The FBC Paris

- Follow Gabi on Instagram (@gcupburn)

- Buy a copy of It Is Wood, It Is Stone (UK)

- Buy a copy of It Is Wood, It Is Stone (US)

- Listen to Aguas de Março and read up on Elis Regina’s life.

Some books enjoyed by Gabi this year:

- Parakeet (Marie-Helene Bertino)

- Vesper Flights (Helen Macdonald)

- The Lying Life of Adults (Elena Ferrante)

Sutanya Dacres is a Jamaican-born, Bronx-raised, American in Paris, living in the city’s best arrondissement (the 18th).

Creator and host of the Dinner for One podcast, Sutanya had me round to her gorgeous apartment and cooked me a delicious meal (starter, main, and dessert), which we washed down with a bottle of Côte du Rhône.

I had a cheeky look at Sutanya’s bookshelves (verdict = perfect) before we sat down to chat about juggling cultures, the true Paris expat experience, and some of Sutanya’s favourite books.

Follow Sutanya on Instagram.

Here’s what we talk about during the episode:

- Intimations (Zadie Smith)
- How To Love A Jamaican (Alexia Arthurs)
- Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
- Call Your GF chat with Zadie Smith
- WNYC interview with Alexia Arthurs
- Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Thirst Aid Kit Podcast with Bim Adewunmi and Nichole Perkins

In part two of our interview with writer Sanaë Lemoine, we explore her passion for food, which makes a welcome appearance at several moments in her debut novel The Margot Affair. We also discuss the fine line between food as something that comforts and nurtures versus food as something more sinister or violent, especially for women. Sanaë also talks us through her confinement period in Brooklyn and some of her recent reads.

Show Notes:

Follow Sanaë on Instagram

Order a copy of The Margot Affair (Bookshop, Shakespeare & Company, Hive)

Books referenced during the episode:

Breasts and Eggs (Mieko Kawakami)

Is It Wood Is It Stone (Gabriella Burnham)

Lydia Davis

Other links:

The Conscious Kid

Forsyth Harmon

The Millions interviews Sanaë Lemoine

Seven French books about family secrets

Mitterand as a doting father (by his daughter Mazarine)

The Margot Affair was released in June of this year and immediately received glowing reviews from publications such as The New York Times and Marie Claire. Set in Paris, we follow 17 year old Margot, who struggles with being the secret daughter of a well-known French politician. Family ties are called into question as the line between private and public life becomes increasingly blurred: not just for Margot but for the adults around her. In part one of this two part interview, Sanaë and Lou talk about the book’s inspiration, as well as the different female relationships that are represented within the novel.

Show Notes:

Follow Sanaë on Instagram

Order a copy of The Margot Affair (Bookshop, Shakespeare & Company, Hive)

Books referenced during the episode:

Rien ne s’oppose à la nuit (Delphine de Vigan)

Hotel Iris (Yoko Ogawa)

Hot Milk (Deborah Levy)

Other links:

The Millions interviews Sanaë Lemoine

Seven French books about family secrets

Mitterand as a doting father (by his daughter Mazarine)

In the final part of this interview with Lindsey Tramuta, we talk about being optimistic for the future of intersectional feminism, everywhere in the world but particularly in France. Lindsey also shares her current / recent favourite reads with us!

Show Notes

The New Parisienne

Lindsey on Instagram

Joann on Instagram

Further Reading:
Anne Hidalgo Reelected As Mayor Of Paris Vowing To Remove Cars And Boost Bicycling And Walking

Books recommended by Lindsey:

The Vanishing Half (Brit Bennett)

Moi, Tituba Sorcière / I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem (Maryse Condé)

Our Women on the Ground: Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World (Edited by Zahra Hankir)

We Need New Stories (Nesrine Malik)

Women On Food (Charlotte Druckman)

Circe (Madeline Miller)

Today I’m talking to Lindsey Tramuta, a travel and culture writer who moved to Paris from Philadelphia 14 years ago. In 2017, Lindsey released her first book The New Paris, which explored key changes in Paris over the last decade. Her follow-up book is called The New Parisienne and focuses on the women of Paris. But as the title suggests, these women go far beyond the cliché and commercialized image of La Parisienne, which we’re all too familiar with. 

In part one of this two part interview, Lindsey talks to me about the pitching process for The New Parisienne, the problem with French Universalism, the current state of reproductive rights and the role of intersectional feminism in modern-day French society. It’s an eye-opening discussion and if you’re looking for something that goes beyond the monolithic representation of Parisian women then I think you’ll get a lot out of this episode and you should probably order a copy of The New Parisienne. 

Show Notes

Pre-order The New Parisienne

Follow Lindsey on Instagram

Follow Joann on Instagram

The Women of The New Parisienne (mentioned during the episode):

Rokhaya Diallo (Journalist, Filmmaker, and Anti-Racist Activist)

Elisa Rojas (Lawyer and Disability-Rights Activist)

Sarah Sauquet (Teacher and Founder of Un Texte Un Jour)

Sandra Rey (Designer in Bioluminescence and Founder of Glowee)

Sarah Zouak (Social Entrepreneur, Filmmaker and Co-founder of Lallab) 

Dr. Ghada Hatem-Gantzer (Ob-gyn and founder of La Maison des Femmes)

Further reading on issues discussed during this episode:

Let's talk about women and race (in France) with Rokhaya Diallo & Lindsey Tramuta

Assa Traoré and the Fight for Black Lives in France 

Forget The Wine Podcast
Forget The Wine Instagram

Books mentioned:

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
Women and Power by Mary Beard

Further Reading Recommendations:

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor
Conjure Women by Afia Atakora
The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld

Both The FBC Paris and The FBC Rome, founded in 2019 by Lily Scarponi, have always had the intention of creating a safe space for book club members to play as active a role in the discussions as they would like and to be vocal allies of communities that experience social injustices first-hand, one of which is racism.

The tragic deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor in the United States, has sparked a global conversation and movement that is saying very clearly: enough is enough.

Camille, Lily and myself wanted to take a moment to check in with each other, as white women who run book clubs that focus on intersectional feminism and who will never have to directly experience racism. We are sitting with ourselves and figuring out how to be better anti-racist allies, both within and outside of book club sessions. We acknowledge that we have and we will mess up when it comes to being anti-racist but we want to hold ourselves accountable. We understand that this is something we have to work at actively day in and day out, and are grateful for all the resources that are available to us in many formats. We see that we need to get uncomfortable and talk more about white supremacy.

We hope that you can get something out of this conversation and invite you to share your thoughts with us on the episode: let’s be accountable together.