L'Appart

Reviews

An NPR Best Book of 2017

“The best thing about this book is that David writes as he talks so it is like having a long conversation with a good friend. Equal parts honest, intriguing, distressing, entertaining, funny and appetizing. Pour yourself a glass of French wine, grab a nibble and cozy up to a great night with a great book.”
—Washington Post

“Smartly arch.”
—New York Times Book Review

“David Lebovitz hilariously recounts the ups and downs of buying an apartment in the City of Light. Readers will relate to Lebovitz’s exploits, from Ikea fails to bureaucratic foibles.”
—Real Simple

“Food lovers and travelers alike will fall in love with every single one of the magically charming stories David skillfully recounts.”
—Departures Magazine

“Painfully funny... typically charming and occasionally a touch risqué.”
—Christian Science Monitor

“Pastry chef David Lebovitz brings his conversational and often wry, self-deprecating voice to his latest book L’Appart.”
—Eater

“The book may make you want to never so much as replace a cabinet in your home ever again, but at the same time, it will give you a realistic, yet, somehow still appealing view of what life as a Parisian is really like.”
—Signature

“In aworld filled with angst, natural disasters, and politicalstrife, Lebovitz’s writing provides a delicious escape.”
—NUVO

“Each of the short chapters offers a brief, humorous, occasionally cringe-inducing glimpse into some aspect of the home-buying and remodeling odyssey on which Lebovitz embarks. . . . He expresses true affection both for his adopted home in Paris and for the American values that shape his own outlook and approach.”
—BookReporter.com

“Lebovitz's stories shimmer with despair, distress, and regret, but he nevertheless embraces life with all its flaws in the city he loves.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Lighthearted... with healthy dashes of satire, wit, and humor…an engaging, entertaining, and delicious divertissement.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Francophile Americans will learn plenty here about Parisian French’s often mystifying idioms. Recipes conclude chapters and range from simple chocolate cookies to complex kouign-amman, Brittany’s ultrarich, caramelized version of a croissant.”
—Booklist

“David captures the torturous travails of apartment renovation in the City of Light with humor and acumen. 'Pas de problème,' he's told time and again as the renovation derails. He is as alert to details of parquet and working with a notaire as he is with recipes for tarte tatin and quiche, both included here. This memoir brings fans of David even closer to the happy life he's built for himself in Paris.”
—Jacques Pépin, chef, author, and PBS-TV cooking show host 

“This book is so entertaining and so deliciously told that I could just gobble it all up in one sitting. As always, David Lebovitz managed to draw me into his scrumptious universe with a million poignant observations and countless of laugh-out-loud moments.”
—Yotam Ottolenghi, author of Jerusalem, Plenty, and Sweet  

“Written in lovely, lucid prose, the story of David's endeavor to make a home for himself in Paris is unflinchingly honest, often poignant, and frequently hilarious. As he astutely perceives, the great gift of his odyssey is ultimately the wry and very Gallic world view he acquires through the eye-popping challenges of buying and renovating a Paris apartment, and it's this hard-won treasure, along with a shy but steely self-knowledge, that makes L'Appart such a memorably winning read.”
—Alexander Lobrano, author of Hungry for Paris and Hungry for France

“David is an incredible storyteller, both in and out of the kitchen. I thoroughly enjoy the authenticity of life in a different country, where every day requires an adjustment and every event is a curve ball. But that's where the joy is: embracing life with a wonderful attitude, seeking exploration and novelty.”
—Gabriele Corcos, chef and author of the New York Times bestseller Extra Virgin
Expand reviews