Allan Massie
Plus Paris Change…
Paris: The Secret History
By Andrew Hussey
Viking 462pp £20
Paris is not what it was. But then it never has been. We may all have our own ‘real Paris’, the delight of our imaginations. Admirers of Richard Cobb (among whom I count myself) will know his essay ‘The Assassination of Paris’ and may share his dismay at the disappearance of so many familiar and loved landmarks, and at the transformation of the Marais into a tourist’s paradise, as a result of which, he wrote, ‘the quarter has lost all warmth and originality’. Perhaps so. We all have our moments of deploring embourgeoisement or gentrification, no matter where it takes place – Paris, London, Rome, Edinburgh; but really of course what it means is that more people are well off and the middle class is becoming larger. The warm life of the streets was a product of poverty.
A hundred years ago it was the fashion to deplore Baron Haussmann, who destroyed so much of medieval Paris and created the grands boulevards (Cobb, however, confessed himself to be a boulevardier). Andrew Hussey writes of Haussmann implementing his project ‘with a notorious ruthlessness and contempt for the intimate and
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
Twitter Feed
Are iPhones ruining children's lives? A prominent American psychologist thinks so.
@tiffanyjenkins is not so sure:
Tiffany Jenkins - The Smartphone Pandemic
Tiffany Jenkins: The Smartphone Pandemic - The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an...
literaryreview.co.uk
India's 'festival of democracy', or general election, begins next month. Like every good festival, it looks likely to have its fair share of murders and arrests.
@OwenBennettJon probes the state of democracy in India:
Owen Bennett-Jones - New Delhi Confidential
Owen Bennett-Jones: New Delhi Confidential - The Incarcerations: BK-16 and the Search for Democracy in India by Alpa Shah
literaryreview.co.uk
Where is the world's newest narcostate and why is it thriving?
@AdamBrookesWord investigates Asia's meth mecca.
Adam Brookes - Meth Comes to Myanmar
Adam Brookes: Meth Comes to Myanmar - Narcotopia: In Search of the Asian Drug Cartel That Outwitted the CIA by Patrick Winn
literaryreview.co.uk