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A Waiter in Paris
- Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City
- Narrated by: Orlando Wells
- Length: 12 hrs and 49 mins
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A Waiter in Paris
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Summary
A waiter's job is to deceive you. They want you to believe in a luxurious calm because on the other side of that door...is hell.
Edward Chisholm's spellbinding memoir of his time as a Parisian waiter takes you below the surface of one of the most iconic cities in the world and right into its glorious underbelly.
He inhabits a world of inhuman hours, snatched sleep and dive bars; scraping by on coffee, bread and cigarettes, often under sadistic managers, with a wage so low you're fighting your colleagues for tips. Colleagues—including thieves, narcissists, ex-Legionnaires, paperless immigrants, wannabe actors and drug dealers—who are the closest thing to family that you've got.
It's physically demanding, frequently humiliating and incredibly competitive. But it doesn't matter because you're in Paris, the centre of the universe, and there's nowhere else you'd rather be in the world.
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What listeners say about A Waiter in Paris
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- mattthomas
- 07-02-24
Superb, engaging writing style
Well written, in captivating style and a fascinating story, relatable and also bizarre. This unusual, yet wholly authentic portrait of Paris and it’s intersection with the grand old tradition of serving food to customers captures a great deal of life, equally hilarious and horrifying
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- honest dude
- 23-10-23
An amazing listen
Excellent all round. A really lovely, funny and eye opening book - pulling back the curtain on a world we so easily overlook. Couldn’t recommend highly enough.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Richard Underwood
- 20-02-24
At times horribly bleak, but overall had an oddly glowing positivity
Excellent performances. Strong story and from the POV of someone who has spent a life in the industry incredibly accurate… charming yet utterly brutal
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 07-06-22
Enjoyable read
Thought provoking and insightful. Enjoyable read. Great narrator too. I am looking forward to next book!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 02-03-24
Eating in a restaurant will never be the same..
after reading this very entertaining and thought-provoking tale. The narration by Orlando Wells was perfect.
I will enjoy listening to it again.
And I look forward to reading Edward Chisholm's next book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- P. Hannon
- 26-04-24
Paris as you've never heard it before!
A rare glimpse into the world of the restaurant waiter. Shockingly honest and fabulously written and read by its highly talented author. His mastery of all the different characters' accents really brings the stories in this debut book to life. The poor pay and conditions, constant shenanigans of the bosses, and the very precariousness of their existence is like something out of Robert Tressell's The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists rather than an account of 21-century Paris France. it's an audio playhouse, real theatre for the ear. i just happened across this title and now it's in my top five favourite Audible books. Highly recommended. .
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Mrs C.L.Wylie
- 15-06-22
Captivating insight into the Underbelly of a Parisienne Restaurant
Great development of the characters in his story. he brought the characters likeable or not … to life .. felt like you were in Paris with him. He told his experience honestly including the racist behaviour that went on unchallenged both in and behind the dining rooms.
Anyone who has been to Paris will find something for them in this book. A coming of age story that takes you back to your own post student days when you were trying to find your place in the world.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- darren
- 21-10-22
the other side of Paris
Great story, interesting and inciteful, fascinating to hear a side of Paris that you don't always spot as a tourist
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- Norma Miles
- 12-04-23
"Tamil Tiger, freedom fighter."
What a wonderful book.
In the early days after the recession, the author (a Brit) is unable to find work following his graduation so accepts his girlfriend's offer to travel with her to Paris and stay with her until he finds a job there. But he doesn't speak French, has no better luck getting work there and his accommodation disappears when his friend returns to England. It is cold, he needs money for shelter, so in desperation he gets work in a restaurant, first as a runner, working hard to be elevated to the position of waiter. This is his story and that of the men he met and worked with, heroes, villains and sometimes friends, and the functioning workplace which so dominated his life, as well as Paris itself.
The writing is eloquent, bringing the whole picture to life as well as imparting the author's inner hopes, fears and sorrows and feelings for those colleagues around him. And narrator Orlando Wells further imparts that bird's eye view with his perfect performance of Chrisholm's struggle to survive and succeed in an alien environment with unfamiliar language. A perfect pairing of author and reader
Emotional, informative, full of characters and wonderfully written, this book is.one to truly savour. Recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Brenda Tansey
- 12-11-23
A very entertaining and sobering listen.
I really enjoyed this book and the narration was superb.
I’ll certainly be paying a bit more attention to waiters from now on.
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