"A highly recommended seal of approval for this powerfully beautiful and emotional story set during and after the Second World War."
A truly beautiful and powerful debut, it is haunted with exquisite emotion, but that emotion comes with an uplifting feeling of hope. Towards the end of the Second World War two people meet on a platform next to a train bound for Auschwitz, the exchange that takes place between them will have a bearing on their lives forever more.
I entered this novel thinking I knew what to expect, I left having experienced an entirely unexpected read. Set in several time frames, While Paris Slept opens a sequence of doors as new aspects of the story emerge and converge. Each chapter is headed by one of the characters. Ruth Druart uses different points of view to great effect, ensuring each chapter took hold of my thoughts and retained my focus.
I invested in each of the characters, the empathy on display here left the page and entered my heart. I would describe this as a positively emotional read, yes it features man’s inhumanity to man, but the intimacy of this particular story lies in a different direction. While Paris Slept is an intriguing, compelling story full of love and hope.
It enters our LoveReading Star Books and comes with a highly recommended seal of approval.
On a platform in Paris before dawn, a woman whispers goodbye.It is the end.But also the beginning.In the tradition of Virginia Bailey's Early One Morning by Virginia Bailey and M. L. Stedman's The Light Between Oceans, a beautiful, powerful and unforgettable portrait of the brutality of war and the tenacity of love. 1953. Jean-Luc is a man on the run from his past. The scar on his face a small price to pay for surviving the horrors of Nazi occupation. Now, he has a new life in California, a family. He never expected the past to come knocking on his door.Paris 1944. A young Jewish woman's past is torn away in a heartbeat. Herded on to a train bound for Auschwitz, in an act of desperation she entrusts her most precious possession to a stranger. All she has left now is hope.On a darkened platform two destinies become entangled. Their choice will change the future in ways neither could have imagined.Beginning on an ordinary day and ending on an extraordinary one, WHILE PARIS SLEPT will move you and remind you of the remarkable wire of resilience threaded through the human soul.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
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A story exploring how brutality cannot crush courage, love and humanity. A real page turner that will pull at your heart strings.
This book was exceptional from start to finish. It mainly follows Jean-Luc, a French railroad worker and Charlotte, a French girl who ends up helping in a German hospital during the war. Their paths cross and they fall in love but this is very different to your typical love story. The two overcome huge barriers and show such strength, determination and courage that you are left willing them to achieve their goal. Without spoilers, their journey leads to a life being saved and their bond strengthened but their future is uncertain as the past threatens to catch up with them.
Alongside their story is another of love, a French Jewish couple who are captured and taken to Auschwitz. A decision made means they have a passion to survive but is that enough?... Read Full Review
While Paris Slept originates in Paris during the Second World War, moving on to both Paris and California in the 1950s. It is a harrowing and extremely moving tale of the horrors of war and the strength of parental love.
While Paris Slept is the debut novel by Ruth Druart. The story originates in Paris during the Second World War, moving on to both Paris and California in the 1950s. It is a harrowing and extremely moving tale of the horrors of war and the strength of parental love.
In 1944, facing immediate deportation from Paris, Sarah is forced to make a heartbreaking, split second, decision, which will have lasting repercussions for her family and another young Parisian couple. A railway worker has only a moment to take an action which will change the course of his life.
In 1953, an unexpected knock on the door early one morning is a cause for alarm for Jean-Luc and Charlotte in California.... Read Full Review
Wow, a gripping debut novel set during the Nazi occupation of France and its aftermath which explores the sacrifices people are prepared to make for love. Outstanding, read it!
I found it genuinely impossible to put this book down - it builds suspense and tension from the first page!
It's really two stories in one. The first part of the story begins in 1944 with Jean Luc and Charlotte living their separate lives in Paris both trying to make a difference as they grapple with the Nazi Occupation of France; Jean Luc working on the railway next to a transit camp and Charlotte as a nurse. The couple begin a romantic relationship but their lives become deeply intertwined. Showing outstanding courage, the couple take some enormous risks as they navigate the dangers ahead knowing that they can trust nobody.
The story then jumps to 1953 with the couple trying to start a new life in America after the end of the war.... Read Full Review
On a platform in Paris before dawn, a woman whispers goodbye.It is the end.But also the beginning.In the tradition of Virginia Bailey's Early One Morning by Virginia Bailey and M. L.
While Paris Slept features in the following genres: Historical Fiction, Debut Books of the Month, Debuts, Family Drama, Feel-Good Fiction, Star Books, Fiction, Recommendations
Paperback, Hardback. Not Available.
While Paris Slept was written by Ruth Druart and published by Headline Review an imprint of Headline Publishing Group
While Paris Slept has 512 pages
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