An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris

By Georges Perec, Marc Lowenthal (translator),

Book cover of An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris

Book description

"Take it with you to any cafe in any city, and Perec will be both your drinking partner and your tour guide, drawing your attention to each little detail coming and going.” –Ian Klaus, CityLab

One overcast weekend in October 1974, Georges Perec set out in quest of the "infraordinary":…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

We are coded as homo sapiens to look at each other. To observe, study, analyse our fellow creatures. One of the reasons I’ll never live in the country is that I’ll miss observing urban life. 

This is such a simple book with a simple premise. Perec recorded everything he saw while sitting at a café on a Parisian square over three days. When I lived in Paris in the 1990s, I had a dog-eared French version of this book and I dutifully went to the same place. Not to record my own observations but to try and see things that…

Want books like An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris.

Browse books like An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Paris, urbanism, and depression?

11,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about Paris, urbanism, and depression.

Paris Explore 361 books about Paris
Urbanism Explore 11 books about urbanism
Depression Explore 89 books about depression