The Paris Hours by Alex George

Jean-Paul loved his wife most when she was singing. It was the ravishing vigor with which she performed that laid siege to his heart. Music coursed through her, a joyous river. It illuminated her from within, filling her with the light of a thousand suns. When there was a tune on her lips, his wife was always the most beautiful person in the room. 

~p. 98 of The Paris Hours

In The Paris Hours by Alex George an Armenian genocide survivor, a struggling artist, Marcel Proust's maid, and a journalist all converge in the same location on a night in 1927. Who are they and how did they all end up in the same place? What will be revealed when an important notebook is sold, its secrets bound to cause damage?

Oh, my. There is so much to say about The Paris Hours. First and foremost, I think it would make an excellent discussion book and I've already told the host of my book club that we need to discuss it, some time. We read A Good American back when it came out in paperback and that discussion was quite a lively one, so she is definitely interested (but I have to wait for it to come out in paperback because that's one of the group rules). It's the kind of book you want to reread once you've been through it a first time, so I'm already looking forward to that eventuality.

But, back to the story. The main storyline takes place within a single day in 1927. But, as each character's story unfolds, the reader is taken back in time to fill in the gaps. How did an Armenian survive the genocide and end up working as a puppeteer in Paris? What is in the notebook that belongs to Marcel Proust's former maid and how did she end up with it? What will happen to the artist when his time to pay a debt to a notorious loan shark runs out? And, how does the journalist help tie these people together?

Because so many American artists, writers, and musicians lived the ex-pat life in Paris during the 1920s, there are appearances by Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Josephine Baker, and the owner of Shakespeare and Company, Sylvia Beach, among others. But, they're background characters who give color to the time period in Paris rather than main characters. I think that may be part of the reason I felt like they were more believable than a lot of real-life historical characters fictionalized in novels, but it also is undoubtedly down to the skill of the author.

The only thing I disliked about this book? I found the ending a bit abrupt. But, only briefly. After I'd let it roll around in my head for a time, I realized that if the author had taken that final scene one step further it would have entered entirely different territory as what's about to happen in the end is both an ending and a beginning, if that makes sense. Well, just read it and you'll see.

Highly recommended - Exquisite writing in a beautifully drawn tale that brings four seemingly disparate lives together for an evening of drama and tragedy followed by hope. Personal opinion: The Paris Hours is a five-star read. I chose the quote above at random because I didn't mark anything while I was reading (too engrossed to look for the flags) and it was just serendipity that it happened to be a quote about music. There is always music in Alex George's books and he has a particular talent for describing it, probably because he's a musician and music lover, himself. I couldn't help but smile when I randomly opened the book to that paragraph.


©2020 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

Setting Free the Kites by Alex George

I am way jumping the gun, here, because I could not stop myself from reading Setting Free the Kites by Alex George almost as soon as it walked in the door. It was by far my most anticipated read of 2017 (you can tell me what to look forward to, now -- I may need help) and I was frankly shocked when I was offered an ARC. And, darned if I didn't absolutely fall in love with the book. I will probably reread it closer to the release date, which is currently February 21, 2017, but I don't want to wait till then to review. You should definitely pre-order a copy. Trust me, it's one you don't want to miss.

Setting Free the Kites tells the story of a friendship between two middle school boys named Robert and Nathan. Robert has been tormented by an oversized bully for an entire school year and the first day of the new school year appears to be an omen of another bad year to come, until the new boy steps in. Nathan is fearless and relentlessly upbeat, a bit of a daredevil and full of life. Robert and Nathan become friends, then tragedy strikes, bringing them even closer. Meanwhile, at home Robert faces an entirely different challenge. While Nathan's days are difficult yet carefree and filled with acts of daring, Robert's family ignores him and approaches every holiday with the fear that it will be their last with Robert's brother Liam, who has a degenerative disease. Robert's friendship with Nathan is both an escape and a time of laughter and fun like he's never known, before.

I don't want to go into too much more detail because it's best to let the story unfold, but Setting Free the Kites is a book that I could hardly bear to put down. I found myself immediately drawn in by the characters and their stories, the friendship between Robert and Nathan, the way music featured in their lives, the family situations, even the setting in Coastal Maine. But, I think what I loved the most was the subject of grief. Tragedy runs through these two young lives and what I thought the author did best in this particular book was in describing grief as a very personal experience, his portrayal of how the same loss is handled in completely different ways by different people. That was so very true to my own experience; and, since writers often get grief all wrong, I appreciated the realistically varying reactions. But, don't worry, it's not all heartbreak, by any means. That was just one of my favorite aspects of Setting Free the Kites and it is, in the end, a beautiful, uplifting story of life and hope and sometimes surprisingly offbeat and funny.

