Dear Paris: The Paris Letters Collection by Janice MacLeod
Memoirist Janice MacLeod brings Paris alive with a new collection of her painted letters spanning almost a decade.
THE PREMISE: Canadian Janice MacLeod moved to Paris almost a decade ago and supported herself with a painted letter subscription on Etsy. For a fee, she would paint a scene and write a one-page letter about one little facet of Paris. While she was there, MacLeod met a Polish butcher and the two jumped into a whirlwind romance leading to a marriage, which she wrote about in her memoir, Paris Letters. Now she’s published Dear Paris, a “best-of” collection of the painted letters she sent to subscribers over the last eight years. In true Parisian fashion, she also includes several letters from her summer and winter holidays around Europe and North America.
THE SETTING: MacLeod’s letters center on the changing seasons in Paris, from fairy lights in December to the explosion of bright flowers in the spring; from the tourist-filled cafés in the summer to the changing leaves along the Champs-Élysées in autumn. For consistency, her letters are mostly addressed to Áine, a long-term subscriber and friend. MacLeod’s observations grant the reader an insider’s look into Paris, coupled with a non-native’s curiosity.
Food is a huge part of Paris and MacLeod writes of the annual macaron day, and how this particular French pastry has evolved over the years. Spoiler alert: she prefers the traditional vanille. She also searches for the perfect cup of chocolat chaud, but I won’t reveal that winner. Baguettes also play a large part of Parisian life, as do wine, cheese, and other pastries. MacLeod celebrates them all.
She often reflects on the Lost Generation of Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald and sees herself in the same role of a struggling artist. Yet MacLeod and her then-boyfriend, Christophe, see Paris differently: she as a typical expat; he as an immigrant butcher. When Christophe strolls down the streets of Paris, he thinks more about labor issues like wage disparities and fair hours, while MacLeod sees the beauty in the famous green water fountains and peeks into courtyards tucked behind unassuming apartment buildings. The two speak in French, their lingua franca, and live on a market street punctuated by bright citrus fruit.
IN THE END: MacLeod presents a beautiful treatise on Paris. Her vibrant watercolors show her love of the city and how she’s immersed into the quirks and perks of Paris. But one thing is conspicuously missing in her book: The last section spans the whole year of 2020, yet there’s not a word about the pandemic and how it affected Parisians. From reading her letters over those months, it seems as though COVID-19 never reached France. MacLeod addresses the Yellow Vest protests, various labor strikes, and the Notre Dame fire, so this omission stands out. Nonetheless, Dear Paris is a gem of a book for any Francophile or armchair traveler. When travel becomes safe again, it can be used as a guidebook to find treasures off the beaten path as well as the more typical attractions.
This post contains affiliate links to Bookshop.org. This means if you make a purchase from our link, Undomesticated will receive a small commission to help us fund more stories. We do not accept compensation for reviews. All recommendations and opinions are our own.
