The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley

The plot:  Running from her not-so-great life in London, Jess heads to Paris to crash with her half-brother, Ben, for awhile. He's not happy about it, but he texts her his address and assures her he'll be there to let her in. Only when she arrives, Ben is gone and things don't feel right in his apartment. Jess questions the other six residents living in the building, but they're not very helpful. They all have secrets of their own; and one of those secrets might be the reason Ben is missing. Because he was investigating something, or someone, connected with that apartment building.

My thoughts:  Foley has written another novel full of surprises and suspense. While Jess is the main narrator, Foley also includes the POVs of some of the other building residents:  Sophie, 50+, posh, and living in the Penthouse; Mimi, 19, and more odd than edgy; Nick, a university friend of Ben's; and the old Concierge who watches all the residents and their doings from her rooms off the courtyard. Then there's Antoine, the alcoholic on the first floor, and sexy Camille, Mimi's roommate. None of them are very likable or felt very trustworthy. But the shift in POVs throughout kept the chapters short and the story line moving at a fast clip. Jess is a bit messed up, but I liked her pluck and determination to find out what happened to Ben, even if some of her actions felt a bit reckless at times. And the mystery? I thought the big secret, while not supernatural or super shocking, was plausible and fit the story. And I really liked how Foley brought all the pieces of it and the various POVs together. Plus, there's a really good and unexpected twist at the end that I loved. 

This was another fun buddy read with Melody @ Melody's Reading Corner. Be sure to check out her review, too.

Happy Reading!

Similar reads:

The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley

Lock Every Door by Riley Sager

 

A French Classic...

 

Published in 1883, Au Bonheur des Dames (The Ladies' Delight) by Emile Zola centers around Octave Mouret's dazzling new department store in Paris, and all the lives it effects, both for good and bad. No one has seen anything like Mouret's seductive store which draws in scores of women and convinces them to buy more than they need because the prices are so low, while at the same time driving all the smaller competitors nearby out of business.

Mouret is a brash and energetic man who takes big risks for big rewards, and who loves to charm and 'conquer' his customers...and the other women he meets. And he's not shy about it. "I'm a passionate man, I don't just sit back and let life go by. ... It's wanting something and acting on it, you see, creating something, in short. You get an idea and you fight for it, you hammer it into people's heads, you see it grow and triumph."

Then there's Denise Baudu, a provincial young lady who comes to Paris with her two younger brothers. Needing work, she gets a job at Au Bonheur des Dames as a salesgirl. But life there isn't easy; her first day ends in tears. "From that day on, Denise showed great courage. Beneath her emotional crises, there was an intellect always at work and the bravery of someone weak and alone who was cheerfully determined in pursuit of the tasks she had set herself. She made little fuss, but went directly ahead towards her goal, taking any obstacles in her stride--and she did all this simply and naturally, because her whole nature was in this invincible gentleness. ....Her willingness to endure pain and her dogged determination kept her upright and smiling even when she was on the point of collapse, entirely exhausted by work that would have finished many men."

It is her modesty and gentle sweetness that draws Mouret's interest. His attraction deepens to love. (And almost obsession.) But no matter what he offers her, Denise refuses to become his mistress. Even though deep down, she loves him, too. Their lives revolve around Au Bonheur des Dames and its triumphal success.

Zola had a lot to say about consumerism and instant gratification in this novel, and how one man and one store can manipulate society so easily. But I enjoyed it mostly for his characters and the personal journeys each one takes. In many ways, Denise reminded me of Jane Austen's Fanny Price, quietly determined to do what she believes is right no matter what. Mouret's morals, on the other hand, weren't so admirable, but his business acumen was impressive. No one else believed his department store would be so successful. Except for Denise. These two make quite a pair. And while I found the ending a bit anti-climatic, I ended up liking this French classic (which counts as my Classic in Translation for Karen's Back to the Classics Challenge.)

Happy Reading!

P.S. The Penguin version I read was ably translated by Robin Buss.

Two more from my TBR shelf....(because my library is still closed!)

Title & Author:  Who Speaks for the Damned by C.S. Harris

Why I bought it:  Actually, I didn't. I won this copy from Goodreads. But it's one I would have bought anyway because this mystery series is one of my favorites.

