I enjoyed the book immensely when it comes to Louis Aragon’s Paris Peasant, even though the text started as somewhat confusing for me. Though, what I found most interesting about the text was the plot, or rather the lack of plot in the story. Much of the novel tends to describe different locations in the city of Paris, each location containing its narrative. While the content seemed substantial when it came to these locations, the locations themselves were few in number. Additionally, the significance of the locations seems to be decided, in which the stories and descriptions that the author provides give the places a specific meaning. For example, the text states that the attention of the narrator was drawn to the Passage de l’Opéra by the “unfavorable publicity accorded it in a notice put up by the Hôtel de Monte-Carlo,” (Paris Peasant, 15). Therefore, the significance of the location is based on the attention that the narrator gives. The language used to describe these shops and locations reflects that the text pays careful attention to the past while remaining in the present. Additionally, the language used somewhat romanticizes these locations to an image of the narrator. The romanticization of the areas gives these locations significance and gives the places and their stories a definite setting.
The way that the author chooses to use different means to show what occurs in these locations and their significance was exciting. Such as when the narrator used “the notice on the window of the Petit Grillon,” and then added the notice to the middle of the text (Paris Peasant, 25). There are other examples of different manners to add to the story of locations, such as snippets of discussion, newspaper extracts, and more. Another example of this is when the narrator gives attention to when “the official mouthpiece of the objectors is a bi-monthly news-sheet,” and then proceeds to provide an extract from the news-sheet (Paris Peasant, 31). These multiple and versatile manners in making the locations that the narrator discusses somewhat come to life aids in the reader’s understanding of the locations. Though, one aspect that caused a problem for me during the reading was that I did not know Paris incredibly well. Therefore, the narrator somewhat assumes that the reader has some basic understanding of the city of Paris, or at least how the city is structured. A question that I would ask about this text is; does the language and imagery presented to show the city of Paris showcase Paris in a new way?
-Muskan Shukla