Haunting Paris by Mamta Chaudhry

Haunting Paris Reviews

• 
  Katie

  Recently when I was scrolling through the historical fiction on Netgalley it seemed like every other novel was set in France during WW2. Not only that but they all sounded like they were built to the same formula - heroic women, dual timelines, an undiscovered mystery or secret. This one attracted me because it sounded different, more literary, less formulaic (despite the presence of some of the above tropes).
  
  At the heart of this novel is the night in 1942 when the French police rounded up many of Paris' Jews, including Clara and her two young daughters. Her brother, who is also dead when the novel begins and performs his narration as a ghost, believes one of the daughters might have survived but has never shared this belief with Sylvie, his long term lover. Here is the first of several acts of clumsiness in the plot and artistry of this novel. Why, seeing as his relationship with Sylvie is depicted in ideal terms, did he never tell her? Instead, rather melodramatically, Sylvie finds an envelope and discovers he has been paying money every month to some mysterious person whose name begins with M and it's her challenge to solve the mystery.
  
  The first thing to say is that the author writes really well. I enjoyed her way with words, except when she veers towards the mawkish which she does have a tendency to do. The problems I had were with the structure/focus and characterisation. The novel had too many narrators for me and too many timelines and as a result kept losing its focus. The juggling of timelines and narrators is confusing. There was one incident of a girl committing suicide that I never understood. And quite often the narrative wandered off into irrelevant sideshows. One narrator is the ghost of Julien - a presence which rarely seemed of much purpose to me except as a gimmick. Often he seemed to assume the guise of tourist guide, recounting interesting facts about the history of Paris. The novel is suffused with a love of Paris, though perhaps a little too much through the wide-eyed wonder of the tourist rather than a native Parisian. Another narrator is an American man visiting Paris with his wife. He longs to enter the secret life of Paris and shed his mantle of tourist - something the book itself tries to do. Whenever writing about him the author seemed less inspired and I was never quite able to understand what he and his wife were doing in the novel. Whenever they appeared the narrative drifted far away from the Holocaust.
  
  As often seems to be the case in Holocaust novels, the Jewish characters and their allies were all idealised. It's interesting there's often this fairy tale element to Holocaust novels. As if everyone murdered by the Nazis never succumbed to an unworthy emotion in their lives. For me, it usually serves to keep these characters remote. After all, it's part of being human to occasionally give vent to an ugliness in one's nature. We all do it. Here though they are all haloed characters. We have ideal husband, ideal wife, ideal mother, ideal father. Everyone a prototype of a faultless human being except the ex-wife of Julien who, bafflingly, is the novel's villain. Abandoned by her husband for the much younger Sylvie surely she has every right to treat her victorious rival with scorn. Yet the author has no sympathy for her predicament and portrays her consistently as snobbish and sordidly venal. In many ways she was potentially the novel's most interesting character but received short shrift from the author who was more interested in her fairy story relationships.
  
  In short, it's a novel that has qualities and I really wanted to love it but I kept hitting buffers. That said less cynical readers might well love it to bits.
• 
  Karen R

  “Squandered time. The most enduring of regrets. In the end, a lifetime is not enough, the heart yearns for more.”
  
  A highly original and unforgettable story of lovers and loss, merging the dead with the living. I was sympathetic to grieving Sylvie’s story and her quest to unravel the mystery of a letter found in her dead lover Julien’s desk, and especially loved Julien’s musings as a ghostly presence watching over Sylvie. His thoughts are beautifully written.
  
  The author brought Paris’s history to life and stirred personal memories of when I once walked its’ streets.
  
• 
  Molly

  HAUNTING PARIS: A NOVEL
  
  Haunting Paris is an extraordinarily beautiful book. Set in 1989 on the Île Saint-Louis Paris, Sylvie is mourning the death of her lover Julien. His spirit haunts the island, willing her to resolve unfinished sorrows from his past.
  
  How Sylvie and Julien met and built a life together is interwoven with family tragedies during WWII and the German occupation of France. Delicate and ethereal, understated and sublime, this tale floats to the surface with exquisite clarity and gentleness.
  
  Tender healing from grief and acceptance of small moments of wonder combine to make this a beautiful piece of storytelling. As this is the author's first novel, I can only feel that she has an exquisite talent that I hope she continues to develop and share her gift.
  
  I would like to thank NetGalley, Mamta Chaudhry, and Nan A. Talese /Doubleday and Penguin Random House LLC for the opportunity to read and review this book.
• 
  Leona

  Once again this is a book where I don't get all the 5 star reviews. The premise had such potential but the execution was rather weak. I found the
  
  - Timeline overly complex
  - Introduction of characters confusing
  - Flow disjointed
  
  Either the author has 133 really good friends, or I need to go back to English class. It's a good effort for a first time book, but it's not a 5 star read. I can see where some readers would be mesmerized by the storyline and the descriptions of Paris. Both were powerful, but the mechanical execution got in the way of a good story. Luckily, my library had a copy or I would be very upset.
• 
  Karen

