Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Paris Never Leaves You: a story of love and the cost of survival


Paris Never Leaves You by Ellen Feldman is the story of Charlotte Foret who survived the Paris Occupation in WWII with her young daughter, Vivi to escape to New York City where she works as an editor for a publishing company. She receives a letter from someone she has no desire to speak to, wanting the past to remain the past, she ignores it. Vivi is now 14 year and has many questions about their life in Paris, the war and her father who died in battle. Charlotte is unsure how to answer her questions as she desperately wants to leave the past in the past. The alternates between Paris, 1944 and New York City, 1954, as she tries to leave the past in the past, a story she desperately wishes would be ignored. She is no stranger to hardship, as she is a survivor. Is her most challenging situation coming? What will her survival cost her? Will she be forced to tell the story she is so reluctant to reveal? The war may be over, but will the past stay in the past?


Paris Never Leaves You is a beautiful story of resilience, love, and impossible choices for survival. Alternating seamlessly between 1944 and 1954, the reader is taken on a journey of an extraordinary struggle to survive as Charlotte is faced with choices many of us hope we never have to make. The switch between timelines is very subtle that if you are not paying attention you will miss it. This book is a story that you must take your time with and take in the imagery that Ms. Feldman paints and the story she weaves, the twists and turns. It is not the story one would expect. Paris Never Leaves You is a change from the WWII stories I have read before. I enjoyed each character as they felt real with their virtues and faults. I loved the relationship between Charlotte and Vivi. At times it was like a normal mother-teenage daughter relationship and at others, it was a very unique relationship. It leaves you wondering what you would have done if you were in Charlotte’s shoes. I highly recommend Paris Never Leaves You.



Paris Never Leaves You
is available in hardcover, paperback, eBook, and audiobook

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