Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “Paris Never Leaves You” by Ellen Feldman, St. Martin’s Press, August 4, 2020

Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “Paris Never Leaves You” by Ellen Feldman, St. Martin’s Press, August 4, 2020

Ellen Feldman, the author of “Paris Never Leaves You”  has written a captivating, riveting, intriguing, and thought-provoking novel. The genres for this novel are Historical Fiction and Fiction. The timelines for this story are set in the 1940s in Paris and 1950’s in New York. The author describes her characters as complex and complicated. This is a story about survival during the war and the guilt and feelings 10 years later.

Charlotte is a widow, with a young daughter working in a bookstore in Paris during the German Occupation of World War Two. Times are difficult and Charlotte is trying her best to take care of Vivi and survive for both of them. Food rations making eating difficult, and the climate and fever of the times have Charlotte anxious and agitated. Jewish people are being deported to camps, and it is hard to know who to trust. Charlotte makes decisions to be a survivor and does what is necessary.

Ten years later, Charlotte and Vivi are in New York. Vivi questions the past, and the present.  There are deep secrets that if revealed can change their lives forever. I highly recommend this thought-provoking novel for those readers who appreciate Historical Fiction.