Release Day Review: Paris Never Leaves You by Ellen Feldman
Genre: Historical Fiction
Living through WWII working in a Paris bookstore with her young daughter, Vivi, and fighting for her life, Charlotte is no victim, she is a survivor. But can she survive the next chapter of her life?
Alternating between wartime Paris and 1950s New York publishing, Paris Never Leaves You is an extraordinary story of resilience, love, and impossible choices, exploring how survival never comes without a cost.
The war is over, but the past is never past.
Available NOW:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/31w7ukj
iBooks: https://apple.co/39S2SIX
Kobo: https://bit.ly/2DlckIN
**ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review**
Paris Never Leaves You is a fast-paced, straight to the point historical fiction and is alternating between wartime Paris and 1950s New York. It is focusing on the same character in both time periods. Charlotte and her daughter Vivi have left after the war and are now living in New York City. Charlotte is an editor at a publishing house and doesn't like to talk about her past. As her daughter gets older and more curious, she wants to know where they came from and who her family is.Charlotte hasn't been completely truthful, honestly she just let people assume things. But when her daughter gets closer and closer to finding out the truth, she will have to be the one to come clean to her.
I enjoyed this book but I had a couple of issues with it. First of all I just couldn't fully connect to Charlotte. I just didn't know enough of her life, and that is because she is very secretive, especially in present time. I just needed more depth and details of what was going on. Also the transition from present to past and vice versa was a bit chaotic. There were a couple of times I was confused in which time period the scenes were taking place. The book was too short and rushed for it to have a big impact on me. Instead of a fully realized story I was getting snippets, and it just didn't feel complete. I just didn't have enough time to grow closer to the characters. Also the ending was a bit abrupt and left me unsatisfied.
About the Author:
Ellen Feldman, a 2009 Guggenheim fellow, is the author of Terrible Virtue, The Unwitting, Next to Love, Scottsboro (shortlisted for the Orange Prize), The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank (translated into nine languages), and Lucy. Her last novel, Terrible Virtue, was optioned by Black Bicycle for a feature film. Her new novel, Paris Never Leaves You, is available June 2, 2020.
Ellen has lectured extensively around the country and in Germany and England, and enjoys talking to book groups in person, on the phone, or via the web.
She grew up in northern New Jersey and attended Bryn Mawr College, from which she holds a B.A. and an M.A. in modern history. After further graduate studies at Columbia University, she worked for a New York publishing house.
Ellen lives in New York City and East Hampton, New York, with her husband and a terrier named Charlie.
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