Boston

Praise for "Boston, My Blissful Winter

The keen eye and pen of French author Alain Briottet deftly sketches the luminous beauty of Boston's soul in winter. I became viscerally engaged and surprised by his character's discovery of the cityscape, its neighborhoods and the interior spaces where Bostonians retreat from the cold, seeking companionship and shelter. This book marvelously reveals the elusive and timeless qualities of our town that led me to seek out the unexpected during all its seasons.

The keen observer in Boston, My Blissful Winter, not only introduces us to specific Boston locations and neighborhoods but also to a variety of denizens, iconic individuals, young and elderly, ranging from Brahmins to French Canadians. Challenging weather, and musical motifs enhance the unforgettable portraits, creating an atmosphere at once nostalgic and palpable. The prose reads like poetry and the vivid descriptions remain as relevant today as when they were written................

The charming recollections of a Frenchman's first encounters with Boston society. The young banking intern recounts his impressions of familiar places, from the Ritz to the Blue Diner, with original perceptions and affectionate humor. Deftly rendered into English from the original French, this is a book to savor and return to again and again to revisit a favorite story.

During his posting to the French Consulate in Boston, Ambassador Alain Briottet came to observe and befriend neighbors of Beacon Hill with whom he came to feel a common bond. Now, in twelve luminous stories, he shares observations and insights of encounters, that are often brief, and that may mark you permanently. Briottet's compassion and gift for rich friendships provide moving portrayals that belie the stereotype of frigid, puritanical Brahmins. Paulette Boudrot's admirable translation of his lyrical prose reveals that though winter in Boston may be cold, the lives of the inhabitants are decidedly not.

The magic of a winter in Boston is here, revealed in its many hues. Each story presents a different situation affording the chance to experience the tiniest wonder - changes in the atmosphere, footsteps in the snow, the slant of a winter sun - all captured in the author's crystal-clear, thoughtful and detailed writing. He makes us see and feel what he has seen and felt, offering us the fabric of a life that we discover to be our own.

In sensitive, lyrical prose, these short stories highlight the ephemeral nature of time, as experienced by a young intern who spends a winter working at a large bank in Boston. The parallels between his experience and that of the author, a career diplomat stationed in Boston during the 1980s, are unmistakable. It is the contrast between the harmony of nature and the disruption of the real world that is the strength of this collection; these stories make you think about life.