'A very satisfying read' =============== He had stayed in room 6 and room 8 as well as some others in the Parisian hotel, but never in room 4 where Jim Morrison had stayed on his last visit to Paris where he sought find some elusive peace. Paul Francis Cheetham was embarked upon a similar quest to discover himself in an altogether different environment. In this vividly personal memoir and exploration, written in the spirit of Baudelaire, Ionesco, Jean Paul Sartre, Picasso and other great writers and artists, Paul Francis Cheetham recounts his time spent in Paris cafe society and also in the very haunted hotel that he and Jim Morrison had sought inspiration in. You are about to embark upon a surreal trip as the author sets out to found new religions, write songs that sing out in unabashed color and life, cope with nearly loosing has arm and a girlfriend, (now ex) who tried to poison him. Cheetham's sardonic streak is never faraway as he retells his adventures and reveals the teeming underbelly of Parisian life, he reveals he is a follower of Guru McCoypu whose message is 'Love everyone except those you don't like.' Reviews ====== 'Another work of genius from Dr Space Toad...up there with 'My Old Mate, The Coypu' Captain Sensible from the band The Space Toad Experience ============= 'I had just met the last of the great French thinkers. The only pity was that he wasn't French.' Danny Wallace, TV presenter ==================== A 5 star Amazon review ================== Trials... is an autobiographical account of the author's time spent in Parisian cafe society, written in diary-like format and paying homage to the great French poets and philosophers of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Entertaining, amusing and in some parts very poignant like the authors French song in Chapter 18. His little aside after he has made love with his future ex-girlfriend on top is quite amusing: Her cat came and sat on me (not in the same way)'. Some of the chapter titles are very entertaining, from the amusing Mr Extremely-Friendly does his ironing' to the visually pleasing image of The hotel cat pirouettes on the wash-basin' and the intriguing Baba Papa and the girl who thought that the Chateau de Versailles was more important than me'. Jac7 Another 5 star review by Trespassers Will Because I am used to conventional narrative forms, I kept expecting a development or a move towards an ending of some sort, but after a while I realised that the author is not following conventional narrative form, even for biography or autobiography. But that turned out to be pretty good for me. The book is a loosely connecting series of biographical essays, connected by character, sequence, and the author's own unique thread of introspection and wry comment. It is a fascinating read for a number of reasons, but partly because it treats what for most people is the bizarre, as the normal, and that sense of dislocation is very enjoyable. I also like the way that the author treats himself as almost a bystander rather than building himself up into a traditional protagonist/hero. There is a very well developed and readable writing style which captures the interest and takes the reader along in an almost existential journey through a section of the author's life. Other, earlier autobiographical writings are mentioned throughout the book, but it is unclear whether these have actually been written, let alone published, which further adds to the satisfying dislocation and unreality of what is otherwise a very real story. A very satisfying read. I'll look forward to more "