A Waiter in Paris

A Waiter in Paris

Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City

Written by: Chisholm, Edward

Inspired by George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, A Waiter in Paris is a brilliant portrait of the underbelly of contemporary Paris through the eyes of a young waiter scraping out a living in the City of Light.
A waiter’s job is to deceive you. They want you to believe in a luxurious calm because on the other side of that door … is hell.
Edward Chisholm’s spellbinding memoir of his time as a Parisian waiter takes you below the surface of one of the most iconic cities in the world and right into its glorious underbelly. There, Chisholm inhabits a world of inhuman hours, snatched sleep, and dive bars. He scrapes by on coffee, bread, and cigarettes, often working under sadistic managers, for a wage so low he’s forced to fight his colleagues for tips. And these colleagues — thieves, narcissists, ex-Legionnaires, paperless immigrants, wannabe actors, and drug dealers — are the closest thing he has to family.
Waiting tables is physically demanding work, frequently humiliating, and incredibly competitive. But it doesn’t matter because you’re in Paris, the centre of the universe, and there’s nowhere else you’d rather be in the world.

Inspired by George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London, A Waiter in Paris is a brilliant portrait of the underbelly of contemporary Paris through the eyes of a young waiter scraping out a living in the City of Light.
A waiter’s job is to deceive you. They want you to believe in a luxurious calm because on the other side of that door … is hell.
Edward Chisholm’s spellbinding memoir of his time as a Parisian waiter takes you below the surface of one of the most iconic cities in the world and right into its glorious underbelly. There, Chisholm inhabits a world of inhuman hours, snatched sleep, and dive bars. He scrapes by on coffee, bread, and cigarettes, often working under sadistic managers, for a wage so low he’s forced to fight his colleagues for tips. And these colleagues — thieves, narcissists, ex-Legionnaires, paperless immigrants, wannabe actors, and drug dealers — are the closest thing he has to family.
Waiting tables is physically demanding work, frequently humiliating, and incredibly competitive. But it doesn’t matter because you’re in Paris, the centre of the universe, and there’s nowhere else you’d rather be in the world.

Published By House of Anansi Press Inc — Aug 9, 2022
Specifications 384 pages | 5.5 in x 8.5 in
Written By

EDWARD CHISHOLM was born in Dorset, England, and moved to Paris in 2012 after graduating from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. A resident there for seven years, Chisholm spent the first four of them working all manner of low-paid jobs, from waiting and bar work to museum security and market hand, while trying to build a career as a writer. Now, Chisholm makes a living as a copywriter/pen for hire, with ambitions of writing novels. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Financial Times.

Written By

EDWARD CHISHOLM was born in Dorset, England, and moved to Paris in 2012 after graduating from the School of Oriental and African Studies, London. A resident there for seven years, Chisholm spent the first four of them working all manner of low-paid jobs, from waiting and bar work to museum security and market hand, while trying to build a career as a writer. Now, Chisholm makes a living as a copywriter/pen for hire, with ambitions of writing novels. His work has appeared in the New York Times, the Guardian, and the Financial Times.

Chisholm renders the City of Light in vivid scenes of squalor and splendor … Bittersweet and enchanting, this serves as a potent look at the gritty underbelly of a glittering world.

” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

In this revealing social commentary, Chisholm shares the appalling working conditions that he and his co-workers faced behind the facade of fine French dining . . . Although the book is set in Paris, Chisholm demonstrates how his stories of struggle have universal appeal.

” —Kirkus (starred review)

This astonishing book describes a cruel, feral existence and is worthy of standing on the shelf next to George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London as another classic about human exploitation. With this difference. Orwell was an Old Etonian playing at being destitute. Chisholm’s account of the fight for survival rings more wholly true.

” —Daily Mail

The beauty of Paris is stripped, yet miraculously upheld, as I descended into Chisholm’s engrossing account of a Paris I’d never imagined.

” —The Miramichi Reader

This is not your travel agent’s Paris.

” —Winnipeg Free Press

We are always hungry for stories from behind the ever-swinging door that separates the calm of a restaurant from the hot temperatures and hot tempers of the kitchen. Edward Chisholm’s brilliant memoir shows us the behind-the-scenes chaos, but also lets us tour nocturnal Paris and the strange characters he meets. This is a fascinating book, full of anecdotes that would sound far-fetched in a work of fiction, but that are all absolutely true.

” —Woman & Home

Chisholm brings the restaurant world to life as he relates the stress, pressure, and anxiety felt by all the workers. The long hours, the competition among the waiters, the petty grudges, and the poor treatment by supervisors are all exposed. Most poignant are his coworkers’ stories: they share their hopes and dreams with him.

” —Library Journal

You’re invited to go on a wild journey into the dark side of Paris . . . a world of refugees, exiles, dreamers, sadistic and abusive managers, long hours, and, strangely enough, malnutrition . . . If you’ve ever carried plates in a restaurant, you will love it, and if you’ve ever eaten in a restaurant, especially a Parisian one, you need to read this book.

” —Radio New Zealand

A wonderful observer of people, of poverty, and of the French.

” —Simon Kuper

Visceral and unbelievably compelling.

” —Emerald Fennell

Vividly written and merciless in its detail.

” —Edward Stourton

Propulsive, harrowing, and expertly observed. I could practically smell the grease and feel his terror and — ironically — his hunger. I don’t think I’ll dine out in quite the same way again.

” —Pamela Druckerman