Richard de Combray (1931–2013)

Kevin Korlov is an American living in Paris in the mid-eighties. He moved to Paris after art school, but discovered that he had no talent for selling himself or his sculptures. He makes his living as an English teacher, a translator and on the radio. He has a studio up near the Porte des Lilas, but he rarely goes there. His girlfriend has just left him, telling him that he's no fun to be around, although she leaves him her aging dachshund, The General.

Somewhat adrift, he spends a drunken evening in a singles chat room on the early French version of the internet, the Minitel, and finds Lea, an enigmatic free spirit who is as different from him as it's possible to be. It's all bound to lead to disaster, but he jumps in anyway.

This book has been out of print and forgotten for awhile. I can't see it coming back, the story and the manner of its telling are interesting but dated. I enjoyed the descriptions of Paris, which were of the Paris I knew, having lived there in the early nineties, but I can't see many people wanting to read about a Paris that no longer exists but isn't yet old enough for nostalgia.… (more)