April Prompt: Paris in April

A new month and time for a new prompt.  Oh, I wish I really was in Paris.  It must have been wishful thinking when I decided on Paris in April for this month's reading prompt theme.  Surely any book set in Paris will be an enjoyable read, right?  My stack of choices seems to grow each month, too.  Last month I managed to read two books for my prompt, I wonder if I can make it three this time around?  But if I only finish one, that's okay, too.   

I want to read at least one book that is translated from French, but otherwise any book with a Paris setting, even if it is written in English is fine.  I have already started my first selection, which sits at the top of the pile, Hélène Grémillon's The Confidant.  This is her first novel, which has been translated into more than twenty languages.  The English translation is from 2012.  It is a dual narrative set in mid-1970s Paris and pre-War France.  It is a letter that initially ties the parallel plots together.  It is both a historical novel and a thriller which the NYT called 'riveting'!  Almost fifty pages in and I am finding it very engaging indeed.

Next in line is Elena Mauli Shapiro's 13 rue Thérèse, which is a gorgeous book in its own right.  Creamy pages, slightly oversize with color and sepia-toned pictures illustrating the text.  I have owned this for ages and should have read it long ago.  So, now is its moment.  Although Shapiro was born and raised in Paris, the book is written in English, and I believe the Paris apartment where she lived was the inspiration for this novel.  The premise is a man living in a Paris apartment finds a box full of WWI artifacts that belonged to a woman living there through both World Wars.  One blurb calls this a 'puzzle novel' and I think the protagonist pieces together/imagines her life.  It is going to be my second choice and hopefully one I will get to.

I'm also hoping to squeeze in a Georges Simenon/Maigret novel.  I've found two with Paris settings in my reading pile.   The first is The Carter of La Providence--"a well-dressed woman has been found strangled in a stable near a canal.  Why did her glamorous, hedonistic life to such a brutal end here?  Surely her aristocratic, taciturn husband knows--or maybe the answers lie with the crew of the barge La Providence?"  The other is Night at the Crossroads--"On the outskirts of Paris, a sensational crime in an isolated neighborhood becomes the focus of Maigret's investigation.  But the strange behavior of an enigmatic Danish aristocrat and his reclusive sister prove to be even more troubling."  Interesting how aristocrats abound in Maigret stories.  Maigret novels are always slender, quick reads.  Maybe I will start one sooner rather than later.  And maybe I'll read them both.  

As for the other books in the pile--who know--maybe one of them will grab me and I will pick up one of these instead: Mayhem by J. Robert Janes--the first in a series of WWII mysteries that features a French and a German detective working together.  Agatha Christie's Death in the Clouds is a mystery set in an airplane--the flight goes from Paris to Croyden.  American author Katherine Mosby's Twilight is set in the 1930s/WWII about the "political and sexual awakening" of a 'spinster'.  And Pierre Lemaitre's Irène is the first in a trilogy of books featuring Commandant Camille Verhoeven.  I read his first novel, Alex, which was pretty harrowing.  I'm both compelled and a little afraid to pick up another book by Lemaitre . . .  (but in the end I will eventually).

Do people who don't like to read have any idea what they are missing out on?  The joy of choosing a new book (or two) to read-happy contented sigh.  Not that I need more ideas or anything, but have you read any really good stories (or even short stories) set in Paris?  (I am a book glutton and I'm afraid I cannot resist asking).

Comments

[Buried In Print]

So many fine choices!

Is there a connection between Alex and Irene? I seem to remember wanting to read Alex but finding there was another book, not yet available in English, which I would've wanted to read first.

The title story in my Mavis Gallant collection is set in Paris of course (The Other Paris) but I don't think I've been hanging out there on the page otherwise.

If you choose a Maigret carefully, you could also participate in the 1951 bookclub read for next week!

[Danielle]

Yes, this is the first book in a trilogy, though he maybe has written other crime novels (and am not sure he didn't write more about this particular character). Irene is the detective's wife.... Alex is....hmmm, a victim..... in the second book. Alex was a little on the violent side (why I have waited to go back and read this one--they were translated/released out of order), but very suspenseful.

Poor Mavis. I had such high hopes for my short story reading and it is my big 'failure of the year'....but I should at least read one of her stories. I know there must be loads of them out there--and I seem to recall I might have a Paris collection by her? Must have a look at the shelves.

There is a 1951 bookclub? It is Maigret oriented or just the year? Can you tell I am Sooooo out of the loop with what is going on in the reading world!! (sigh).

[Kathy]

Oh, those first few choices sound tempting indeed! On the list they go--perhaps I will join you in Paris. I am a book glutton (or drunkard, like L. M. Montgomery) as well.

If you want to add some memoirs set in Paris to your list, you could add Paris Letters by Janice MacLeod or Lunch in Paris by Elizabeth Bard. These are contemporary memoirs rather than those from an age past, and they should add a little romance to your reading.

I can't imagine life without reading, so I find it hard to imagine what people who don't read could find as pleasurable as the choosing of a book to read, "the chase" when you're after a particular book that's hard to find, and the delicious feeling of being immersed in a story, true or otherwise.

[Danielle]

I could have pulled more books and added them to the pile, but I decided to just focus on a few and not be too greedy. I like LM Montgomery's take on it (books can make a person a little drunk! :) ). I might have to add one of the books you suggest to my pile, however, I do like the idea of a little French romance (the Bard book looks especially fun--why don't those sorts of things happen to ME?--lol). Maybe I should take one of my 'Paris' books to a coffee shop that serves French pastries or macarons? Now That would be fun! A little cafe au lait and a croissant and a book. Now I wish I could click my heels together and wish myself there! And thank goodness for books since I can do it that way!

[iliana]

I cannot imagine not reading. Like you said, non-readers are sure missing out! I haven't read a book set in Paris in a while and unfortunately the last two books I can think of were not that great. So hopefully my next Parisian read will make up for those!

[Danielle]

There are a lot of books out there set in Paris--lots of contemporary fiction and sometimes I think writers just choose the city for the romantic locale, but quality is not quite as high sometimes with so many of the books. The Gremillon is enjoyable so far, though, as it has a bit of mystery to it.

[Smithereens]

I have to encourage you to read about Paris, with the hope that you one day come to visit IRL! I had mixed feelings about the Gremillon (although it is rivetting) and Maigret is always a good idea. I read the 3rd book in the Verhoeven trilogy and it was a bit too much for me. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts!!

[Stefanie]

So many to choose from! But then that is all part of the fun, isn't it? :)

[Danielle]

Too bad I cannot click my heels together and wish myself there now! Did you write about the Gremillon? I have not read it for a few days (trying to finish a few other things) so I must get back to it this week. Now you have me very curious. I am a little afraid of the Verhoeven--he is not for the faint of heart so I will surely reach for Maigret first! I have a Maupassant novel set in Paris, too, I want to read.... So many choices.

[Danielle]

Yes and yes. As I reply to comments on all the books on my nightstand, I think--when I finish here I am going to pick up That one next and then no, That one next, and then, oh wait maybe that Other one next! Ha. Crazy.