Ruth Reichl
Saratoga Book Festival presents The Paris Novel: A Conversation with Ruth Reichl
Sunday, October 5, 2025 – 11:00 am
Universal Preservation Hall, 25 Washington St, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
Ruth Reichl is The New York Times bestselling author of five memoirs, the novel Delicious!, and the cookbook My Kitchen Year. She was editor in chief of Gourmet magazine and previously served as restaurant critic for the New York Times, as well as food editor and restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times. She has been honored with six James Beard Awards. In 2024, she received the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award. Her most recent book The Paris Novel is a feast for the senses and a testament to living deliciously, taking chances, and finding your true home.
“Beyond its fabulous food descriptions, this book offers a fresh format for encountering Reichl’s deep understanding of French culture and food, and even includes a side plot drawn from her days studying art history in graduate school. In short, it’s a quintessential Reichl read—richly detailed, dense with information and creativity (and ideas for dinner parties), and a total delight.”—Saveur
“If you do not have time to go to Paris, get yourself some cheese, baguette, and red wine, and let The Paris Novel take you on a remarkable holiday for the soul.”—Nina George, author of The Little Paris Bookshop
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Saveur, Food & Wine, Bookreporter, The Charlotte Observer
Product Details
The Paris Novel
By Ruch Reichl
ISBN 9780812986372
Published by Random House Trade Paperbacks, April 22, 2025
Photo Credit: Shannon Greer
Books
About The Paris Novel
Stella reached for an oyster, tipped her head, and tossed it back. It was cool and slippery, the flavor so briny it was like diving into the ocean. Oysters, she thought. Where have they been all my life?
When her estranged mother dies, Stella is left with an unusual inheritance: a one-way plane ticket and a note reading “Go to Paris.” Stella is hardly cut out for adventure; a traumatic childhood has kept her confined to the strict routines of her comfort zone. But when her boss encourages her to take time off, Stella resigns herself to honoring her mother’s last wishes.
Alone in a foreign city, Stella falls into old habits, living cautiously and frugally. Then she stumbles across a vintage store, where she tries on a fabulous Dior dress. The shopkeeper insists that this dress was meant for Stella and for the first time in her life Stella does something impulsive. She buys the dress—and embarks on an adventure.
Her first stop: the iconic brasserie Les Deux Magots, where Stella tastes her first oysters and then meets an octogenarian art collector who decides to take her under his wing. As Jules introduces Stella to a veritable who’s who of the Paris literary, art, and culinary worlds, she begins to understand what it might mean to live a larger life.
As weeks—and many decadent meals—go by, Stella ends up living as a “tumbleweed” at famed bookstore Shakespeare & Company, uncovers a hundred-year-old mystery in a Manet painting, and discovers a passion for food that may be connected to her past. A feast for the senses, this novel is a testament to living deliciously, taking chances, and finding your true home.