This is a vivid memoir of Banine’s experiences as a young Azerbaijani woman living in Paris in the 1920s. It captures the atmosphere of the city and the Bohemian lifestyle she led. Banine recounts her encounters with various literary and artistic figures and her reflections on love, culture and her own identity. These memoirs offer a glimpse into Paris’s cultural and social milieu at the time through the eyes of a foreign woman with a unique point of view. It’s a very interesting insight into a period I knew little about.
“Sometimes, on the path of life where we grope our way forwards or, alternatively, forge ahead without giving it much thought, we see a treacherous fork appear before us, forcing us to make a choice on which our whole future depends. Left or right? How can we know where happiness lies, where misfortune lurks? Our sole consolation will be to think that our choice was illusory, as it had been predetermined since time immemorial.”
Original title : Jours parisiens
Translated from French