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{"id":6983084769339,"title":"A Waiter in Paris","handle":"a-waiter-in-paris","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInspired by George Orwell’s \u003cem\u003eDown and Out in Paris and London\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eA Waiter in Paris\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eA 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.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\nEdward 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.\u003cbr\u003e\r\nWaiting 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","published_at":"2022-09-13T12:46:11-04:00","created_at":"2022-09-13T12:05:27-04:00","vendor":"House of Anansi Press Inc","type":"","tags":["Adult Nonfiction","Anansi International","By (author) Chisholm Edward","pub date: 2022-08-09"],"price":1999,"price_min":1999,"price_max":2499,"available":true,"price_varies":true,"compare_at_price":null,"compare_at_price_min":0,"compare_at_price_max":0,"compare_at_price_varies":false,"variants":[{"id":40779949899835,"title":"trade paperback","option1":"trade paperback","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9781487007935","requires_shipping":true,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"name":"A Waiter in Paris - trade paperback","public_title":"trade paperback","options":["trade paperback"],"price":2499,"weight":476,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":"shopify","barcode":"9781487007935","requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]},{"id":40779957141563,"title":"epub","option1":"epub","option2":null,"option3":null,"sku":"9781487007942","requires_shipping":false,"taxable":true,"featured_image":null,"available":true,"name":"A Waiter in Paris - epub","public_title":"epub","options":["epub"],"price":1999,"weight":0,"compare_at_price":null,"inventory_management":null,"barcode":"9781487007942","requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_allocations":[]}],"images":["\/\/houseofanansi.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/BNCImageAPI_149e1de2-37df-40e5-a873-2d4d9997077f.jpg?v=1688885957"],"featured_image":"\/\/houseofanansi.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/BNCImageAPI_149e1de2-37df-40e5-a873-2d4d9997077f.jpg?v=1688885957","options":["Title"],"media":[{"alt":"Cover: A Waiter in Paris: Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City by Edward Chisholm. The cover features three horizontal bands in red, white, and blue to match the French flag, along with a vintage black and white photograph of servers in white shirts, white aprons, and black pants chatting and moving through a narrow European street.","id":23593251962939,"position":1,"preview_image":{"aspect_ratio":0.647,"height":2550,"width":1650,"src":"\/\/houseofanansi.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/BNCImageAPI_149e1de2-37df-40e5-a873-2d4d9997077f.jpg?v=1688885957"},"aspect_ratio":0.647,"height":2550,"media_type":"image","src":"\/\/houseofanansi.com\/cdn\/shop\/files\/BNCImageAPI_149e1de2-37df-40e5-a873-2d4d9997077f.jpg?v=1688885957","width":1650}],"requires_selling_plan":false,"selling_plan_groups":[],"content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInspired by George Orwell’s \u003cem\u003eDown and Out in Paris and London\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eA Waiter in Paris\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eA 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.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\nEdward 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.\u003cbr\u003e\r\nWaiting 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.\u003c\/p\u003e"}
{"AlsoRecommendedISBN_0":"9781487001711","AlsoRecommendedISBN_1":"9781487003579","AlsoRecommendedISBN_2":"9781487004132","BASICMainSubject":"BIO029000","BASICMainSubjectLiteral":"BIOGRAPHY \u0026 AUTOBIOGRAPHY \/ Culinary","BiographicalNote":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEDWARD CHISHOLM\u003c\/strong\u003e 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 \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eGuardian\u003c\/em\u003e, and the \u003cem\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","BISACSubjectLiteral_0":"BIOGRAPHY \u0026amp; AUTOBIOGRAPHY \/ Culinary","BISACSubjectLiteral_1":"BIOGRAPHY \u0026amp; AUTOBIOGRAPHY \/ Personal Memoirs","BISACSubject_0":"BIO029000","BISACSubject_1":"BIO026000","ContributorBio_0":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEDWARD CHISHOLM\u003c\/strong\u003e 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 \u003cem\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eGuardian\u003c\/em\u003e, and the \u003cem\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n","ContributorRole_0":"By (author)","Contributor_0":"Chisholm, Edward","Description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eInspired by George Orwell’s \u003cem\u003eDown and Out in Paris and London\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eA Waiter in Paris\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cem\u003eA 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.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\nEdward 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.\u003cbr\u003e\r\nWaiting 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","EAN":"9781487007935","Height":"8.5","HeightCode":"in","Imprint":"Anansi International","MetaKeywords":"food writing;memoir;server life;coming of age;french cooking;waiting tables;learning french;tourism;maître d;british writers;debut writers;travel writing","NumberOfPages":"384","OtherText_Accolades_0":"\u003cp\u003eA wonderful observer of people, of poverty, and of the French.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Accolades_0_Auth":"Simon Kuper","OtherText_Accolades_1":"\u003cp\u003eVisceral and unbelievably compelling.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Accolades_1_Auth":"Emerald Fennell","OtherText_Accolades_2":"\u003cp\u003eVividly written and merciless in its detail.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Accolades_2_Auth":"Edward Stourton","OtherText_Accolades_3":"\u003cp\u003ePropulsive, 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Accolades_3_Auth":"Pamela Druckerman","OtherText_Back_cover_copy_0":"\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003eEntertainment based on the restaurant industry continues to draw our collective attention. Anthony Bourdain's now-classic memoir, \u003cem\u003eKitchen Confidential\u003c\/em\u003e, has sold over 100,000 copies in Canada.\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eThis book also taps into our endless fascination with Paris. From \u003cem\u003eHow to Be Parisian Wherever You Are\u003c\/em\u003e (BNC: 12K+) to the allure of Paris on-screen with \u003cem\u003eEmily in Paris\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eCall My Agent\u003c\/em\u003e storming Netflix, and of course, Orwell’s classic \u003cem\u003eDown and Out in Paris and London\u003c\/em\u003e, which continues to be reissued.