Paris Letters
Overwhelmed and burned out by the grind of her copywriting career and daily life in Los Angeles, and tired of being single, Janice MacLeod decides to take a leap of faith by quitting her job and setting off for Europe for several months of travel. Narrator Tavia Gilbert offers a youthful and enthusiastic reading of Janice’s story, imparting the author’s wonder and delight at the twists and turns her life takes, and capturing the light tone of the story. That said, though, Gilbert’s narration sometimes tends toward being over-the-top. Ultimately, during her travels, Janice ends up finding her passion and her purpose in Paris: She meets her husband, Christophe, and builds a life for herself creating and selling hand-painted letters about the city she so clearly loves.—AudioFile Magazine
“How much money does it take to quit your job?” asks author MacLeod at the outset of this leisurely paced, feel-good memoir. MacLeod, a burnt-out copywriter churning out junk mail, devises a deceptively simple plan to achieve her dream of living in Paris: save $100 every day for one year. And then? Well, as the French say, Il n’ya que la foi qui sauve (“Faith is half the battle”). Narrator Gilbert’s unhurried performance meanders like a stroll along the banks of the Seine, and her breezy, conversational tone carries listeners through detailed descriptions of gorgeous men, delectable food, and picture-postcard scenery. Throughout, she introduces a number of distinctly voiced characters—from American tourists to wise Polish widows to Italian Lotharios (with accents more reminiscent of Transylvania)—though most, with the exception of sexy butcher Christophe, prove fleeting. Focusing on one woman’s journey to personal fulfillment, this chronicle of self-discovery should please fans of Eat, Pray, Love(2006).—Booklist