trip to Paris. She knew her mother lived there when she was young, but has no idea why the inheritance is dedicated to a trip for herself. Stella lingers on in Paris until one day she finds a second hand dress that changes her life. Once she wears it, she feels different. It is a design by Christian Dior, is very expensive, but Stella decides to spend her last money on the dress. The owner of the shop gives her some instruction on where to go and what to do. If she does not like the dress, she will give back the money. Stella follows the instructions of the lady and ventures into Paris life. Slowly, she adapts to the French style of doing things. Discovering the flavours of food and drink, Shakespeare & Company, and, to her own surprise, all of a sudden she has friends. Her benefactor Jules, almost adopts her and for the first time in her life she feels she has a family. This is the basic theme of the book, as well as Stella's search for the paintings of a certain Victorine Merurent who modelled for Édouard Manet, among others. Stella finds out that she also did paint and exhibited several of her painting. It seems that her paintings disappeared after her death. Reichl gives us a gourmet and historical tour of Paris and France. You should not be hungry when you read the book. The descriptions of the food is watering your mouth, the wine is so well described you wish you had a glass in your hand. The search for Victorine's story and her paintings is interesting. I had to look her up, and as was often the case, as a woman she had to fight for her craft, and when she was gone it was forgotten. You also get a good doses of books, literature and authors, some real authors, who, as well as other real persons, figure in the book. You follow Stella when she changes into a totally different person, a real person in comparison to her former life. Of course, her story and everything that happens to her is a fairy tale story, and I doubt that all these things could happen in real life. Maybe this is the charm with the book, the mixture of what could be real and could not. It is an easy read, it gives you hints on what to do in Paris, and I did note down a few tips of restaurants and hotels to check up for a future visit. Paris in July - BINGO With this book I managed to cover six spots on the bingo card. I have still to figure out how to put a cross on the document, so in the meantime, here are the spots. First line: Paris in title - Book set in France Second line: French Food - French Fashion Third line: Travels in France Fourth line: French Art A good start I would say.

We have been touring a small part of Sweden with our van. This year we chose to go around the two big lakes, Vänern (the largest lake in the European Union) and Vättern. As we came to a small town at the northeastern corner of the lake, we found a little bit of French art in Sweden. Here is the story of how a huge sculpture, designed by Picasso, ended up in this small corner of Sweden. I think Picasso does not need a further introduction, so I just mention that he was born in Malaga in Spain in 1881. In 1901, he moved from Barcelona to Paris and settled down in Montmartre, but later on moved to Montparnasse. He had a complicated family situation with many women, and it was only when he met Jacqueline Rogue, a potter, that he dedicated his life to her. She became his muse, and he stayed with her until his death in 1973, at the age of 91. The head of the sculpture represents his wife, Jacqueline. How did the sculpture end up in Sweden? We have to thank Swedish artist Bengt Olson for that. Everything began on a dusty road in France in the early 1960s. By coincidence, the artist Bengt Olson from Kristinehamn met the Norwegian painter, sculptor, and photographer Carl Nesjar, who had just started experimenting with a new concrete material. Pablo Picasso, who was fascinated by the artistic possibilities of the new material, had recently started to work with Carl Nesjar. They were making a series of sculptures and paintings called "Les Dames de Mougins" with Pablo Picasso's wife Jacqueline as the main theme. The sculptures were planned to be created on a monumental scale with the new concrete material. Carl Nesjar told Bengt Olson they could be built for 150,000 SEK each. QUICK FACTS • Height: 15 meters. The pillar measures 1.65 meters in diameter. The wings have a span of 6x4 meters. • Weight: 35 tons, of which one of the wings alone weighs about 8 tons. • Material: natural concrete. A mold was filled with small stones and then white cement was in-jected. • The sculpture consists of steel, cement and 90% black granite from Larvik, Norway. The final artistic pattern was created using a technique called sandblasting. The surface is said to to be so hard it will last for 2000 years. But if they wanted one, they had to act quickly! New York was expected to make an offer any day. Bengt Olson, who was then only 35 years of age, realized that this was a unique opportunity and managed to persuade the city council in Kristinehamn to invest in the building of one such sculpture. It was the heads of the local government who took the initiative. In order to persuade Picasso that Kristinehamn was the perfect location for the sculpture, they sent him photographs and music from Kristinehamn and Värmland. The official letter of donation arrived in the form of a photograph of the model in the location where it stands today. Picasso had written "Oui, Picasso 7.7 1964" on the photograph. On December 21st, 1964, the official decision to build the sculpture was taken by the city council. The following year, the sculpture was completed and could be inaugurated on Midsummer's Eve, June 25, 1965. Picasso was kept updated on the building progress through photographs and films, although he never visited the site himself. The sculpture, named "Jacqueline," has become the most visited spot in Kristinehamn, attracting thousands of visitors from around the world annually. It is a magnificent sculpture and is beautifully situated by the water with surrounding green areas. A lot of cafés and restaurants have grown up around the place, and the area is fantastic. A lot of magnificent houses 'litter' this small peninsula, and I can understand that people like to come here in the summer. The sculpture reminds me a little bit of an Indian totem pole in design. It was such a nice visit, although the weather was rather terrible; cold, windy and rainy. But what do we not do for a little bit of French culture on a rainy day. If you can't go to France, let France come to you.

