Paris by the book

 Author: Liam Callanan

Review: A love letter to bohemian Paris, Paris By the Book by Liam Callanan is a book about an eccentric family which is driven into unconventional circumstances.

Leah, an aspiring film maker, meets Robert, a struggling writer when she is shoplifting a children’s book from a bookstore in Wisconsin. Sparks fly, interests match, their love of Paris superseding everything, they decide to marry, and have two daughters. As every family, they have their ups and downs, until one day Robert disappears, leaving a note referring to four flight tickets to Paris. Leah’s world falls apart. Here she is, with a ticket to her dreamland, on one hand her dream coming true, where as on the other, her life crumbling down. She still follows the lead, and travels to Paris, believing in Serendipity. There she gets a second sign in the form of her husband’s unfinished manuscript which he had submitted before he disappeared. The manuscript says that the family buys a bookstore in Paris. Again, considering it as a sign, she buys a bookstore in Paris. Leah and her daughters refuse to accept that Robert is dead and they firmly believe that he is in Paris. And thus begins the search for Robert and the tour of Paris. They search for him in places where the events in his favorite books unfold, places with his name on it, the bars, the bookstores, the bakeries, the metros and the parks, all the places which he had referred to or made a slightest mention, but to no avail.

They keep catching glimpses of his silhouette, here and there, but is it really him or is it just their hallucination? Will the family ever find Robert again? is Robert still alive? How long will they live in this limbo? This is the mystery which keeps the readers hooked on to the book.

The book is a beautiful piece of art, in short, a Bohemian Rhapsody. The author aims to describe Paris through the eyes of a grieving woman, a woman whose grief is so enormous that it can claim her happiness and purpose in life. Will such grief stop her from falling in love with the city? How long can she resist the magic of Paris, the cozy bars, the quaint book stores, the lively music, the culinary delicacies? How long before her heart swells with pride for owning a bookstore in Paris?

The narrative is very skillful and the language is lyrical. There are many times I have flipped the pages back and forth reading the lines over and over again. With each passing page, I found myself empathizing with Leah and falling in love with the magic of Paris more and more, without shedding a single tear.

On the flip side, there are multiple references to two children’s books “The Red Balloon” and “The Madeline” series, and their authors, which provide a tour to Paris to little children. The discussions and the descriptions run very deep that if you have not read these books or watched the films, you will not understand what the author is talking about. So there is a high chance the reader might get lost in the details. There are a lot of French words which are used in the book, which might also tip the reader off balance.

Also, keep in mind, that this is the story of a grieving woman. There is all forms of grief, sadness, anger, frustration and denial, running throughout the book. It is a myriad of emotions flowing into the pages on one track with the enchantment and budding love for Paris on the other.

From my end, I am going with full five stars for this book. I found myself spellbound, enlightened and fell head over heels in love with Paris, yet again.

As I said earlier, this book is a piece of Art, a tour of bohemian Paris. At the same time, it is an intense book flooded with emotions and in-depth references to certain books and authors. So, I cannot directly recommend this book. I am stating the facts, the choice is yours, take a call.

Rating: 👍👍👍👍👍