An Apartment in Paris

The secret dream of every writer, or artist, is to live and work in Paris, although it rarely comes true. In An Apartment in Paris, writer David Benjamin not only chronicles the arduous process of planting a foothold--pied-a-terre--in the City of Light, he regales the reader with the adventures, observations, shocks and pleasures experienced by himself and his wife, artist Junko Yoshida, along the way. To acquire their sunny garret in the Latin Quarter--overlooking Notre Dame--the doughty explorers enlist the aid of Roberta, an American widow in Paris who runs them through the weird gamut of French real estate, a whirlwind tour of vacant, and often appalling, apartment. They end up dealing with realtors, bankers and lawyers in three countries and they fall under the spell of a wise and lovely Parisian notaire.This is a story as much about Paris--its byways and alleys, its people and mores, its moods and its spirit, its spectacle and grandeur--as it is about mere real estate. Benjamin and Junko offer readers a tutorial about bistro dining in Paris. They interview that mad maestro of the Crazy Horse de Paris, the classiest burlesque show ever conceived. The take us indoors to friendships with lifelong Parisians, including Margaret, who stands on a balcony above the city and says, "It's like opening a jewel box,"Benjamin spices his explorations, hopes and fears, digressions and opinions (especially about tourists) with commentary from a cavalcade of literary forebears, from Victor Hugo and Mark Twain to A.J. Leibling and the eloquent bard of the Lost Generation in the Quartier Latin, Elliot Paul.Few reminiscences have penetrated the quotidian experience of Paris with deeper intimacy and livelier humor.--David Benjamin