Paris je t'aime
Like the film Paris je t’aime, Kabuki on a G-String, by M.S. Simpson, investigates the nooks, crannies and psychological effects of Paris upon its inhabitants. Although we know the power of Paris to inspire the imagination, we forget that Paris is a real city in which people struggle with real problems. From bars and restaurants to parks and bedrooms, Paris is a charismatic and dominating character in this novel about a young West Texan who finds his real self in Paris. As in Paris je t’aime he is reborn in this visionary city. This film disproves the notion that Paris has become a museum of itself, so too does Simpson’s Kabuki in a G-String offer a real Paris with depth and equal measures of beauty and ugliness. As in Paris je t’aime, in Simpson’s novel the city is a sometimes-dark backdrop to a story about Parisians of various nationalities and domestic situations, all of whom experience self-discovery and loss.
Just as the Marais and the Latin Quarter featured prominently in Paris je t’aime, so too do these eclectic and befuddling (and quite beautiful) quartiers play a dominating role in Simpson’s Kabuki in a G-String. And as the film looks vertically at Paris, obliterating differences in social class and background, so too does this novel show how the cosmopolitan nature of Paris smudges presumably immutable borders.
If you loved Paris je t’aime, read Kabuki in a G-String.
