Review: Paris Never Leaves You by Ellen Feldman

Paris Never Leaves You

by Ellen Feldman

Publisher: St Martin's Press

Pages: 368

Format: book

Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads:  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.

Kritters Thoughts:  Two time periods alternating in this story, but the years aren't that far apart.  Charlotte has lived through the unspeakable and in the current storyline is living in New York, working in publishing, and trying to raise her child without revealing secrets from her past.  In the past storyline, we are in the middle of the war and Charlotte is trying to do anything to stay alive in a bookstore where the enemy comes way to close for her comfort.

This was one of those books that I liked, but didn't love.  The thing that I loved most about the book was that the two storylines took place so close together, so you almost got a what happened after while also reading the story that took place during the war.  There are many times while reading stories, especially that take place during a war that end and I want to know more than what the book presents.  This book had the chance to answer the questions of what happens to a person after war interrupts their life. 

After finishing the book, I read the reviews and saw many comments about the love storylines and that they didn't feel authentic and I could agree.  They felt forced and in my opinion they didn't add so much to the full story.  There were aspects of them that were needed, but overall they were just ok.  

I liked this book and would read the next by this author.  If you like to read ALL the World War II books, then I would add this one to your TBR.

Rating: definitely a good read, but can't read two in a row

Disclosure of Material Connection:  I received one copy of this book free of charge from St Martin's Press.  I was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own.