The plot in brief:  This is the fifteenth Sebastian St. Cyr mystery. It takes place in London in the summer of 1814, and it revolves around the murder of Nicholas Hayes, the third son of the late Earl of Seaforth. Only, everyone thought Haves died years ago in Botany Bay. So why did he come back to England? And who killed him? Viscount Devlin and his wife, Hero, are on the case.

My thoughts:  This is a good one! I love Devlin and Hero; they're such great characters. They are definitely the reason I enjoy reading these books so much. The time period these books are set in is an interesting one, which is another draw. And while I know you're supposed to read a series like this in order, I actually read the fourth book, Where Serpents Sleep, first, and I'm kind of glad I did because that's the book where Devlin and Hero meet. Of course, I then went back to the beginning and read the first three books to catch up; I've been reading this series ever since. 15 books later and I'm still hooked.

My rating:  4/5 stars.

Title & Author:  A Climate of Fear by Fred Vargas

Why I bought it:  I love Fred Vargas's books. So last year when I spotted this one at a library book sale, along with four other Vargas mysteries that I'd already read and knew I loved, I quickly snatched them all up. ($1.25 well spent!)

The plot in brief:  When the same symbol is found at two apparent suicides, Commissaire Adamsberg and his unique team of detectives think they might have a serial killer on their hands. The twists and turns of their investigation lead them to a tragic expedition in Iceland that took place ten years earlier, and to a strange society in Paris obsessed with Robespierre.

My thoughts:  What I love about Vargas's mysteries is that they're always so unexpected. I never know where they're going to end up, but I always enjoy the ride. I also love the quirky eccentricity of Adamsberg and the other members of his team. These are just fun reads. A little strange at times, but always entertaining. My two favorites are An Uncertain Place and The Chalk Circle Man. But this one is good, too.

My rating:  4/5 stars.

Happy Reading!

A bookish gem...

"Because it's complicated explaining why you love a book. And I can't always do it. There are books that when I've read them I feel ... well ... something stirs inside me."

The Girl Who Reads on the Metro by Christine Feret-Fleury is one of those unexpectedly and delightfully charming books that don't sound like much at first, but are actually quite enchanting. The story centers around Juliette, a young woman who loves books but who is disenchanted with her job and the dull routine of her life. Though she does like making up stories about the people she sees riding on the Metro every morning. Then, one day, she stumbles upon a cramped and dusty bookshop in an out-of-the-way Paris street and everything changes for Juliette. The owner asks her to pass along some of his books to strangers that she meets. And unexpected things happen...in their lives, and in hers. That's the magic of books. They can change lives. And that's what I liked about this gem of a novel. The Girl Who Reads on the Metro is a bookish fairy tale with it's own quirky, happy ending.

"If she had learned one thing, it was this:  with books, there were always surprises."

Another favorite quote:

"...Juliette was sitting cross-legged, the books arranged in a fan around her. Seventeen books. She'd counted them. Held them, sized them up, flicked through them. She'd inhaled the smell of their folds, peeked at the odd sentence, words as appetizing as sweets, or sharp as blades.... So many words. So many stories, characters, landscapes, laughter, tears, sudden decisions, hopes, and fears. But for whom?"

Happy Reading!

Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland

"He felt hot with the pressure to get started, and to make it the greatest figure painting of the whole Impressionist movement. ... Figures, landscape, genre subject--all in one. Throw in a still life too. Not just a few figures. A dozen or more, at closer range this time. ... He would use a combination of styles. It would be an experiment. The faces modeled with more classical techniques, one hue blending seamlessly into another, but the landscape and still life in looser, distinct strokes. Every figure, every feature a small painting in and of itself."

This book has so many things in it that I love: Paris, sailing on the Seine, Sunday afternoons on the Ile de Chatou, great art, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and the Impressionists. With her skillful storytelling, Susan Vreeland transports the reader to Paris in the 1880s, capturing the brilliance and struggle of Renoir (one of my favorite Impressionist painters) and depicting the conception and creation of his most famous painting. She really brings Renoir and his friends (who posed for him in this painting) to life. And the way she recreates that time period...it felt like I was there. This is a great read--well-written and interesting. And I loved everything about it! I can't wait to read Vreeland's other books.

