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A review by abookwanderer
Paris Never Leaves You by Ellen Feldman
4.0
Paris Never Leaves You was a lovely surprise. I’ve had this ARC for months because the publishing date was pushed out thanks to Covid-19, but it was finally next on my list! I thought it was very well-written.
I’ve read a lot of historical fiction set during and around WWII. I keep thinking eventually the genre might grow repetitive to me, but I’m amazed how each book holds something new to learn. Feldman has done a marvelous job creating realistic characters, characters the reader can sympathize with but still be surprised by. I read this one quickly, devouring it within twenty-four hours.
While the story alternates between Charlotte’s time in Paris at the end of the war and the early 1950s in New York, I never became confused. I enjoyed that the timelines weren’t too far apart. That was a newer experience for me.
And the settings of a bookstore in Paris and the New York publishing world of the 1950s were maybe the best part of the story. As a reader, I always appreciate any glimpses into other bookish worlds.
I’ve noticed other readers have read this story as more of a romance than historical fiction, but it didn’t seem that way to me. There are romantic relationships in the book, but for me they were not the main point of the story. The theme is endurance, and Charlotte’s determination to assure her and her daughter’s survival, no matter what. I thoroughly enjoyed this inspiring story.
#popsugarreadingchallenge2020 (prompt #20)
I’ve read a lot of historical fiction set during and around WWII. I keep thinking eventually the genre might grow repetitive to me, but I’m amazed how each book holds something new to learn. Feldman has done a marvelous job creating realistic characters, characters the reader can sympathize with but still be surprised by. I read this one quickly, devouring it within twenty-four hours.
While the story alternates between Charlotte’s time in Paris at the end of the war and the early 1950s in New York, I never became confused. I enjoyed that the timelines weren’t too far apart. That was a newer experience for me.
And the settings of a bookstore in Paris and the New York publishing world of the 1950s were maybe the best part of the story. As a reader, I always appreciate any glimpses into other bookish worlds.
I’ve noticed other readers have read this story as more of a romance than historical fiction, but it didn’t seem that way to me. There are romantic relationships in the book, but for me they were not the main point of the story. The theme is endurance, and Charlotte’s determination to assure her and her daughter’s survival, no matter what. I thoroughly enjoyed this inspiring story.
#popsugarreadingchallenge2020 (prompt #20)