The Radiant City

by Lauren B. Davis

Scarred by his experiences as a war correspondent, Matthew flees to Paris to heal and forget--even as he must stir up the past to write the memoir he's promised to his impatient literary agent. Resurrecting a friendship with Jack, a Vietnam vet and ex-mercenary, Matthew enters Jack's alcohol-dimmed world of shadowy bars and calculating lovers. But there is also Saida--beautiful, damaged and proud--who fled Lebanon with her family and now runs a caf�. Matthew is drawn to her kindness, and to her fierce love for her teenage son, who is growing into manhood on the treacherous streets of the North African quarter.

This is Paris far from the glimmer of tourist lights. Here secrets are divulged, guilt and passion revealed, and Matthew is caught up in an inescapable final confrontation. The Radiant City is a novel of astonishing depth and power.

Genres: Fiction, Canada, France

325 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Lauren B. Davis’s most recent work is EVEN SO, to be published by Dundurn Press in the autumn of 2021. It is the story of what happens when compassion and passion collide. Love, faith, lust, guilt, redemption, and the moment of transformation of two women, one a privileged Princeton matron, the other a Catholic nun suffering the silence of god. Can we care about those who do harm? Who deserves forgiveness, and what does redemption mean? Read EVEN SO to explore these questions.

THE GRIMOIRE OF KENSINGTON MARKET (named one of the best books of 2018 by the Globe & Mail, and a finalist for the Fred Lerner, Canadian Authors Association Best Book of the Year), is a story about a bookstore that is the repository of all the stories in the world, and that no one finds unless intended to do so. It is also about addiction, love, guilt, and flying caribous.

Davis is also the author of AGAINST A DARKENING SKY, a novel set in 7th c. Northumbria, as well as THE EMPTY ROOM, published in 2013. A searing, raw and powerful a portrayal of the chaos and pain of alcoholism. Named one of the “Best Books of the Year” by The National Post, and the Winnipeg Free Press, “Editors’ Pick” by Amazon and a “Critics’ Pick” by The Coast (Nova Scotia). Told with compassion, insight and an irresistible gallows humor, THE EMPTY ROOM takes us to the depths of addiction, only to find a revelation at its heart: the importance and grace of one person reaching out to another.

OUR DAILY BREAD (2011), was longlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize and named as one of the “Best Books of the Year” by The Globe & Mail and The Boston Globe.

She is also the author of the bestselling and critically acclaimed novels, THE RADIANT CITY (2006), a finalist for the Rogers Writers Trust Fiction Prize; and THE STUBBORN SEASON (2002), a named as one of the Top 15 Bestselling First Novels by Amazon.ca and Books in Canada. She has published two short story collections, AN UNREHEARSED DESIRE (2008) and RAT MEDICINE & OTHER UNLIKELY CURATIVES (2000). Her short fiction has been shortlisted for the CBC Literary Awards, the ReLit Award and she is the recipient of two Mid-Career Writer Sustaining grants from the Canadian Council for the Arts. A well-respected creative writing teacher who has taught in Geneva, Paris and Ireland, as well as in the USA and Canada, she is also a past Mentor with the Humber College Creative Writing by Correspondence Program, and past Writer-in-Residence at Trinity Church, Princeton. She now leads monthly SHARPENING THE QUILL writing workshops in Princeton, New Jersey.

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

What’s radiant is always a bit suspect, it calls into question the eye of the beholder, and that uncertainty lurks everywhere in this novel, troubling yet soaring, & altogether a knockout. The title refers to Paris, or to Paris for starters, & that might be the first element that engages us. Lauren Davis provides an in-the-round guide to the “the city of light” — one savvy enough, as well, to puncture that cliché. Instead, RADIANT CITY offers the sort of roaring, oleant, mouth-watering & historically informed urban embodiment that only the most alert creative minds can provide. Her Paris includes a lot that’s off the beaten tourist path. Intense scenes take place in the woods of the city’s periphery (woods that startle us with a wide variety of sexual opportunities) & in a former industrial building converted to a skin-of-the-teeth commune & rave space. But those exotic settings, in the sort of combinatory effect that distinguishes a terrific novel, also bring to light crucial conflicts & turning points in the central figures. Chief among these is the traumatized war correspondent Matthew Bowles. Not for nothing does Matthew share a name with Paul Bowles, the white outsider who achieved such sympathy for the oppressed of French North Africa. Matthew too identifies with the abused & betrayed, too much for his own good, really. He’s Paris to lick his wounds, ideally by writing about them, pulling together a memoir about the horrible things he’s seen. Those horrors raise a bit of narrative problem, in that Matthew seems to have suffered too much to sustain what depth & self-knowledge he does; he verges just slightly on the superman. But just slightly, no more, & certainly the scorching excerpts from Matthew’s work in progress provide Davis with a counterpoint to this fortunate city in which he’s now come to rest. So do the photos & recollections of his scary friend Jack, a former mercenary w/ terrible secrets out of Vietnam & elsewhere, & so do the refugee Lebanese, the Ferhat family, still haunted by the beloved folks who never made it out of Beirut. All these damaged goods (plus others still) reveal fascinating cracks, their mechanisms of self-protection intrigue as well, & they come together warily, gingerly, movingly. When violence is done, it’s the innocent who suffer, & when healing occurs, it’s never without scars. No, Lauren Davis has no truck with cliché or easy answer. Her very title comes from Le Corbusier, a bad idea of his about how to house a city’s underclass. At its best her reframing of that notion brings to life the fragility of all the world’s gilded palaces; it brings off a powerful reminder that there is no Magic Kingdom.

