A Waiter in Paris: Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City

Edward Chisholm

Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City

263 Kč

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Inspired by Orwell, a brilliant portrait of the underbelly of contemporary Paris through the eyes of a young waiter scraping a living in the city.

A waiter's job is to deceive you. They want you to believe in a luxurious calm because on the other side of that door... is hell.

Edward Chisholm's spellbinding memoir of his time as a Parisian waiter takes you below the surface of one of the most iconic cities in the world and right into its glorious underbelly.

The waiter inhabits a world of inhuman hours, snatched sleep and dive bars; scraping by on coffee, bread and cigarettes, often under sadistic managers, with a wage so low you're fighting your colleagues for tips.

It's physically demanding, frequently humiliating and incredibly competitive. And with a cast of thieves, narcissists, ex-Legionnaires, paperless immigrants and drug dealers, it makes for a compelling and eye-opening read.

Review

An English waiter's riveting account of working in Paris restaurants (...) a searing account of what life is really like 'at the bottom of the food chain', Chisholm's prose positively delights in describing the graffiti, sodden cardboard boxes and litter-strewn pavements. (...) This astonishing book describes a cruel, feral existence and is worthy of standing on the shelf next to George Orwell's Down And Out In Paris And London (1933) as another classic about human exploitation. -- Roger Lewis ― Daily Mail

This tough little book documents the experience of being a foreign worker, lost in the understrata of the often exploitative industry from which we benefit. It seems glib to compare it to Orwell when it's more universal, or Bourdain when it doesn't glorify the mess. Not exactly a jolly read, but important. -- Tim Hayward ― Financial Times

Chisholm's fortitude in the face of hot-headed, violent chefs and infernal fourteen-hour days without breaks in pursuit of his goal is admirable, and makes for compelling reading. ― The Times Literary Supplement

An absorbing and moving inside look at a Parisian restaurant. ― Library Journal

We are always hungry for stories from behind the ever-swinging door that separates the calm of a restaurant from the hot temperatures and hot tempers of the kitchen. Edward Chisholm's brilliant memoir shows us the behind-the-scenes chaos, but also lets us tour nocturnal Paris and the strange characters he meets. This is a fascinating book, full of anecdotes that would sound far-fetched in a work of fiction, but that are all absolutely true. -- ANNA FIELDING ― Woman & Home

A Dickensian tale of a young man's trial by fire in a French bistro gives rise to biting commentary on Parisian culture in Chisholm's intoxicating debut. ― Publisher's Weekly

Orwell created the template. Anthony Bourdain put his hilarious spin on it. More recently, The Bear dramatized it brilliantly for the small screen. Chisholm carries the mantle, and he more than does the genre justice. -- Jon Hart ― Book & Film Globe

Emily in Paris this is not ― Eater

About the Author

Edward Chisholm was born in Dorset, England, and moved to Paris in 2012 after graduating from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London.

A resident there for seven years, Chisholm spent the first four of them working all manner of low-paid jobs, from waiting and bar work to museum security and market hand, while trying to build a career as a writer.

Now, Chisholm makes a living as a copywriter/pen for hire, with ambitions of writing novels. His work has appeared in The New York Times, the Guardian and the Financial Times magazine.

Podrobnosti

Autor	Edward Chisholm
Vydavatel	Monoray
Jazyk	anglicky
Vazba	měkká
Počet stran	384
Formát	12,6 × 19,7 cm
EAN	9781800960206
Rok vydání	2023
Edice	Biografie, memoáry, osobnosti Kuchařské knihy Průvodci, mapy, atlasy