I neglected to mark any quotes to share, although I can assure you the writing is just gorgeous. That will be something to watch for if I do reread it in January. And, in case you're wondering about that beautiful cover, there is an amusement park that features in the book, hence the ferris wheel bokeh. I'm in love with that cover.

Highly recommended - An absolutely engrossing tale of family, friendship, youth, love, and loss. Could. Not. Put. Down. It reminded me, now and then, of Ann Patchett's Commonwealth in that sometimes ordinary, everyday events came off as so much more interesting than you might expect.

And, now, I've read two 5-star books in a row! I'm almost terrified to open the next book, for fear it cannot possibly live up to Setting Free the Kites or My Family and Other Animals (yesterday's review). Wish me luck. I haven't chosen my next reads.

My review of Alex George's previous release: A Good American

©2016 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery  or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

A hodge-podge of miscellaneous including Fiona Fursday, Alex George and books

This is going to be a wildly disparate bunch of subject matter, but some of you are used to the occasional wacko post. First things first: I got to attend Alex George's signing of A Good American at Lemuria Books in Jackson (aka, "The Big City"), last night. Alex is an excellent speaker and every bit as charming in person as I've found him to be in our Twitter exchanges. I had a great time chatting with him and listening to his reading and discussion about the book.

Kiddo is officially on Spring Break, so this will be my last post for about 10 days. I'm planning to totally walk away from the internet. We'll see if that works. So, it's Fiona Fursday instead of Friday. Here is Fi in front of the shelf I call Grandpa's Shelf (because my grandfather built it):

I shared this photo -- one of my recent favorites -- on Facebook but I don't recall posting it here. It's one worth leaving up for a while. Every time I look at it, I can't help but grin.

And, one flower pic for the road. The wisteria is blooming all over town and it is breathtaking! I managed to spend some time in my church parking lot, beside which there is quite a lot of it growing.

My gerbera daisies are as big as saucers and about 90% of the trees are either budded or in full leaf. I still haven't planted a thing and I keep saying, "Soon, soon," but this may be another one of those years that I'm just too busy with the book purging (which is going very well) and spring cleaning (also plugging right along) to bother with the potted plants. I guess we'll see. I'm very happy with the improvements I've made in our living space, lately.

I've received quite a few books, this past 2 weeks, and I bought more than I should have (including a finished copy of A Good American, of course!) but I'll stick to just those that have arrived in the mail:

Each of the following were accepted for review by request from the author -- something I rarely do, but two of the authors are on my "Any time you ask," list:

• A Whisper of Rosemary by Colleen Gleason
• Akhmed and the Atomic Matzo Balls by Gary Buslik - (who managed to seduce me into reading his book by offering to share a photo of his cat, haha)
• Kitty Cornered by Bob Tarte

From Shelf Awareness:

• Next to Love by Ellen Feldman
• Horten's Miraculous Mechanisms by Lissa Evans
• The Reconstructionist by Nick Arvin

And, a bunch of children's books from 2 publishers. I'm considering hosting a Children's Week for these, although I usually just mix children's in with everything else:

• Pobble's Way by Van Booy and Edelson
• I Always, Always Get My Way by Krasnesky and Parkins
• I Need My Monster by Noll and McWilliam
• Zaira and the Dolphins by Pavon and Coco
• The Word Collector by Sonja Wimmer
• Drops of Life by Tiitinen and Tiitinen

The latter three are translations. I've received a few other titles I haven't mentioned but they went straight into my ARC piles, which are divided by release month, and they will be read so soon that I'm not going to go to the other room to haul them in here to list, although there aren't many. I'm reading one of them, The Land of Decoration by Grace McLeen (interesting book, so far). You can see why I have that note in my sidebar saying I'm not accepting books till further notice.

I wish you all a happy reading week! Again, I plan not to even get on the internet, so if it takes forever for me to approve a comment, don't fret. I'll be back in about 10 days and I always respond.

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.

