Paris Dreaming by Anita Heiss

Paris Dreaming Reviews

• 
  Oanh

  Enjoyable. Followed the usual tropes of romance but was much more intelligent and engaged, in a light-hearted, light-handed way with political issues.
• 
  Jodi Bassett-Scarfe

  Easy reading, enjoyable & fun! Great for a quick holiday read :-)
• 
  Thoraiya

  Thanks, Anita, for that imaginary trip to Paris and for pride in world-class Aboriginal art :)
• 
  GuizmoEnOz

  Enjoyed reading some chick lit about an Aboriginal lady discovering my home town. I love reading between the lines about the Blackfellas' culture, customs, etc. I love the intimate insights we don't see here and wouldn't dare asking about. Plus this is one side of their story you tend not to read or hear about much in Australia : a successful Aboriginal woman navigating both worlds, whitefellas and hers.
  A bit of warning though, the French (Parisians) depicted here tend to be a bit clichéd and there's an obvious misunderstanding over the French societal structure. While the French territory is by definition multicultural enriched with a multicultural immigration, we have an integrationist system in place: people just fit in (have to). It is also since the Revolution a strictly secular state where you're supposed to leave your religion at home unless it's your job (think uniforms). The burqa ban might come as a surprise to the anglosphere but is actually understandable under these 2 premises: integration+secular. Australia is the other way round (15 years here, I can tell), I just wished someone had pointed that obvious contradiction....
  Linguistically, integration means only one official language (it's in the constitution, perhaps the reason why Australia has no official language since it doesn't have a constitution per se, what they call constitution is some "handy" manual explaining how their parliament works at federal and state levels). It's also a way to avoid giving linguistical priority to one entity (minority) over another one, which makes sense if the system is multicultural. However, despite the claim, France is not the only country in Europe with a unique official language. Spain has only one official language (Castilian), and while their regional languages have gained momentum after Franco's death, none are official and many southern Spaniards still despise the northern languages (Catalan and Basque, who by the way are not indigenous to Spain as a whole but to that specific north western region). The most obvious, and still in Europe so far, England has only one official language , English. Italy has Italian with minority languages being recognised as long as the speakers are perfectly bilingual in Italian. Etc.etc.
  After all the main character tries desperately to fit in, something ingrained in the French way of life, that's what we all do back home despite our very different backgrounds (more varied than in white Australia I'd say), since you're French when you're out, and while your culture is welcome, it must stay at home or be shared/appear in a non-ostentatious way. For instance, a regular question you'll get in Australia on first meeting is your background, which is utterly impolite in France. You might get that info later down the track but when you first meet someone, unless they themselves spell it out or have an obvious issue with the language, you just assume they're French, no matter their skin colour. True to be said, things are changing with some minorities attempting to shift the balance, but that has only resulted in a higher xenophobia so far (bit like in oz).
  Overall, an entertaining read. But don't trust too much the French or European "political" insights, most are wide off the mark.
• 
  Alyce Caswell

  Peak chiclit that spins out all the tropes - in a good way, of course. It seems Heiss got better with each of these she wrote, since this is the best of the four (Heiss has written other books but these ones are in the same vein). Thoroughly enjoyable and deliciously dramatic.
• 
  Kris

  I enjoyed it - strong woman taking control of her career and having her workplace fund a trip to Paris? What's not to like?
• 
  Neens

  I like the idea of this genre but it wasn't really my cup of tea.
  
• 
  Mary Dorahy

  I enjoyed this book. I loved the the sex scenes were implied with enough passion to make them steamy but without the detail that makes it porn. The focus was the relationship and the story, not the sex!! Thumbs up for that!
• 
  Michelle Anne

  Giving this a four star for being a fun and light hearted read all the while navigating through the various kinds of LOVE (outside of just intimate relationship) that we encounter in our lives- feminine friendships, new friends, colleagues, food, culture, family and career!
• 
  Janet Camilleri

  I just couldn't get into this book and gave up after about 80 pages.
• 
  Serene Conneeley

  Loved it.
• 
  Glenys

  Far more than just the chic lit I expected.
  Art, politics, Australian Aboriginal cultural and a great sense of place in Paris.
  A thoroughly good read.
• 
  Alison Condliffe

  A decent holiday read. Some clunky writing and a predictable plot, although great setting and liked art references.
• 
  Alexandria Blaelock

  Very Australian, quite political and a little funny. Lots of art, shopping and eating, with a bit of romance on the side.