Very evocative - it brought all my years in food service galloping back... But the charm and complexity of France's capital wasn't lost along the way. This book is a real gem, and a stirring reminder to be kinder to those in jobs like this. I hope to re-read it again someday.

An evocative and well written book. Some people may be turned off from the book claiming the writer is inauthentic in experiencing life as a Parisian waiter but he admits as much in the final chapters, he could always escape the life unlike others. However this does not take away from the depth of the feeling and descriptions of the conditions he portrays. The book explores Paris in all its duality, the beauty and the ugly side which is required to allow the beauty to flourish. The restaurant is the perfect microcosm of this situation and the characters each represent how the disparate communities exist, not always in harmony, but with a shared purpose.

I've wanted to read A Waiter in Paris for a very long time and am glad to say it didn't disappoint. The writing is really evocative and the individual waiters are memorable. It has definitely opened my eyes to the reality of working in hospitality. This is a great modern companion to Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London. Real food for thought.

Everyone who worked in service and gastronomic jobs can probably relate to this book very much. You meet all kinds of people and you get to know their stories, stories all the guests and strangers won't ever get to see.
Struggles, happy moments and everything in between. Also this book gives a great view behind the scenes, something most people would rather not see about people handling their food and just generally so they won't have to care about the way this particular system works.
I guess if there is one thing that never changes, it is this work. It was nice to get to read a perspective I never had, since I never emigrated to another country.

I would struggle to be able to review this book due to issues with the file/download. The issues stopped the flow of the book. The issues are:
- Missing words in the middle of sentences
- Stop/start sentences on different lines
- No clear definition of chapters.

I’m not sure if it was a file/download issue but there were lots of gaps and stops/starts which really ruined the flow. I would love the chance to read a better version as the description of the book appeals to me. I have awarded stars for the book cover and description.

Really interesting! As someone in the service industry, I enjoyed seeing how Chisholm navigated the French scene and some of the differences. Highly entertaining.

Chisholm's account of his time waiting in Paris is honest and raw. He hides none of the hardships one can face, frequently referencing the large-scale problems with the commonplace.

In the lap of one's own comfort, it is easy to question his actions. Staying in Paris when he is bordering on broke, has nowhere to stay and knows only a few phrases of French seems like a foolish decision. However, Chisholm's writing brings the life to his story; one can begin to understand the charm Paris had over him.

Yet, whilst this is an allure of this book, it also highlights a failing. Chisholm mentions Orwell's memoir 'Down and Out in Paris and London' and it's evident that he has been heavily influenced by it. This isn't a negative but it does leave a lot for it to live up to. The bar is set high and the writing doesn't quite meet it. It quickly feels repetitive, with chapters lacking progression from its predecessor.

It's an interesting look at a young man's exploits and offers an insightful look behind that ever-closing door.

Edward Chisholm has painted an absorbing portrait of the machinations of the world within a Parisian restaurant. Moving from London to Paris with dreams of being a writer, he took a job as a runner in an upscale restaurant and after six competitive months became a waiter. Of course, there was the beauty of the restaurant itself, the luxury, the ambiance and the fare. This aesthetic however, hides a darker side, the often appalling work environment, the grueling shifts, difficult customers and management with condescending attitudes. The author does not holdback on the difficulties of working fourteen hours days, living on bread, coffee and cigarettes or the fighting amongst colleagues for tips.
In this ‘City of Light’, Mr. Chisholm shares the grandeur, the grime, the romance and the desolation that revolves within this gastronomic world. In hindsight, life as ‘A Waiter in Paris’ led him to fulfill his dream. He authored this wonderfully interesting and insightful read.
My thanks to NetGalley, Mr. Chisholm and Pegasus Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest book review.

So this could be my new favourite memoir ...
It reads like a novel as you follow his journey and the lively characters you meet along his journey.

I think we all know that there is a dark side behind the scenes of the hospitality industry but how bad it actually is comes all the more apparent in Edwards's memoir.

Edward starts of as a runner in a top Paris restaurant , he's working inhuman hours, sleeping in dive bars, surviving off coffee and bread , witnessing drug abuse , dealing with sadistic managers , it's not the Paris we all think of . The book is so authentic in tone with the addition of French language scattered throughout and you feel as if you're experiencing the memoir in real time wandering the streets with Edward. .

It takes you below the surface of one of the most iconic cities but it's not all bad.... The book is also a bit of a love letter to Paris with Paris as a character in itself as famous streets, monuments , buildings, food, culture all play a part. It's a book for anyone who loves Paris, dreams of visiting Paris or for those who love a food / travel memoir .

