"An inspiring book for flâneurs and Paris lovers"

FLÂNEUR TEACHES HOW TO ROAM WITHOUT AN AIM, TO GET LOST IN THE CITY. IT WILL TRANSFORM YOUR WALK AROUND PARIS INTO AN EXCITING AND MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE.

A man walks the streets of Paris, alone and without a destination. He covers the long avenues with their great buildings, he gets lost in the crowds of the grands magasins. Buttoned up in his black overcoat, he wanders, restless, through the city. But what is he looking for? Where is he going? The word flâneur derives from the French verb flâner, which means “to wander”, “to waste one’s time”. Being a flâneur means walking, free of all commitments, immersing oneself in the living spectacle of Paris. This book contains some stories about people who have lost their way in Paris and who have thus discovered new and wonderful things on their route. It provides information on the personages, artists and the authors who have made the history of the aimless strolling in the French Capital.The reader has two possibilities: a sequential reading, from the first to the last chapter or free reading that allows for the creation of a preferred route through the text. The rule of the game is simple: the chapters with odd numbers are fiction, while the chapters with even numbers are nonfiction. This book is, ultimately, an exercise for the mind. It teaches how to immerse oneself in exteriority, and how to give less importance to the self and one’s own petty needs. Because in order to listen to the voice of the world, one must first of all silence the ego.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:
0. INSTRUCTIONS FOR READING THIS BOOK
1. PROLOGUE – INTO THE STREET
2. HOW TO BE A TRUE FLÂNEUR
3. THE TALE OF A MAN WHO SOUGHT TO GET LOST
4. ONCE THERE WAS THE FLÂNEUR
5. DRIFTING ALONG THE BOULEVARD
6. THE RUINS OF PARIS
7. A DANGEROUS GAME
8. THE CITY OF TOMORROW
9. SHOPPING AS ONE OF THE FINE ARTS
10. WAKING UP FROM THE DREAM
11. EPILOGUE – AT THE GATE
Endnotes
Bibliography
About the author