Scan barcode
carolyn0613's review against another edition
4.0
Hannah is an American historian working at a university. She has moved to Paris to do some research after having spent some time there as a student 10 years previously. Tariq is a young man freshly arrived from Morocco seeking adventure and perhaps some of the history of his family on his french mother's side. They strike a somewhat unlikely friendship as Tariq needs somewhere to stay and Hannah has a spare bedroom. The book is not really about their relationship however, it's about how we connect with our past and who this influences who we are in the present. I liked the historical detail which was nicely told from their two different points of view - Tariq as someone finding out for the first time, and Hannah's pedagogical thoughts and research. It's a fairly slow moving book, and very french in its style of two disparate lives connected in a small but deep way. I enjoyed it very much and the writing style is engaging. I think some of the meaning may have got lost to me but I don't think it mattered.
kaytealouise's review
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
This book read like an ode to the metro while one of the main characters has an erection every other chapter on his quest for sex. I was bored the entire way through and found myself nearly DNFing constantly but it's such a short book that I decided to power through in case it got better. It didn't and I was so happy when it ended. Sorry, not for me at all.
kategolledge's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
alimpat's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
It is slow in parts
greybeard49's review
4.0
I have read most of Faulk's books and really enjoyed them all. The style of the novel took some getting used to but it delivered in spades in the end.
He evokes the atmosphere of Paris really well and at the same time paints it through the eyes of two off beat heroes - a young male illegal Algerian immigrant and an older female American scholar/writer. Throw in an exploration of French behaviour during the Algerian uprising and during the German Occupation and you have a book which truly holds your attention. Faulks pulls few punches in deftly examining both topics through the minds and actions of his characters.
A book that adds to an already celebrated list of quality titles.
He evokes the atmosphere of Paris really well and at the same time paints it through the eyes of two off beat heroes - a young male illegal Algerian immigrant and an older female American scholar/writer. Throw in an exploration of French behaviour during the Algerian uprising and during the German Occupation and you have a book which truly holds your attention. Faulks pulls few punches in deftly examining both topics through the minds and actions of his characters.
A book that adds to an already celebrated list of quality titles.
taminarauf's review
emotional
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
essjay1's review against another edition
2.0
On the one hand this book is interesting for the history and the snippets of information about Paris - an alternative guide and it would be fantastic to read while in Paris (as a tourist - not sure how a Parisian resident would feel about it). On the other I felt there were parts of the book that did not need to be there at all.
ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
5.0
I have enjoyed every single book by Sebastian Faulks that I have read, and loved On Green Dolphin Street so much, so my reluctance to read Paris Echo makes no sense at all, except that the bare outline of the description made me nervous. Hannah, an American post-doc, comes to Paris ten years after her last stay, to do research into the lives of ordinary Parisian women during the Second World War. Tariq is an Algerian teenager who, through a series of events, ends up as a lodger of sorts in her small apartment. I think I was worried about what would happen in the wrong hands, that Tariq would do something terrible, or Hannah would, and I would be left feeling unhappy about the novel.
But Sebastian Faulks is not a first-time author looking to write something edgy or controversial. He knows exactly what he's doing. Here, Hannah is a naturally cautious woman who is used to being alone. She's given access to a series of recordings of women recalling their wartime experiences living in Paris and she is drawn into their lives. Meanwhile, Tariq is figuring out how to survive in a city that doesn't welcome him. His natural resilience means he's willing to explore the city and he especially loves the Metro. He gets a menial job at the fabulously named Panama Fried Poulet spends his free time exploring. The careful way they manage to form a friendship is just wonderful.
There's a clever bit of blurred time in this novel, but the main thing is how evocatively Faulks describes a Paris, not of tourists and grand avenues, but of immigrants, not always in France legally, trying to get by and of ordinary Parisian women during the war, and how they managed to survive. There were moments where it was clear that Faulks is much more comfortable with the thoughts of teenagers living eighty years ago than with a teenager today and he sometimes adds actions and thoughts to Tariq that don't feel entirely natural, but this was still and extraordinary novel, that I enjoyed thoroughly.
But Sebastian Faulks is not a first-time author looking to write something edgy or controversial. He knows exactly what he's doing. Here, Hannah is a naturally cautious woman who is used to being alone. She's given access to a series of recordings of women recalling their wartime experiences living in Paris and she is drawn into their lives. Meanwhile, Tariq is figuring out how to survive in a city that doesn't welcome him. His natural resilience means he's willing to explore the city and he especially loves the Metro. He gets a menial job at the fabulously named Panama Fried Poulet spends his free time exploring. The careful way they manage to form a friendship is just wonderful.
There's a clever bit of blurred time in this novel, but the main thing is how evocatively Faulks describes a Paris, not of tourists and grand avenues, but of immigrants, not always in France legally, trying to get by and of ordinary Parisian women during the war, and how they managed to survive. There were moments where it was clear that Faulks is much more comfortable with the thoughts of teenagers living eighty years ago than with a teenager today and he sometimes adds actions and thoughts to Tariq that don't feel entirely natural, but this was still and extraordinary novel, that I enjoyed thoroughly.
leemac027's review
4.0
I am a big fan of Sebastian Faulks and so it is no surprise that I really enjoyed Paris Echo.
The way Faulks builds relationships and connections across his characters is intriguing. The main protagonists, Hannah (an historian and researcher), and Tariq (who is running away from his life in Morocco) cross paths in modern day Paris and, without giving anything away, find their lives intertwining and they find both meaning and purpose as a result of their relationship.
The traumas of World War II and the challenges of migrants in 1960s Paris come together and start to wind their way into the present, impacting both Hannah and Tariq. Hannah's research is drawing her into the lives of women in occupied Paris, while Tariq is searching for answers about his long lost mother. How these two quests come together forms a compelling narrative.
A trip into history and how it can invade the present day, the importance of kindness and the search for purpose result in the growth of Hannah and Tariq, but in different ways.
Highly recommended.
The way Faulks builds relationships and connections across his characters is intriguing. The main protagonists, Hannah (an historian and researcher), and Tariq (who is running away from his life in Morocco) cross paths in modern day Paris and, without giving anything away, find their lives intertwining and they find both meaning and purpose as a result of their relationship.
The traumas of World War II and the challenges of migrants in 1960s Paris come together and start to wind their way into the present, impacting both Hannah and Tariq. Hannah's research is drawing her into the lives of women in occupied Paris, while Tariq is searching for answers about his long lost mother. How these two quests come together forms a compelling narrative.
A trip into history and how it can invade the present day, the importance of kindness and the search for purpose result in the growth of Hannah and Tariq, but in different ways.
Highly recommended.