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A review by ccastle
The Paris Orphan by Natasha Lester
5.0
“One day, when your heart is mended, and you think of me, raise a glass for me, won’t you? We’re worth remembering.”
My grandmother lent me this book and usually when she lends me books, she’s ok with me keeping them, but this one she made a point of wanting back. Now, I understand why. I fell in love with this book. I fell in love with the characters, their stories and my heart leaped for their joy and broke for their sorrow.
The Paris Orphan is mostly set in France during the 1940's as well as in France in 2005. It is loosely inspired by the story of Lee Miller (forgotten WWII female correspondent) and the story is told by her character, Jessica May, and then a woman named D'Arcy Hallworth, an Australian art dealer. This book had the perfect combination of drama, mystery, emotion, and of course, history. It highlighted the perseverance and bravery especially of women like Jessica May (Lee Miller), Martha Gellhorn, Iris Carpenter, Lee Carson, and Catherine Coyne all of which I cannot wait to read more about now. It was also a tribute to the types of love that exist in the world, motherly/fatherly love, friendship, family, and of course, romance.
Additionally, I learned even more about the WWII. My grandmother used to tell me about how her dad would scream in his sleep when he came home with PTSD from WWII. He was the oldest man in his unit and all the young boys (as young as 18) would call him “Pop” and it was his job to drop the marines on the shores of the Pacific and watched those young men go down one by one as they stormed the beaches. While this book didn’t take place in the Pacific, it reminded me of just how young these men serving were as well as the men and women reporting on it. The camaraderie they had did exist and the experiences they shared is what would forever bind them together for the duration of their lives. Everyone came home with a story from that war and just in general, this book served as a reminder that we all have a story, and some parts of it we do not share. WWII touched so many lives in so many ways, and the romantic European cities we have the privilege of seeing this day in age were once not what they are, and I just hope we never forget those days and take for granted what we have now, no matter how unstable and scary, there has always been something, and we will carry it with us for the duration of our lives and one day, even read about it. It’s worth remembering.
My grandmother lent me this book and usually when she lends me books, she’s ok with me keeping them, but this one she made a point of wanting back. Now, I understand why. I fell in love with this book. I fell in love with the characters, their stories and my heart leaped for their joy and broke for their sorrow.
The Paris Orphan is mostly set in France during the 1940's as well as in France in 2005. It is loosely inspired by the story of Lee Miller (forgotten WWII female correspondent) and the story is told by her character, Jessica May, and then a woman named D'Arcy Hallworth, an Australian art dealer. This book had the perfect combination of drama, mystery, emotion, and of course, history. It highlighted the perseverance and bravery especially of women like Jessica May (Lee Miller), Martha Gellhorn, Iris Carpenter, Lee Carson, and Catherine Coyne all of which I cannot wait to read more about now. It was also a tribute to the types of love that exist in the world, motherly/fatherly love, friendship, family, and of course, romance.
Additionally, I learned even more about the WWII. My grandmother used to tell me about how her dad would scream in his sleep when he came home with PTSD from WWII. He was the oldest man in his unit and all the young boys (as young as 18) would call him “Pop” and it was his job to drop the marines on the shores of the Pacific and watched those young men go down one by one as they stormed the beaches. While this book didn’t take place in the Pacific, it reminded me of just how young these men serving were as well as the men and women reporting on it. The camaraderie they had did exist and the experiences they shared is what would forever bind them together for the duration of their lives. Everyone came home with a story from that war and just in general, this book served as a reminder that we all have a story, and some parts of it we do not share. WWII touched so many lives in so many ways, and the romantic European cities we have the privilege of seeing this day in age were once not what they are, and I just hope we never forget those days and take for granted what we have now, no matter how unstable and scary, there has always been something, and we will carry it with us for the duration of our lives and one day, even read about it. It’s worth remembering.