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duriangray's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
lbutcher's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
margaret21's review against another edition
2.0
Goodness knows why i picked up a book featuring talking animals: not my kind of thing at all - though these creatures do only talk to each other, not to humans. I felt like a bit of escapism, and I got it. A book involving a runaway race horse, a street dog, a bird-splaining raven, a couple of ducks and a rat, whose lives interlock in the streets of Paris. Humans come into this tale as well. There's a shopkeeper who exchanges Frida-the-dog's proffered bank notes for green groceries: a child who cares for his nearly 100 year old blind grandmother and who takes in Paras the horse without his grandmother realising, among other smaller bit-parts. I enjoyed observing the characters and relationships develop, but at the two thirds point, I started to get impatient with the slow pace of the story, and I skipped straight to the last chapter, where the story panned out much as I had expected it to. A pleasant and even a charming read to soothe an embattled Covid-era brain.
malea_ann's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
charissa_g's review against another edition
4.0
This is a charming story, gentle and easy going. A little bit of magic when the world is going crazy.
gwenby's review against another edition
3.0
It took me 7 months to read this book (a book club selection). I’d pick it up, read 5 pages, think about “Lady and the Tramp,” put it down, go about my business, and read a different book.
About a decade ago I quit forcing myself to finish every book I’d started. I haven’t regretted that. I kept at this one, though, because of how much a dear friend liked it. There had to be something I was missing. We’re generally in sync when it comes to books. “The second half is better,” she said. I dallied on.
Toward the end of Chapter 15, p. 225 (of 265) to be exact, I found the magic. Thereafter, I was hooked. In those last 40 pages the characters became vibrant, the setting brilliant. Those last 40 pages get ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me. The first 225 are a ⭐️. Ergo the ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - the ending is enough to counterbalance the rest. Yes, it was worth it.
About a decade ago I quit forcing myself to finish every book I’d started. I haven’t regretted that. I kept at this one, though, because of how much a dear friend liked it. There had to be something I was missing. We’re generally in sync when it comes to books. “The second half is better,” she said. I dallied on.
Toward the end of Chapter 15, p. 225 (of 265) to be exact, I found the magic. Thereafter, I was hooked. In those last 40 pages the characters became vibrant, the setting brilliant. Those last 40 pages get ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ for me. The first 225 are a ⭐️. Ergo the ⭐️⭐️⭐️ - the ending is enough to counterbalance the rest. Yes, it was worth it.
alundeberg's review against another edition
4.0
If your heart is heavy, Jane Smiley's sweet novel "Perestroika in Paris" is just the book to lighten it. Perestroika (Paras, for short) is a race horse, who like many of us, finds that her life is "stalled" and leaps for adventure the first chance she gets. Paras' perambulations lead her to Paris (because, where else?) and its Champ de Mars, home of the le Tour Eiffel. There she experiences freedom and befriends the intelligent German shorthair stray, Frida; the philosophical and urbane raven, Raoul; and the bickering mallards, Sid and Nancy. Together they explore their environs and the world of humans and capture the attention of eight-year old Étienne, a lonely boy being raised by his great-grandmother, who changes the course of their lives forever. This novel is a thoughtful meditation on loneliness, loss, and the careful connections we create with others.
Even though it is a little slow in the beginning, it is fun to read how Smiley creates a world in which a horse can wander around Paris mostly undetected and how she uses the animals' natural abilities to move the plot along. It also helps that the humans that populate her book are sympathetic to animals and each has their own spirit of whimsy. For this reader, who is always looking for an "authentic" Parisian novel, one where the city feels integral to the story rather than a gimmick, this book succeeds. Even though this is a fanciful tale, Smiley brings the same realism to Paris as she does to the Iowa farmland in her "A Thousand Acres" (which you should only read when your soul is strong). "Perestroika in Paris" is good addition to any Paris bookshelf.
Even though it is a little slow in the beginning, it is fun to read how Smiley creates a world in which a horse can wander around Paris mostly undetected and how she uses the animals' natural abilities to move the plot along. It also helps that the humans that populate her book are sympathetic to animals and each has their own spirit of whimsy. For this reader, who is always looking for an "authentic" Parisian novel, one where the city feels integral to the story rather than a gimmick, this book succeeds. Even though this is a fanciful tale, Smiley brings the same realism to Paris as she does to the Iowa farmland in her "A Thousand Acres" (which you should only read when your soul is strong). "Perestroika in Paris" is good addition to any Paris bookshelf.
renaplays's review against another edition
3.0
It has its charms, but for what it is (simple writing telling a simple story), it is much too long.