It tells the story of an English humanities graduate who travelled to live in Paris and work as a waiter despite not speaking French. He starts as a runner in a restaurant with a good reputation, but which is kept going by an army / hierarchy of characters. He starts during the winter, and lives a precarious existence, as do many other people working in those industries, and also has to deal with French administration and the bosses at the restaurant where he works.
There is plenty here about the inequality within the city as one travels from the centre towards the edges, the relationships between the different characters and the hidden rooms that keep the restaurant going.
As the book progresses, the author gets more involved with the city, finds alternative accommodation and enjoys those moments when the city is waking. He becomes friends with the restaurant sommelier, and a regular at bars frequented by workers. His French also improves.
It provides an excellent sense of the chaos of restaurant life, and the physical and emotional demands it places on those who rely on tips.
A film adaptation is also on its way apparently.
My copy was borrowed from Swaffham Library.
Published by Monoray in 2022.
Paperback, 370pp
ISBN: 978-1-800960206
This is highly recommended.
It’s a book about Paris, a posh restaurant and the waiters that work there. It's a book about growing up. But it’s also about the underside of a city and the food we eat; the hidden workforces that make it turn, and the system and hierarchy that keep them in their place. pic.twitter.com/bz7cCwkWcD
— Edward Chisholm (@ChisholmEdward) August 9, 2022
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