In Paris this past week, the elephant in the room was the elevation in the river. After the rainiest May on record, the Seine rose to alarming heights, bursting its banks in many places. At the sight of all that … Read More
One of the great things about being a writer – in fact, one of the best reasons for becoming a writer in the first place – is that when you get caught doing something weird or embarrassing you can always … Read More
When I went to Brussels just two weeks after the horrific terrorist attacks, I saw it as an opportunity to get the answers to several weighty questions: Are the people of Brussels, like the people of Paris last year, showing … Read More
Warning! I am about to venture into treacherous territory. If I can negotiate this topic all the way to the end of a 1,200-word article without triggering a barrage of indignant comments, it will be a miracle on par with … Read More
Here are six words that you don’t hear very often: I don’t have a cell phone. I know that this is tantamount these days to saying “I don’t have a life,” but it’s true. When I reveal this peculiar quirk … Read More
When I first arrived in France in the early 1980s, I was a young, struggling, unknown writer and composer. Today, more than 30 years later, I can look back with satisfaction on the considerable progress that I’ve made in one … Read More
I try. I really do. Every morning I promise myself that this will be the day that I finally kick the habit. I’m fine until lunch and can usually get through the afternoon without much trouble, but by the time … Read More
All of us have our own passions and peeves — things we love and things we hate. Personally, I hate it when the ill-conceived suffix “oholic” (or its even-iller-conceived fraternal twin “aholic”) is used to contrive a word for the … Read More
Human cultural history is full of things that can never be killed. The phoenix, The Terminator, Peter Pan, the “Great Wall of China visible from space” story, the mildew behind my toilet… And here in Paris another (and, sadly, non-fictional) … Read More
As we enter 2016, France’s future looks dark. The economy is struggling, unemployment is high, extremists of every stripe are finding wider audiences for their messages of hatred, and the historically unpopular government seems powerless to stop the endless spiral … Read More
