Paris in WWII seems to be an obsession with so many authors!
And it's easy to see why:
one of the most romanticized cities in the world, under siege.
Art, war, romance, danger -
the dramatic possibilities are endless!
Until Leaves Fall In Paris opens in the rehearsal room for the Paris Opera Ballet - yes, the same one made famous by both the paintings of Degas and the novel and musical, The Phantom of the Opera.
On the cusp of the Nazi invasion of Paris, American ballerina Lucie Girard leaves the stage to buy and run her favourite bookstore, thus allowing her Jewish friends to escape Paris.
American car manufacturer and recent widower, Paul Aubrey, wants to escape Paris, too, but the US Army convinces him to stay in business and feed them information about his German customers.
Each, in their own way, starts to find their path in the Resistance.
War is a time for secrets, so when Paul and Lucie meet, they don't know what to make of each other. But there's a connection they can't resist. And that's where our story starts to unfold...
As I mentioned off the top, there's a lot of competition for Paris-in-WWII books these days! Until Leaves Fall In Paris is a completely lovely book. Where it falls on the spectrum of similar novels will depend on your personal literary preferences. It's not as dangerous as some of the other books I've read about this era, but that might make it the perfect book for you!
Some of Sarah's writing is truly beautiful, and I especially found myself loving and underlining the passages about the dark and light green leaves (trust me, you'll know that part when you get to it!)
My favourite scenes involved the comings and goings at the bookstore. As I was reading it, something felt very familiar. Then, I read Sarah's wonderful note at the end of the book, where she recognizes the "real life" characters in the novel.
Lucie and the bookstore are inspired by real-life bookstore owner, Sylvia Beach and the Shakespeare and Company Bookstore. Sylvia is a "character" in Ernest Hemingway's beautiful Parisian memoir: A Moveable Feast! I love it when books I've read overlap!
Until Leaves Falls In Paris also comes with a set of Discussion Questions, as well as a preview chapter of Sarah's upcoming novel.
Sarah's website has lots of great info about WWII,
including a special collection of blogposts when you sign up for her mailing list.
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| Screenshot from Sarah's website |
Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.
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