Rating: 
Summary: Over-hyped
Review: The cover said "The finest book on France in recent years" and I opened the book with great expectations. I barely made it through the first self-indulgent chapter. Urged to read on, I continued and the book improved -- although not a whole lot. I enjoyed the chapters on "The Crisis in French Cooking" and "The World Cup." Most of the rest was pretty dull. The author found great meaning in commonplace events. I didn't. His view of France is elitist and intellectual. I would have been more interested if he had interviewed French customers at McDonalds in Paris -- or American tourists wearing shorts and carrying cameras. A hilarious feature of "Paris to the Moon" is "Questions for Discussion" at the back of the book. Seven serious questions are asked of the reader -- just as if he were a college sophomore taking a test in literature! The presumption is, of course, that what he has just finished reading is worthy of discussion. What a hoot! The guy who thought of this should be assigned to guard duty on the Maginot Line -- or a week-long seminar on French culture.
Despite all, Gopnik is a likeable fellow and a good writer and "Paris to the Moon" is marginally worth reading
Rating: 
Summary: A Must If You Love Paris
Review: This book is a wonderful memoir of a New York family that moves to Paris for a period of 5 years with a young son in tow. Adam Gopnik writes this book in a style of short stories or essays that weave into one great book. He offers a well thought out idea of what must be said from an American in Paris. His comparisons are very real, some light-hearted, some blatantly profound. Gopnik shows his vulnerability many times as a fish out of water, but he tries harder than the average American to blend into his surroundings and take on some of the easier characteristics of becomming French like developing a fondness for a life of profound beauty, a taste for well prepared food, relaxing into the dining experience of the cafes and brasseries, showing his son the art of the carousel rather than the brainlessness of "Barney", and eventually creating another child born a Parisian. The best chapters in this book are the ones that Gopnik writes about his son discovering himself in Paris. His favorite food becomes croissants rather than ketchup fast food burgers, his puppy love with a young French girl in the Ritz pool, how he would rather play at the Luxembourg Gardens than with a television and most importantly how he adapts to becomming a childish little Frenchman. With this said the one chapter I would skip is "The Rookie" a portion in the book that somehow just dosen't fit. From the elegance of the French life back to the world of baseball? Personally I would have just left the entire chapter with an editor and walked away. Gopnik shows how well he has adapted to French life in the portions of the book that he dedicates to the cafe Balzar. This cafe becomes the victim of a corporate buyout and is almost lost until a band of dining brothers glue themselves together and form a secure fortress in pure French flair to save the cafe in its original form, garcons and all! It is an interesting look at how easy and yet how complicated life can be in Paris, all that French discussion can lead to something good. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves Paris and craves a walk down its Rues. Gopnik makes little things seem absolutely important and accurately describes all of the large and small nuances between the French and Americans. His wife, Martha, says it best, "We have a beautiful existence in Paris, but not a full life, and in New York we have a full life and an unbeautiful existence." This must be why Paris remains in the minds of most Americans who walk along its streets but slowly find themselves returning home, to the rush and bustle of America with an over-inflated heart.
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