Blipping through channels on my TV, I came upon a documentary of Gisèle Freund (1908-2000, and born Gisela Freund) a German-French photographer and photo journalist. It was a very interesting documentary of an interesting and fascinating woman. Making her way in a mainly male world, she became a successful entrepreneur and artist. It is intriguing to discover people like her, people you have never heard of, and just like that … they pop up one day. I thought this would be a suitable post for Paris in July. Her connections are so close to all the literary characters we associate with Paris at the time. Freund was born in Germany but had to leave the country in the beginning of the 1930s, and she went to Paris. She was even then famous for her realistic photos of people in different situations of life. Later in life she became famous for her portraits of writers and artists. She studied sociology and her best-known book Photographie et société ( 1974) is based on her 1936 dissertation.” (Wikipedia) She was also ahead of her time when it came to using, the then, modern technology. She used a Leica camera which had film rolls with 36 frames. Mainly for her work with documentary reportages and pioneering. For the portraits of writers and artists, she used Kodachrome and Agfa colour positive film. Does this not bring back memories from before the digital world we live in these days? This seems to have made it possible for her to develop a “uniquely candid portraiture style” that made her stand out at the time. She spent many years living abroad to document people in other parts of the world. Politically she was leaning towards the left and she became president of the French Union of Photographers in 1977. The 1981 official portrait of President François Mitterrand was taken by her. In 1982 she was made Officer des Arts et Lettres and Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur in 1983. That was not all, for in 1985, she became the first photographer to be honoured with a retrospective at the Musée national d'art moderne in Paris. Paris Before Paris Freund had never done portraits. Her opening to these kind of photos was a request from French novelist and art theorist André Malraux. He wanted her to take a photo for an upcoming book, but not a photo in the traditional sense, but in a more candid fashion. This was the beginning of her career as a portrait photographer. At this time she befriended Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier. That led to Freund taking James Joyce’s photo for his upcoming book Finnegan’s Wake. It seems Joyce did not like to be photographed, but nevertheless invited Freund to his flat looking into her earlier work. He was so impressed that during three days Freund had access to the author. He got tired of posing and cried: ”I'm bleeding. Your damned photos will be the death of me", which he said, "forgetting in his pain that he had made it a rule never to swear in the presence of a lady." [ Right after the session the taxi that Freund went with crashed and her photos were damaged. Joyce, it seems, was superstitious and thought that his cursing had cause the crash. Freund was once again invited into his home and could take another set of photos. One of the photos was used by Time magazine for its cover on 8 May 1939. There are so much more to this lady that I can tell of here. If you are interested the documentary was made by Arte France Complices Films, and there are a lot to read about her on the net.

It is time for another spin with the . I actually did finish my last spin which was The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton . I liked it very much. I am happy to have finished the book since it was a long time since I actually managed to read a book for the spin. Here we go for Spin #38, and the number is 17. Your chosen book should be read by 22 September, 2024. Here is my list, not updated since last time. As you can see, no. 17 is The Razor's Edge by W. Somerset Maugham. That is a classic I wanted to read, so I hope it will be good. Has anyone of you read it? Please let me know what you think.