  I don't remember the last time I read a book in one sitting, but Haunting Paris is a book that I could not put down until this evocative, sad, and hopeful story had been told and its very satisfying ending was reached. This is a book that covers a tremendous amount of difficult emotional ground, from loss to grief to regret, always with a warm and compassionate tone that ultimately finds its way to forgiveness. It explores themes of sacrifice, family, belonging, and shows that the way to overcome life's sorrows is by facing the truth of a difficult situation with strength and empathy. Ultimately, this is a hopeful story, that demonstrates how important it is to find and create a community around yourself that is loving, honest, and true. I loved it. An amazing, beautiful story, very well told.
• 
  Kristy Johnston

  This book started out promising but lost its focus at times. I enjoyed the descriptions of Paris, took me right back. I enjoyed the history, though at times it seemed extraneous. I lost the timeline at points. At first it seemed fairly straight-forward, the italicized passages were for the revenant/Julien and the beginning of each chapter was from the point of view of Silvie, then later her American renters or sometimes by another character (maybe too many different points of view). Julien/Silvie would reminisce about a particular event from their past, one then the other.
  
  Then the chapters got a little time jumpy, and I couldn’t tell if I was in the past or the present. I did get the feeling while I was reading that the plot in the book summary was taking a long time to materialize. I got a little lost after Sylvie left Marie, first at the apartment then at the coffee shop. Then suddenly I lost the narrator, following Clara into the events that were happening around her, and I’m not sure whose point of view I was reading.
  
  And who was Delphine and what does she have to do with anything? Oh and what was up with Sylvie’s open door and Coco just running out it to join Alice every morning all of the sudden? That was never explained. The narrative just went off on a lot of tangents that only sometimes tied into the story. It eventually came back to Sylvie and the mystery of the letter/bankbook, which was tied up nicely. Essentially, I enjoyed the beginning of the book and the end of the book but there was a total loss of focus in the middle.
• 
  Jonathan Vatner

  A gorgeously rendered novel about a widow's search for her late husband's family, lost in the Holocaust. I hadn't known much about the fate of the Jews who lived in Paris; Chaudhry relates this history in precise and brutal prose.
  The other aspect of the novel that I loved was an ongoing comparison of French and American culture--it made me want to live in Paris!
  The book is dark and romantic and, true to its title, haunting.
• 
  Margot Livesey

  Reading Haunting Paris for the second time, I appreciated it even more than the first - which is saying a great deal. The novel, which is set in 1989, has a wonderfully suspenseful plot, revolving around the harrowing deportation of the French Jews. The recently widowed Sylvie discovers that her much missed husband has been keeping a secret and sets out to try to discover it. Deportation and death are dark topics but Haunting Paris is full of lighter moments - walks by the Seine, the thoughts of the dog Coco, delicious dinners, and the visiting Americans who, of course, fall in love with Paris. I was sad (and exhilarated) when the novel ended.
• 
  Amanda Gatt

  As a classically trained musician myself, I was delighted and eager to read Haunting Paris based on the book synopsis. Unfortunately the novel fell flat for me, a slow and steady downward spiral. While the author writes elegantly and paints a lovely picture, it was difficult to keep track of whether the story was in the 1980s or 1950s. This continuous jumping between eras isn't atypical for historical fiction reads, yet for me it was a bit too distracting and ultimately took away from the romance and mystery at the core of the plot. I can see others who avidly read historical fiction enjoying this title, it just wasn't the right fit for me!
• 
  Readallover

  A mesmerizing book, full of dark secrets and radiant beauty. It brings Paris to life. I felt I was there without having to buy a plane ticket. Each character is memorably drawn and the writing is gorgeous. Out of unimaginable horrors, Mamta Chaudhry has created a world redeemed by courage and love.
• 
  Linda

  This is an exquisitely written tale of love, lost and a painful reminder of the Holocaust. A historical story with a ghostly imprint that will tug at your heart strings and bring tears to your eyes. The writing is remarkable, the characters exceptional and with an ending that will echo within you long after the last page is read.
  
  Highly recommended!
• 
  Marie

  An exquisite book with love, history and a city that is steeped in culture with it's own share of historical events made this a compelling read.
  The writing made me 'feel' the story as I read, totally immersed as I turned the pages.
  If you want a book to get lost in, this one fills the bill. 5 STARS!
• 
  Grant Barber

  Wonderful writing, unique voice, tale told interestingly. Although plot bears no resemblance to Ondaatje's The English Patient, I found the experience of reading this book to feel similar.
• 
  Theresa

  A beautifully realized story weaving in time from WWII to 1989, and featuring the grieving Sylvie, her ghostly love Julien, and the secret she is drawn to solve from a cryptic find in his desk drawer. I heard the author speak about her book on a panel at the Mississippi Book Festival recently, and met her briefly as well. Her knowledge of music served her well as the early career for Sylvie, and she created many interesting characters playing their parts in the drama. This was an excellent read for me, with plenty of historical interest. Highly recommended.
• 
  Tiffany Rose

  This is a beautifully written, haunting story. It is a story of. WWII France and survivors of its tragedies. I enjoyed it and think fans of historical fiction will as well.