Memories of Paris

Memories of Paris by Zaki Mubarak is a literary tapestry from which exudes the spirit of the Levantine who looked to Paris with the curiosity of a lover and the amazement of a discoverer. In this book, Mubarak describes his trip to Paris during his student years, recounting the details of its streets, cafes, and landmarks, highlighting the customs of its people and the atmosphere of their lives, and revealing its contradictions between passion and reason, guidance and misguidance. On every page, we glimpse Mubarak's deep contemplations, where admiration is mixed with question, and feelings of familiarity and alienation rage within him. With his graceful style, Mubarak conveys to the reader a vibrant picture of Parisian life full of art and freedom, as he redraws the city that invaded his imagination and made him contemplate the place of the East in the West. Memories of Paris are not just a diary, but rather a human testimony in which Mubarak paints Paris as he saw it with the eyes of an Eastern dreamer.