Happy Reading!

Luncheon of the Boating Party -- Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 1881

From my TBR shelf...

I bought Wash This Blood Clean From My Hand by Fred Vargas for two reasons:  I really like her Commissaire Adamsberg mysteries, and my library didn't own a copy. Plus, I found a really cheap used copy from Powells. But I don't know why I then let it languish on my shelf for years, without once picking it up to read. And I mostly picked it up now because it fulfills one of my Backlist Reader Challenge reads. But also because I really do like the way Fred Vargas writes. Especially when she's writing about Commissaire Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg.

Adamsberg is the head of the Serious Crime Squad in Paris. But he's not your typical police officer. He gives off a "dreamy indifference" when he's solving a case that sometimes drives the other members of his squad crazy. At the same time, he makes these intuitive leaps and notices these unexpected connections that no one else ever sees. His unique talent means he solves a lot of cases...and it also makes for some very offbeat and imaginative mysteries. I like them a lot.

In this one, Adamsberg is chasing a murderer he once dubbed The Trident.  "The murderer who always escaped, and who, thirty years earlier, had thrown his life off course ... no other living being had caused him more pain and dread, distress and fury than this man." Now there's a new murder and Adamsberg is convinced that The Trident is back. There's just one problem. The man Adamsberg knew as The Trident died sixteen years ago.  Adamsberg even went to his funeral. It's a definite complication...and not the only complication Commissaire Adamsberg encounters in this compelling mystery. I shouldn't have waited so long to read this one.  Then again, it was definitely worth the wait.

Happy Reading!

My other favorite Commissaire Adamsberg mysteries:
     An Uncertain Place

     The Chalk Circle Man
     Seeking Whom He May Devour

A bookish journey to Jerusalem...

Esther's hand raced over the paper as if the colored pencils might be snatched from her, the quivering inside her wild, foreign, thrilling. All this time she hadn't known that "blue" was actually seven distinct shades, each with its own name--azure, Prussian, cobalt, cerulean, sapphire, indigo, lapis. She pressed the waxy pencils on the paper, amazed by the emerging hues....In this stolen hour at Mademoiselle Thibaux's dining-room table, she could draw without being scolded for committing the sin of idleness, God forbid.

Talia Carner's Jerusalem Maiden immerses the reader in the world of the Haredi, a community of ultra-orthodox Jews, at the turn of the 20th century when the Ottoman Empire is coming to an end. At the heart of the novel is Esther Kaminsky, a young girl who finds herself torn between her passion for art and her desire to please God. She feels her talent for creating beautiful sketches and oil paintings must come from God, but according to her strict culture there are no Jewish artists, drawing portraits is especially forbidden, and "marriage is the greatest destiny for girls". Esther struggles to accept her destiny without giving up her own desires and dreams. But she can't choose her art without betraying both her family and her God. She is trapped by her birth. And I really felt for her.

I found this book fascinating, especially learning more about the Haredi culture; I couldn't believe the strictures placed on women in this very narrow and pious community. It was pretty eye-opening, and also frustrating and a bit maddening. (And it made me very glad Esther's life isn't mine!)  Still, to be able to visit not only Jerusalem, but also Paris in the early 1900s, made for an amazing bookish journey. Both places are always so interesting and fun to read about. As for Esther, her story is moving and poignant and ultimately bittersweet. I cheered for her, cried for her, and wished I could change her world for her...or that she would do something amazing and brave and change it herself. But not all books have happy endings. I can't say I loved this book, but it was an interesting read and Esther is one of those characters I won't soon forget. Probably because I felt so bad for her most of the time.

Happy Reading!

Similar reads:

     The Marrying of Chani Kaufman by Eve Harris

     The Ladies Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis

Bookish potluck...

The Entree:

"Swapping propriety for adventure, Herringford and Watts are more preoccupied in their current investigations than in securing husbands, a fact that may make you working ladies, bachelor girls, and shoppies stand up and salute."

