L'Appart: The Delights and Disasters of Making My Paris Home Hardcover – November 7, 2017

David Lebovitz has a delightful writers voice with which he describes challenges and triumphs in moving to France. Delicious recipes and insights. Good fun and quite a lot of humanity.

As a recent fan of Lebovitz's cookbooks, I was excited to find he's a good storyteller, too. His L'Appart is a story of dealing with a construction business whose idea of customer service is non-existent, a story of being forced to learn a new vocabulary outside the comfort of his French chef-ulary, and learning how to work (and win) in a culture that is contrary to much of what he has ever learned in the business world. And his story remains funny throughout.

I love David Lebovitz's writing, faithfully reading his blog and having enjoyed "My Paris Kitchen." "L'Appart" is as charming as I expected, as the author struggles with French bureaucracy, a lying real-estate agent, and a crazy seller in order to buy the apartment of his dreams, then encounters even more disasters when his contractor brings in a small army of plumbers, electricians in order to make it livable: melting wires, buckled floors, tilting chairs, twisted windows, and more. I found myself laughing out loud more than once, usually when he writes about his tussles with French language and the hilarious double entendres that result when using the wrong words for appliances and hardware. There are 24 recipes, mostly for desserts, with headnotes that amusingly weave the choice of recipe into his apartment saga. My only criticism is that there are no photos, and one is longing for photos! He writes that he took a lot of pictures during the construction, but where are they? The only real illustration is a line drawing at the end with no notations, perhaps of the finished kitchen? Moreover, each of the 38 chapters has a line drawing of a tool -- however, instead of coming up with 38 clever drawings to match the chapter, only 4 tools are rotated over and over: a screwdriver, saw, caulking gun, and paintbrush. I'm sure that Lebovitz would have loved to provide photos--his blog is chock full of them--so I'm very disappointed that the publisher did not provide them. I would have liked to nick half a star for the lack of photos; however, I found everything else about the book to be absolutely a delightful read, so 5 stars.

Paris is such a beautiful city that fascinates so many Americans. We romanticize it and fantasize about living there. David Lebovitz is one American who has done so and been kind enough to share his experiences over the years. His accounts, with a sprinkle of French phrases, keep the romance but add a large dose of incredulous bemusement at French life and behavior.  In the past he has focused on the bureaucracy, with the frustration and circular logic and zero concept of customer service, and frequent strikes that always seem to fall at the time when you most need to get somewhere. He can match Bill Bryson in conveying that sense of immersion in a culture with a little wink of amusement.In L'Appart, Lebovitz focuses on the tribulations of buying and remodeling an apartment in Paris. Tired of renting and wanting a real kitchen where he can do his cookbook recipe development, he goes through bureaucratic hoops and almost a year to finally buy an apartment with the intent of remodeling it to suit his needs. The book starts out with him peeing in a cup at the doctor's office to get a health check in order to obtain a mortgage (WHAT??). He hires a contractor based on the recommendation of one friend, somehow despite knowing architects in the city. Here the escapades turn a bit dark and more than a little cringe-inducing. The contractor's repeated mistakes and longer and longer absences, coupled with an electrician with what seems to be a personality disorder, turn from bad to horrifying. Lebovitz is increasingly stressed and angry. The frustrations of issuing check after check for work that never gets done, is done incorrectly, and even to correct mistakes that the contractor made, really transfers to the reader. It stops being fun and starts being a bit more Kafka than Bryson. It's sad, and horrifying, and stressful. Toward the end, it's gone terribly wrong and Lebovitz finds competent help to correct the numerous, egregious, and life-threatening errors made by the incompetent contractor (CO2 being pumped in to the apartment, a fuse box full of melting wires, a sub-floor heating system that would surely shock anyone with wet feet, a mistake in the basement that could compensate the stability of the building, etc.).  It's mortifying. The problems are corrected and Lebovitz moves on with his life in Paris, but not before the reader is left in shock over the injustice. It's really awful. There is no resolution with the contractor, who is presumably still out there in the world screwing up other people's apartments. Lebovitz even goes to a lawyer, who says there is nothing to be done.The 25 recipes look delicious and come with Lebovitz's charming introductions that lay out a little story and a bit about the food.  I haven't tried any but I have no doubt they are delicious. Some (Lemon Yogurt Cake) are more approachable than others (Kouign Amann).I continue to adore David Lebovitz, but I would not strongly recommend this book for a light read. Maybe if you're thinking of remodeling your home, it is a good cautionary tale to contemplate!3.5/5 stars.My thanks to Blogging for Books and Penguin Random House for sending me the book free of charge. My opinions are my own.

I had the pleasure of reading David's previous book, "The Sweet Life In Paris" on the recommendation from a friend, and then I bought this as well. I was not disappointed! I have been to Paris 4 times and am planning a 5th trip next March. It's literally my favorite place on the planet!As someone who constantly jokes that I would love to "reverse snowbird" (live in Paris most of the year, return to Florida for the other part, LOL) this was certainly an eye opener to what it's REALLY like to live there and to transition to being a "local". While I'm not sure if my dream will ever come true, I have even MORE insight to true Parisian living and experiences thanks to David's excellent, honest, and self deprecating books. And the recipes are swoon-worthy (in this book, the Apple Maple Tarte Tartin was AMAZING! It's now going to be my go-to "apple pie" recipe for Thanksgiving, LOL).

This book is a must read !!! Already bought his two more booksThe paris kitchenThe sweet life in parisGreat book!!!

Spitzenkoch siedelt der Liebe wegen von NYC nach Paris. Seine erstaunlichen Abenteuer damit werden in humorvoller Art in diesem Buch wiedergegeben.

I read David's book 'A Sweet Life in Paris' while staying in Paris 6 years ago, and found it absolutely delightful. L'Appart is an engaging, humorous account dealing with the disasters he encountered. I couldn't put it down!

excellent livre en anglais de l'installation à Paris du Chef cuisinier David Lebovitz, très drôle , moqueur des habitudes et caractéristiques des parisiens mais jamais méchant?je recommande ce livre.

I'm halfway through it and, being in the process of buying a dilapidated house myself, I feel for David so much. Perhaps I am biased, but I'm very much enjoying the record of his headaches as I can relate a lot. David is always witty and ironic and does a great job of lightening up the troubles he went through, but the book remains a realistic and painful chronicle of the nightmares of buying and renovating a house, no matter how much you get to grin along the way.The recipes at the end of every chapter are an unexpected bonus - I absolutely loved the Croissants aux amandes - but the book is very enjoyable and interesting in its own rights.As a side note, I would have loved a photo gallery showing the before and after ;)