Wow - what a ride! I just loved All the Flowers in Paris. The story and characters will be front and center in my mind and in my heart for some time to come.
There are two alternating timelines in this book. One takes place in Nazi-occupied Paris in the early 1940s. It centers on Céline who is of Jewish descent and her young daughter Cosi. It is a story of survival and the lengths a mother will go to for her daughter.
The second timeline is the present day Paris and tells the story of Caroline who is in an accident and as a result, has amnesia.
“‘Hello?’ I call out, both to anyone who can hear me and, I suppose, to myself. I am deeply and sorely lost. I am a strange soul trapped in an even stranger body. The only thing I know is that I am alive, and that I am, in, well, Paris.”
“...I am currently a person without a story. But I feel more like a person without a soul.”
Caroline feels lost though people tell her how much happier and friendlier she is since losing her memory. She wants to remember her life yet does not want to return to being sad and miserable.
“What if my memory comes back and I hate my life, or worse, hate myself? From all I can tell, I was miserable before. I don’t want to be that woman.”
While these two timelines tell two disparate stories, Jio eventually and effortlessly joins them together, which makes for a very satisfying outcome for the reader.
These stories touched me on several levels - the horrors of the Nazis and their occupation of Pairs, a fight for survival, coping with loss, second chances, and a mother’s determination to protect her daughter.
For most of the book, the present day story seemed somewhat mundane compared to story taking place in the 1940s. As such, they felt mis-matched - a life and death thriller juxtaposed with a humdrum romance. I found my emotional response varied between disgust and almost indifference depending on which timeline I was reading. Ultimately they do fit and in fact, join together nicely.
“To think that all around me—the letters in my apartment, Monsieur de Goff—are remnants of such an ugly time in history. It makes my amnesia pale in comparison. In fact, for those who suffered trauma, as Monsieur de Goff reportedly had, amnesia could even be a gift.”
I was unable to put this book down. It was extremely well-written with highly developed characters that will live in your heart.
“I’ve always loved the city in winter, particularly the way the rooftops look as if they’ve been dusted with a heavy layer of confectioner’s sugar, turning the formerly anemic balcony gardens of winter into scenes straight out of a fairy tale.”
“.... sweeping a few stray rose petals off the cobblestones in front of the shop. I always feel bad for fallen petals, as silly as that sounds. They’re like little lost ducklings separated from their mama.”
All the Flowers in Paris was both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I cannot recommend it highly enough!
..the truth is, these days we’re all in trouble.” He’s right, of course. We’re all sailing in a ship that’s taking on water. Life rafts are sparse.
We will see her again. That’s what love does. It binds people together with ties that are stronger than time, stronger than war and destruction, evil, or pain.
Thank you to Random House Publishing - Ballantine Books and NetGalley for an advance reader copy in exchange for my honest review.
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