The Shape of a City

The Shape of a City is a 1985 book by the French writer Julien Gracq. It is a portrait of Nantes, the city where Gracq grew up, in the form of memories, anecdotes, reflections and dreamlike descriptions. The title comes from a quotation by Charles Baudelaire: "The shape of a city, as we all know, changes more quickly than the mortal heart". An English translation by Ingeborg M. Kohn was published in 2005.

Reception

In 2007, Thomas McGonigle described the book for Los [Angeles Times] as "a model for how to write about one’s home place... It should be required reading for anyone setting out to describe their home place."