Review: The Parisianer, by Aurelie Pollet and Michael Prigent

The Parisianer: Les Couvertures d'un magazine imaginaire. Published 2014 by Editions 10/18.

I picked up The Parisianer last weekend at Albertine Books, a French bookstore on the upper east side of Manhattan.

First of all Albertine is a delight. Yes, they have current French and Francophone fiction and nonfiction, translations into and out of French and a beautiful setting. My favorite thing about Albertine is the nonfiction display table on the second floor where you can always find adorable, irresistible things you never knew you needed.

The Parisianer is a collection of "covers of an imaginary magazine," basically a Parisian version of The New Yorker. There is almost no text; instead, just magazine-cover illustrations by a panoply of French artists. I didn't recognize any of the names but the styles are all over the map, with some simple covers, some elaborate and detailed, some reminiscent of street art, some impressionistic, you name it.

I love this book. It was one of those things I just had to own, and I can't stop looking at it.

Rating: BUY

FTC Disclosure: I did not receive this book for review.