Since its publication in late 2020, “There’s Only One Paris”, my latest book and collection of short stories on Paris during the pandemic has received some great praise from readers, fellow authors and in the press.
Recent Accolades
This detailed review by Harriet Welty Rochefort, author of “Final Transgression”, describes the book perfectly!
Lily Heise, author of Je T’Aime, Me Neither and Je T’Aime…Maybe? has given her readers a special treat with her latest book, There’s Only One Paris: Tales from our Times, a collection of interconnected stories of Parisians living under lockdown. If you think you’re in for tales of woe, you are wrong. On the contrary, the separate stories reflect the spirit of Paris and Parisians: imaginative, informative, and positive. They are a delight to read.
Having lived in Paris for nigh 50 years, I tend to read with a critical eye when it comes to descriptions of the city I know and love and I must say that Lily passed my informal “test” with flying colors. Her descriptions of various Parisian neighborhoods are spot on. I particularly liked the tale in which one of the characters, who lived in the “family oriented, tranquil and tidy” fifteenth arrondissement travels across town to meet a girlfriend in Belleville, which he doesn’t know and which he finds “artsy, cosmopolitan and on the somewhat grungy side.” Having lived in both the 15th and the 20th near Belleville, I laughed out loud. Those descriptions were PERFECT.
Filled with humor and charm and whimsy, these well-written tales transport readers from the hilly Butte aux Cailles to the spooky underground Catacombs and to many other places in Paris, ones that are well-known, others that are not. In each of the places, a new story captures our imagination. A tale involving a Marsh Rice Rat (or is it a mouse?) which breeds like crazy in the swampy sections of the Promenade Plantée above the Viaduc des Arts is priceless as is the graceful description of the Promenade itself –– “It was like a secret garden that was hiding …in plain sight.”
If you are planning a post-Covid expedition to Paris, do add this playful and unconventional but solidly informed book of adventures to your collection of guidebooks. It does indeed give us a picture of Paris and Parisians during the pandemic but goes beyond that initial goal to show us the eternal valiant spirit of the Parisians and a lot of familiar and unfamiliar corners of Paris along the way. It’s a keeper, for sure.”
Read other reviews or get a copy of the book at this link.
Recent Press Mentions
Word about the book is getting around! Here is a selection of the press mentions so far:
- CBS Radio (listen here)
- Frommer’s Travel Podcast (listen here)
- La Vie Creative Podcast
- Every Day Parisian
- La Cuisine Paris (Holiday Gift Guide & Gourmet Guide to the 18th)
- Secrets of Paris
- HiP Paris
- Earful Tower Podcast – special guest of episode “How 2020 has changed Montmartre” with discussion of book
- Girls Guide to Paris – book excerpt
- Bonjour Paris
- Love In the City of Light
- As well as mentions on popular Facebook/Instagram pages by France with Véro, Perfectly Paris, Feels Like Home in Paris, and Sarah Harrison International.