Jemima Watts plays Watson to Merinda Herringford's Holmes in this nominal mystery set in Toronto in 1910. These two unconventional "bachelor girls" have set up their own detective agency and are determined to solve the murder of two working class Irish girls because the police aren't... or won't. I liked Jem immediately, but Merinda was a bit too self-absorbed and too caught up in her own schemes for me to like her very much. And she's the one who gets Jemima into a myriad of scrapes and embarrassing situations. My favorite character is Italian-born Ray DeLuca, a reporter who is also investigating the murders. The relationship that develops between him and Jem is the best part of The Bachelor Girl's Guide to Murder, along with the many humorous interactions between the characters. The quotes at the beginning of each chapter are clever and fun, which is good, because the mystery is just so-so. I'm really glad I only borrowed this Rachel McMillan mystery from the library and that I didn't buy it, because it ended up being just an okay read.

The Dessert:

"As a young girl, I had no concept of being attractive. When I looked in the mirror, I saw only a girl who had a few friends, a strict grandfather...a mother who seemed sad most of the time, and a father I had never known. It wasn't until I was thirteen that I began to notice that I looked a little different compared to other girls my age."

I pulled this book off my TBR shelf. In short, Tanaya Shah is young, beautiful, and Muslim. On the promise of an arranged marriage, she leaves Mumbai for Paris, but instead of marrying, she ends up alone in Paris where she becomes a model in order to help pay the rent. Her beautiful face quickly carries her to the top, but her unexpected career also carries her far from her family, home, and values. It's glamorous and fun, but is it her?  In Salaam, Paris, like in any good fairy tale, Tanaya must find her own happy ending.  Reading this book is a lot like eating meringue:  it's light and it tastes good, but it's not exactly filling. But if you like sugar...this book will satisfy your sweet tooth. I thought it was worth the 25 cents I paid for it at that library sale last year, and Kavita Daswani is an author I'd try again...but this is not a book I'll be hanging on to.  Once is enough. 

Moral of the story? Eat dessert first.

Happy Reading!

The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson

Five reasons to read this book:

     1.  It's set in Paris. Think Montmartre. Pere Lachaise. The Jardin du Luxembourge. All during the Belle Epoque. What could be better than that?

     2.  Maud Heighton, a young English lady, is studying to be an artist at the Academie Lafond with several other young women. But Paris is expensive, and she is poor.

"Paris ate money. Paint and canvas ate money. Maud's training ate money. Paris yanked each copper from her hand and gave her back nothing but aching bones and loneliness ... She had thought herself rather wise in the ways of the world until she came to Paris. Every day that passed, she was in danger of thinking a little less of herself"

      3.  The air of Gothic mystery surrounding Christian Morel and his opium-addicted sister, Sylvie, for whom Maud is hired to be a companion. At first everything seems perfect, but then, in an unexpected twist, Maud finds herself caught up in their dark secrets...and in a life she never imagined.

     4.  The art. It's 1909 and Paris is alive with the art of Pisarro, Cezanne, Degas, Matisse and Picasso. Then there's Maud's own paintings and those of the other young artists she meets. I just wish this novel came with full-color illustrations!

     5. Robertson's writing. It's richly detailed, stylish and smart, and her characters have depth and spunk. I found this book a hard one to put down.

Happy Reading!

A bookish gem...

"Can you experience nostalgia for something that hasn't happened? We talk of 'regrets' about the course of our lives, when we are almost certain we have taken the wrong decision; but one can also be enveloped in a sweet and mysterious euphoria, a sort of nostalgia for what might have been."

Laurent is a divorced bookseller in his forties who finds a discarded purse in the garbage on his way to work. The money and identity card have been stolen, but all the other contents remain. As Laurent goes through the items in the purse one by one, he begins to fall in love with the mysterious owner. But can the clues he finds in the purse lead him to the woman in real life?

The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain is a delight. I loved the characters. And the way Laurain writes. And how Laurent falls in love with a woman he knows only through the contents of her purse. This book is thoughtful, charming, funny, and wonderfully told. Definitely a bookish gem! I am looking forward to reading Antoine Laurain (and this book) again.

Happy Reading!