A SELECTION OF HOLIDAY READING
Last Stop Salina Cruz
by David Lalé
Alma Books, £7.99
Arthur Cravan was an extraordinary character, even by the standards of fin-de-siecle Paris. A self-styled artist, poet, masquerading boxer and darling of the Dadaist movement, he seems to have had fame and fortune as his sole pursuit. He was a nephew of Oscar Wilde, a fact he never failed to bring into conversation, and his chaotic lifestyle, not to mention his many lectures - in one of which he promised to publicly kill himself - won him many admirers, including Marcel Duchamp.
David Lalé's book is a potted biography of Cravan dressed in the garb of a novel. His narrator traces Cravan's mad dash from the debauched streets of Paris during the early years of the first World War to Mexico in the throes of revolution.
The sections on Cravan's life are fascinating and well executed, giving a visceral depiction of life among the artistic set in France, Spain, New York and Mexico. The narrator, though, is a self-pitying, remorseful irritant, struggling to find the profound within the mundane and passing judgment on all before him during his pathetic road trip in Cravan's footsteps. An odd two-hander of a book, then, that fascinates and infuriates equally.
A Guide to Modern and Contemporary Art in the City: Paris
by Tiddy Rowan
Quadrille, £9.99
Cramming in a foreign city's art collections can be exhausting, even if you have a week to do it. This book is a simple, effective idea executed with flair. The author has cross-referenced about 100 artists with a directory of more than 300 venues, many of them off the beaten path. A brief biography and elegant pictures help you build your own art trail around Paris.
• lmackin@irish-times.ie