\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003cli\u003eFor fans of of the book and television show \u003cem\u003eSweetbitter\u003c\/em\u003e, the writing of Ruth Reichl, and those who love reality TV cooking competitions.\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003c\/li\u003e\r\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","OtherText_Review_0":"\u003cp\u003eChisholm 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_0_Src":"Publishers Weekly (starred review)","OtherText_Review_1":"\u003cp\u003eIn 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_10":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem \u003eA Waiter in Paris\u003c\/em\u003e is a fascinating read which plunges you into the manic and hidden world of Parisian restaurants; it’s vivid, immersive and unforgettable, and also demonstrates that the extreme distance between the rich and the poor has never gone away.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_10_Src":"Shiny New Books","OtherText_Review_11":"\u003cp\u003eA no-holds-barred memoir … [Chisholm] deftly uses the Parisian restaurant as a microcosm for France as a whole, with immigrants, people of color and blue-collar workers at the bottom of the food chain. \u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_11_Src":"Smithsonian Magazine","OtherText_Review_12":"\u003cp\u003eChisholm’s fortitude in the face of hot-headed, violent chefs and infernal fourteen-hour days without breaks in pursuit of his goal is admirable, and makes for compelling reading. An entertaining and enlightening memoir.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_12_Src":"Times Literary Supplement","OtherText_Review_13":"\u003cp\u003eThis tough little book documents the experience of being a foreign worker, lost in the understrata of the often exploitative industry from which we benefit. It seems glib to compare it to Orwell when it's more universal, or Bourdain when it doesn't glorify the mess. Not exactly a jolly read, but important.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_13_Src":"Financial Times","OtherText_Review_14":"\u003cp\u003eThrough Chisholm's punchy prose, readers will be taken through his whirlwind career filled with angry knife-wielding chefs, demanding customers, squalid living conditions and panic attacks in the Pass.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_14_Src":"Salon","OtherText_Review_15":"\u003cp\u003eChisholm’s story is immersive and often thrilling. … He’s a fine writer.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_15_Src":"Wall Street Journal","OtherText_Review_16":"\u003cp\u003eA portrait of Paris is painted by a waiter in this candid memoir that forces you to take off your rose-colored glasses to see the complicated truth of the city. … As he exposes the realities behind a Parisian restaurant’s ‘luxurious calm,’ he exposes the city of love as well.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_16_Src":"Town \u0026amp; Country","OtherText_Review_17":"\u003cp\u003eAh, Paris gastronomie magnifique and … insane shit going on behind the scenes. \u003cem \u003eA Waiter in Paris\u003c\/em\u003e charts Edward Chisholm’s jaw-dropping experiences while serving tables in the French capital, a demi-monde of sadistic managers, thieves, fighting for tips and drug dealers. Seems like not much has changed since George Orwell worked the same beat.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_17_Src":"Evening Standard","OtherText_Review_1_Src":"Kirkus (starred review)","OtherText_Review_2":"\u003cp\u003eThis astonishing book describes a cruel, feral existence and is worthy of standing on the shelf next to George Orwell’s \u003cem\u003eDown and Out in Paris and London\u003c\/em\u003e 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_2_Src":"Daily Mail","OtherText_Review_3":"\u003cp\u003eThe beauty of Paris is stripped, yet miraculously upheld, as I descended into Chisholm’s engrossing account of a Paris I’d never imagined.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_3_Src":"The Miramichi Reader","OtherText_Review_4":"\u003cp\u003eThis is not your travel agent’s Paris.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_4_Src":"Winnipeg Free Press","OtherText_Review_5":"\u003cp\u003eWe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_5_Src":"Woman \u0026amp; Home","OtherText_Review_6":"\u003cp\u003eChisholm 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_6_Src":"Library Journal","OtherText_Review_7":"\u003cp\u003eYou’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.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_7_Src":"Radio New Zealand","OtherText_Review_8":"\u003cp\u003eIn what could be the \u003cem\u003eKitchen Confidential\u003c\/em\u003e for Generation Z, this memoir chronicles the underbelly of one of the (if not THE) food capitals of the world, as seen through the eyes of a young waiter scraping out a living. Certainly, one dreams of cooking, let alone eating, in Paris. But to work in the city’s ruthless restaurant industry means dealing with inhumane hours, little to no sleep, aggressive landlords, sadistic managers, low wages, and meals consisting of little more than bread and cigarettes.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_8_Src":"Fortune","OtherText_Review_9":"\u003cp\u003eIn time, Chisholm sees that waiting in Paris is not so much a profession as a job that makes escape exceptionally difficult, but by then, he has assembled sufficient tales of drama, trickery, backstabbing, and camaraderie to plot a breakout. Leaving is one thing, avoiding being sucked back another, but with this excellent book he stands a chance. It’s also a sharp reminder that a restaurant is so much more than a room full of tables, but it’s better to not pick at what lies beyond the illusion of culinary sophistication.\u003c\/p\u003e","OtherText_Review_9_Src":"Strong Words","OtherText_ShortDescription_0":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA brilliant portrait of the underbelly of contemporary Paris through the eyes of a young waiter scraping out a living in the City of Light.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e","ProductFormDescription":"trade paperback","PublicationDate":"2022-08-09","Publisher":"House of Anansi Press Inc","ShortDescription":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA brilliant portrait of the underbelly of contemporary Paris through the eyes of a young waiter scraping out a living in the City of Light.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e","Subtitle":"Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City","Width":"5.5","WidthCode":"in"}