A Good American by Alex George

After an hour or so, Frederick sat down on a bench and rested. He was thirsty, and hot. He wiped his brow and thought about returning to the hotel. Just then, the sound of a cornet floated through the air. This was not the sort of dry fugue that echoed through Hanover concert halls. The instrument had been unshackled: it spiraled upward, a whirlwind of graceful elision and complex melody. The music streaked into the night, every note dripping with joy. He stood up and followed the sound.

~p. 23 of Advance Reader's Copy: A Good American [Some changes may have been made to the final print version]

Here's a new way to find a book. I started reading the buzz about A Good American by Alex George in late fall of 2011 and was particularly interested in the fact that the characters' immigrant story bears some remarkable similarities to my own family's history. But, it was the author's graciousness (discovered via various tweets) that captured me. I wanted to know more about his book simply because he seemed like such a nice guy. Authors, put that in your pipe and smoke it. Being nice can get you some attention. In my case, I got lucky and managed to snag an advance reader, although I had already added the book to my wish list well before the opportunity to acquire a review copy presented itself.

It's been a month since I read A Good American, but no worries about the time delay between reading and reviewing. A Good American is the kind of family saga that sticks to your ribs like a well-balanced meal.

In early 20th-century Prussia, Jette's parents have pretty much given up hope of ever marrying off their daughter till Frederick woos her with his beautiful voice and kind spirit. But, Jette's family will never approve of Frederick and eventually the couple has no choice but to run away. Jette steals a small family heirloom and Frederick is forced to leave with nothing but the clothing on his back as they set off for America.

So begins the story of the Meisenheimer family, narrated by James Meisenheimer, Jette and Frederick's grandson. From Frederick and Jette's journey to New Orleans to the generations that follow in Beatrice, Missouri, A Good American tells the story of a music- and food-loving immigrant American family through births and deaths, challenges and joys.

What I loved about A Good American:

Besides the fact that A Good American is a well-written book, I absolutely adore all the references to music and the gradual changes in the bar/restaurant that the family works in, eventually owns, then passes on through three generations. The changes in the restaurant and the descriptions of food are all believable and add interest to this family saga.

Alex George's writing is lovely, intelligent writing.

He gazed up at the sky, so different from home. In Europe the stars hunkered down low across the night, dull and pendulous. Here, though, the heavens were filled with a million dazzling celestial bodies, each one casually brushing up to infinity.

"I could get to like this place," he said.

~p. 47

I also thought the author did a good job of handling the accent of a black character from New Orleans. The tendency of most non-native writers is to overdo Southern accents of any kind, heavily emphasizing tricky dialect that can vary dramatically from one Southern region or city to the next. The author kept his Southern character's dialogue subtle. I thought the skill with which the author handled those bits of Southern dialogue was particularly amazing given the fact that the author is British.

What I disliked about A Good American:

The last 75 pages or so were weaker than the rest of the book, in my humble opinion, but that may be partly because I enjoyed reading about the earlier time period more than the modern. Once we got to the narrator's story of his own life, it also became a little bit more "coming of age" and less a family saga -- just a little. I really dislike "coming of age" stories, so the historical parts won me over and the latter bit lost me a little. But that is, as I said, a personal preference. I did like the way the book ended.

Otherwise, the only thing that really jumped out at me was that too many people died. There came a point that I felt like the deaths were starting to stand out; they began to feel like plot points.

The bottom line:

A well-written novel with a charming emphasis on food and music, recommended particularly to those who love family sagas but also a rocking fine novel for just about anyone. There are some brief scenes of graphic violence and a bit of the coming-of-age type of sexual stuff, but nothing that will warp your kid for life if he or she happens to pick up your copy (this is adult fiction, not YA, in case that sentence is misleading).

You can follow Alex George on his Facebook author page or visit Alex George's website to learn more about A Good American and the author (who will become an American citizen, soon). A Good American is getting a tremendous amount of attention. It's the #1 Indie Next Pick for February, has been listed on Oprah.com as one of February's "Books to Watch For," and is being touted as one of the "best books of the month" on Amazon. Wow! That's some major attention.

Mr. George just happens to hail from one of my favorite towns in England. We stopped through Marlborough, last year, and ate here:

Definitely a place worth stopping, if you ever happen to find yourself in Wiltshire.

©2012 Nancy Horner. All rights reserved. If you are reading this post at a site other than Bookfoolery and Babble or its RSS feed, you are reading a stolen feed. Email bookfoolery@gmail.com for written permission to reproduce text or photos.