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y separately published work icon Buying a Piece of Paris single work   autobiography  
Alternative title: Our Own Piece of Paris
Issue Details: First known date: 2007... 2007 Buying a Piece of Paris
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'Paris has seduced many admirers, but for visiting Australian Ellie Nielsen it's true love. So deep is her infatuation that, if she can't have it all to herself, she'll only be satisfied with buying her own little piece of Paris.

'The object of her desire seems so simple: the sort of apartment she's seen a thousand times in magazines and books. Something effortlessly charming, and old, and quirky - and expertly decorated. Something exuding character and Parisian chic. Something quintessentially French.

'The trouble is, she has only two short weeks in which to realise her fantasy - and she must somehow negotiate a deal in a foreign language without offending French real-estate etiquette. Is this even vaguely possible, or just a ridiculous folly?

'With her trusty French phrasebook in hand, and plucking up her reserves of savoir faire, Ellie embarks on the adventure of a lifetime. Beauty is everywhere even if, like all true romances, there are many obstacles to be overcome. But then, c'est toujours comme ça à Paris.' (Publisher's blurb)

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Carlton North, Parkville - Carlton area, Melbourne - North, Melbourne, Victoria,: Scribe , 2007 .
      image of person or book cover 8234112054825114331.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 256p.
      Note/s:
      • Publication due: August 2007.
      ISBN: 9781921215513
    • London,
      c
      England,
      c
      c
      United Kingdom (UK),
      c
      Western Europe, Europe,
      :
      Atlantic Books ,
      2008 .
      image of person or book cover 7673010390179764987.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Alternative title: Our Own Piece of Paris
      Extent: 248p.
      ISBN: 9781843547761
    • c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      St. Martin's Press ,
      2009 .
      image of person or book cover 4152704226720816406.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Alternative title: Our Own Piece of Paris
      Extent: 248p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 06 January 2009
      ISBN: 9780312383558
    • New York (City), New York (State),
      c
      United States of America (USA),
      c
      Americas,
      :
      St. Martin's Griffin ,
      2010 .
      image of person or book cover 1085063637386671121.jpg
      This image has been sourced from online.
      Extent: 248p.
      Note/s:
      • Published 5 January 2010
      ISBN: 9780312606336

Other Formats

Works about this Work

Encountering Language Difference in Australian Memoirs of Living in France Juliana De Nooy , 2015 single work criticism
— Appears in: Life Writing , vol. 12 no. 1 2015;

Travel memoirs tend to be premised on the transformation of the self through spatial translation. This paper explores the roles language might play in this transformation, and the possibilities of a linguistic translation of the self among memoirs of Australians in France. Among the recent rush of memoirs by Australians of their sojourns in France, the encounter with French language is invariably evoked. Its depiction, however, differs from that identified in ‘language memoirs’ by migrants and other language learners, which have been seen to emphasize the renegotiation of identity through inhabiting a new language. More often, in the Australian memoirs, either language difference is portrayed as having a limiting effect, diminishing the author to a shy shadow of the familiar self, or the author's proficiency in French smooths over language difference, concealing it. Only in rare instances is language represented as the very means of transformation of the self, reforging the author's experience. One such instance is Ellie Nielsen's memoir Buying a Piece of Paris, which paradoxically details the process of language learning while at the same time deflecting attention from it and attributing the transformation of the self to an altogether more tangible operation. The article analyses this double game and its implications for identity and belonging. [Author's abstract]

Off the Shelf : Fiction Dianne Dempsey , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 27 October 2007; (p. 28)

— Review of Buying a Piece of Paris Ellie Nielsen , 2007 single work autobiography
Books Non-Fiction Suzanna Clarke , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 29 - 30 September 2007; (p. 28)

— Review of Buying a Piece of Paris Ellie Nielsen , 2007 single work autobiography
A Little Flight Reading Alexandra James , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 August 2007; (p. 4)

— Review of Buying a Piece of Paris Ellie Nielsen , 2007 single work autobiography
A Little Flight Reading Alexandra James , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 4-5 August 2007; (p. 4)

— Review of Buying a Piece of Paris Ellie Nielsen , 2007 single work autobiography
Books Non-Fiction Suzanna Clarke , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 29 - 30 September 2007; (p. 28)

— Review of Buying a Piece of Paris Ellie Nielsen , 2007 single work autobiography
Off the Shelf : Fiction Dianne Dempsey , 2007 single work review
— Appears in: The Age , 27 October 2007; (p. 28)

— Review of Buying a Piece of Paris Ellie Nielsen , 2007 single work autobiography
Encountering Language Difference in Australian Memoirs of Living in France Juliana De Nooy , 2015 single work criticism
— Appears in: Life Writing , vol. 12 no. 1 2015;

Travel memoirs tend to be premised on the transformation of the self through spatial translation. This paper explores the roles language might play in this transformation, and the possibilities of a linguistic translation of the self among memoirs of Australians in France. Among the recent rush of memoirs by Australians of their sojourns in France, the encounter with French language is invariably evoked. Its depiction, however, differs from that identified in ‘language memoirs’ by migrants and other language learners, which have been seen to emphasize the renegotiation of identity through inhabiting a new language. More often, in the Australian memoirs, either language difference is portrayed as having a limiting effect, diminishing the author to a shy shadow of the familiar self, or the author's proficiency in French smooths over language difference, concealing it. Only in rare instances is language represented as the very means of transformation of the self, reforging the author's experience. One such instance is Ellie Nielsen's memoir Buying a Piece of Paris, which paradoxically details the process of language learning while at the same time deflecting attention from it and attributing the transformation of the self to an altogether more tangible operation. The article analyses this double game and its implications for identity and belonging. [Author's abstract]

Last amended 17 Jun 2020 12:21:42
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