The only negative i have is that this wasn't available to download via kindle and had to be read on the netgalley shelf app, the font was really small and the bookmarks don't stick and it just wasn't very user friendly in general

3.5*

I, like the author, had greatly enjoyed Orwell's Down and Out in Paris and London, and so when I saw this book, with its explicit recall of the 'Paris' section, I was immediately drawn to it. In addition, as a fellow Brit-living-in-France who is rather tired of the 'retiring to Provence' or 'living the high life in Paris', I was very intrigued to read a memoir set in a contemporary Parisien suburb.

In general I found it as involving and absorbing as I had hoped, with the exhaustion of restaurant life behind the scenes, the endless 'metro-boulot-dodo', and the often tortuous natyre of French bureaucracy. The various characters of the restaurant and the area where he lives are usually sympathetically portrayed, with their depths often developing as the author gets to know them better (and his French improves).

It did suffer from a similar issue to Orwell's book though, of retaining that sense of the author slumming it. Without knowing the author's situation of course, there retains a sense however that he, unlike most of his colleagues, does have a choice. To be fair, he does acknowledge at the end the advantages that he had as a White English man, although things like his issues with bureaucracy would also have benefitted from highlighting the different treatment that, for example, migrants from French speaking African nations have. Relatedly, I would have liked a bit more recognition or discussion of the role if race within the restaurant. Racism is seen from outside, but I found the internal restaurant divisions according to ethnicity something that I would have liked to have been unpacked further.

In addition, I do retain a certain uneasiness about a contemporary memoir that uses real people, albeit disguised, as a central part but has done so seemingly without their consent or knowledge. I think it was the end where he sees the restaurant from the outside and sees some of his ex-colleagues but does not enter or talk to them, that made me feel most awkward, like it did feel that more of an effort should have been made to have their agreement or involvement. I guess this is a common issue with memoirs but most I have read have made more obvious and recognised attempts to gain consent.

Overall, I did enjoy the book. It has excellent writing, and does a really compelling job of revealing contemporary life for a lot of people working in Paris. The problems inherent with being an outside passing through were not fully addressed however, and I would really like to hear the voices of the other workers too!


*Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the free ARC*

Who'd have thought a book about someone's experiences as a waiter would be so entertaining.....and so well written? It's funny,moving and will hopefully make you think about the "little people" behind the scenes wherever a service is offered, and not just in restaurants.


A Waiter in Paris lifts the lid on the reality behind the Parisian fine dining experience and the City itself, for the less affluent section of society.
With the end of a relationship and homelessness looming Edward Chisholm needs a job quickly,very quickly. Like a lamb to the slaughter he gets a job in a Bistro and discovers that a waiter is basically a front man,smiling and buttering up customers who think they're being served quality food lovingly made by experienced Chefs with a love of creating fine cuisine . The reality in the place Edward worked was food thrown together by a motley crew of former Tamil guerillas , one man's freedom fighter is another man's Chef and a smattering of other migrants of uncertain background. While many might think being a Waiter is an easy job Edward has to start as a "runner", the lowest of the low, before proving himself and joining the what appears to be,the almost Masonic brotherhood of Waiters. Behind the scenes there are fights,drug dealing ,conniving theft and general pandemonium before the customer sees their smiling Waiter emerge from "the door" to present their meal with a flourish,parts of which may have been picked up from a floor or handled with dirty hands behind the scenes.

As well as tales from the Bistro the book is about life for the working poor of Paris,the constant struggle getting by from day to day living in barely adequate accommodation ,often in dangerous places, It's not all negative as Edward has a real love of Paris and there are evocative descriptions of it's historic and beautiful places as well the parts the tourist board don't want you to read about,the shanty towns,the railway stations where drugs are openly on sale and the areas where vice and criminality are the norm.

An excellent book that as Edward points out is the story of service workers in big cities around the world,not just Paris, where behind the scenes those often looked down on by affluent locals keep the wheels turning so they can have what they want. Exploitation served as a luxury experience.

The author vividly draws us into his life in Paris his day to day working as a waiter.He has to adjust to not really understanding or speaking French but still manage to serve .Real open moving eye opening really enjoyed.#netgalley #octopus

This book is a debut novel i love how the author described the story of life iam intrigued and very much exilcited to read this one is very good oneo far i finished it today and i have my 4 star thank you netgalley for approving my request to let me review this book is phenomenal

Beautifully Composed..
Beautifully composed and wholly immersive memoir. The author’s time as a Parisian waiter is explored in detail, with warmth and with wit and with empathy, serving as a social commentary as well as a first hand experience. Bubbling over with vivid description, a keenly observed atmosphere and perfectly crafted characters.