To the One I Love the Best Paperback – March 7, 2023

Well constructed paperback with decent size font. Bemelman's drawings are a deli get. Sweet story.

Anthony Bourdain proclaimed Ludwig Bemelmans his favorite author. I agree

These books were written in a more gentle era. The humor is subdued, but charming, I would say.A good read for night time as the stories are quaint, easily bringing sleep.

I would read a Bemelmans phone book. I would read anything he's ever written. This book stuck with me so long that just hearing the title makes me feel nostalgic. This isn't a book to race through, like a mystery or thriller. It is a book to savor; read a couple of pages a night. Let the ambiance of the time period float over you. And when you're done set it aside; you'll want to read it again in a year.

Important book in the canon of Bemelmans, as it describes his relationship with the inimitable Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe) and her unique, eccentric lifestyle in mid-century France. Clearly one of the (rarely acknowledged) inspirations for Wes Anderson's Grand Budapest Hotel (in a warped way through the character of Madame D, played by Tilda Swinton), but as reflected in the Easter Egg detail of the name of the pastry shop featured in the film: Mendl's. A fun, breezy, episodic read in the vein of "How to Travel Incognito" or "Father, Dear Father."

This is kind of boring, unlike Hotel Splendide, or the many Madeline children's books I read as a child. This is tedious, with only a few enjoyable bits. Generally, I would say, that this book was a big disappointment, which is too bad, and Elsie de Wolfe was a very annoying, overly pampered person but apparently many people in the book adored her, as did the author Ludwig Bemelmans.

Bemelmans was a respected artist and writer whose friends happily became his subjects He writes of the redoubtableElsie di Wolff the famed decorator with an insider's affectionate knowledge of his subject.He was a gentleman and I personally enjoy his humorous and elegant writing style.A charming book.

Missing paper cover.