Paris Versus New York

Tags:: Culture; Books

It's rare that a series of visual puns has much of a shelf life, but Paris Versus New York, a punchy book of illustrations comparing and contrasting the two cities from Vahram Muratyan merits repeated reading. His keen eye and flat, graphic style both work in the service of some pretty incisive criticism. Finding equivalents, contradictions, and remarkable similarities in the unique cultures of each place, Muratyan feels more like a crack pop ethnographer than gimmick artist. Check out the slideshow that follows to see how the City of Light stacks up against the Big Apple. You might think you know both, but I guarantee that you'll be surprised by this deft little book, which is out January 31st from Penguin.

Images Reprinted by arrangement with Penguin, A member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc., from "Paris versus New York" by Vahram Muratyan Copyright (c) 2011 by Vahram Muratyan.

— Aaron Britt

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