Laurel Zuckerman is the author of bestseller Sorbonne Confidential, a novel based on her experiences at the Sorbonne in 2004-5. Originally from Arizona, she has lived in France for over 25 years. Her second book, Professor Collie’s Barbarian Dreams is a novel about a historian so obsessed with the past that he forgets to live in the here and now.

What brought you to Paris  ?

My French friends are disappointed when I tell them that I was dragged here against my will because my husband (then just my boyfriend) received a scholarship to study in Paris. We were living in Germany at the time and I had just started making good friends among Iranian women exiled by the revolution. Our common language was German, and we connected by sharing fears and complaining about our men. Fortunately, it turned out I could also do that in Paris.

What keeps you in Paris ?

Nothing now, I live in Bry-sur-Marne.

The truth is I love Paris. It takes my breath away. I’m a walker—and Paris is a city made for walkers. (Not just flâneurs.) Beautiful buildings, gaily decorated shops, surprising details, vistas, spaces, musicians. On a pretty day, it’s pure pleasure. Also, I happen to like the French.

What books have changed your life?

I’m a reader, always have been, always will be, but no one book has changed my life. Maybe books collectively? The realization that thoughtful, wise, funny, generous, wonderful people exist and that I may spend time with them through books. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is such a book. Every second in that man’s company is a privilege. Also: the realization that book can be both deadly serious and a delight. Huckleberry Finn is an inspiration.

What books are on your nightstand?

Today: The Black Swan, My Forbidden Face, and Hitler’s Jewish Soldiers—all non-fiction and highly recommended. Also, Robert Frost’s poems. In a hardback edition with a little ribbon to mark the page. He wrote incredible short stories which are presented as poems.

What book makes you laugh out loud?

Confederacy of Dunces, Parkinson’s The Law, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Dress your family in Corduroy and Denim, the first chapter of Candide, Dead Souls, Small World, Changing Places, and anything by Bill Bryson, including his brilliant chapter on Darwin in A Short History of Nearly Everything. I love humor.

What advice would you give to struggling writers?

Write. No internet. No excuses. Make friends. 

What is the best advice you have ever received?

“People don’t want advice.” It’s true. Especially friends. People want sympathetic listeners who feel their pain, not problem solvers. I wish had known this earlier. Not that I could have acted on it. My IT job was problem solver (“expert solution”). Can you imagine how off-putting this is in real life?

How does living in a foreign country affect your writing? What does it add to your writing?

It’s like having superpowers—x-ray vision. As a foreigner I was struck by things, important things, that the French could not see or understand about their own country. And, for better of for worse, I could see the humor in these things. Now, however, I’m writing about growing up in Arizona. Living far away, in a completely different environment gives these events a hazy dreamlike quality. The glaring sun and heat and smell of horse sweat and dust seem like another world from here. I don’t know what the result will be.

 At what hour of the day does inspiration strike? (Or what time of the day do you feel the most productive?)

Inspiration tends to strike in the middle of the night when I am asleep, which is annoying and not productive at all. If I’m good, I’ll wake up enough to jot something down. The next morning, the illegible scribble will remind me I had an idea. Sometimes I can decipher it, sometimes not.

 What is your favorite Parisian café?

It depends how grossed out you are by rodents and abuse of tourists. A couple of my favourite places can’t really withstand scrutiny, but who can? For working and meeting up with other writers, I like the Dalou at Nation. For great hot chocolate and snooty service to impress visitors, you can’t beat Angelina’s.

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