[Léna Roy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a richly textured, finely crafted novel, about the festering wounds of war.

Written in the third person and in the present tense, we follow Matthew Bowles, war correspondent and journalist from a hospital in Hebron to the streets of Paris,the City of Lights, the Radiant City, where he hopes he can lose himself. He has been "rescued" by an agent who gets him a big advance to write about his experiences as a war correspondent in Bosnia, Rwanda, Hebron and more . . . but Matthew struggles to do this through drink and post-traumatic stress and meeting up with other "veterans" who share his darkness.

Davis brilliantly uses the backdrop of subterranean Paris as a map for his tortured soul. She weaves in another narrative, from the point of view of Saida, a Lebanese woman who owns a small café in Matthew's neighborhood with a son, father and brother to take care of. She has wounds of her own.

It is also an ode to the path of the artist, the writer.

"You know what Katherine Anne Porter said?" Matthew says to Saida, after having disappeared into his interior world for days, trying to write his experience and failing. "I'm paraphrasing, but basically she said that human life is pure chaos, and the job of the artist - the only thing he's good for, incidentally - is to work that confusion into order. No one understands what's happening to them as it's happening, right? So writers have to remember for other people. We have to sift through experience until our disparate selves are reconciled, and by sharing it, offer the same reconciliation to others . . . I think it's bullshit." p181

It's not bullshit, Davis wants us to know. And I'm glad, because my eyes stung with tears at times: so wrapped up was I in the atmosphere of color and pain that Davis depicted. Obviously, I recommend this book without hesitation and am giving it 5 stars on Good Reads!

For complete review, go to www.lenaroy.com

[Ruthie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly not fun read, however Davis does a wonderful job putting the readers into the mind of a war correspondent suffering from PTSD. We also meet other interesting characters who are old and new friends and read about their personal pain. All of this amidst the underbelly of Paris - the parts that tourists hope they do not stumble upon inadvertently! Excellent writing and very thought provoking.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book up at a giant book sale knowing nothing more about it than what the back cover told me. Heck, for a buck, there was no great consequence if it sucked.

Well, it was the polar opposite! What an engaging, emotional, depressing yet uplifting read!!! I read it very quickly whilst recovering from a nasty flu bug. I couldn't put it down.

I won't go into details, other reviewers have done a far better job than I could. Suffice it to say that the book had me reflecting on what events, both good and traumatic, have shaped my life. Am I stuck? Do I need to do some "brain edits"? I love books that make me reflect like this. A good read AND a growing experience!!

Well done Ms. Davis!!!

[Penny (Literary Hoarders) · Rating 4 out of 5]

(3.5 stars) The Radiant City was read for the CBC Books Goodreads Monthly group read. This was my first Lauren B. Davis novel read, and it certainly won't be my last.
Fantastic writing, descriptions, little poignant moments. The Radiant City is a gritty read, about war, the atrocities, the aftermath on the minds of those involved in war and a good look into the underbelly of Paris. Davis writes about the gritty, grimy and dark sides of Paris, not a romanticized viewpoint at all. This was a very good read - but I think my enjoyment for it may have been more had I read it straight through as I would normally do. For the monthly group reads they are broken down over the 4 weeks of the month breaking up the chapters into 4 sections.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lauren B. Davis never disappoints. Strong right out of the gate, it lagged a tiny bit in the middle but then turned on the after burners for a strong finish.

While I have enjoyed every single one of her novels, I still maintain that her short stories are the cream of the crop.

[Lexie · Rating 4 out of 5]

War-torn people seek refuge in Paris, the City of Light ... Lauren B. Davis has a way of weaving extreme and traumatic experience into a narrative with meticulous, subtle attention, leaving the reader to understand and empathize with it, no matter the 'masks' a character wears -- occupation, obsession, ancestry, heritage, philosophy ... The story's contemporary Parisians include photojournalists, sex workers, survivors of war and displacement, cafe owners, addicts, and a 16-year-old boy who is fit to explode. All the love and war we are capable of begins with how we relate with one another ... Whether the aftermaths are massive or seemingly miniscule, we are all torn, cracked down the middle. *The Radiant City* reveals the cracks and the radiance -- the pure fire that remains, and what we do with it, and how we are done to by it --

Quotes:

Matthew was in awe of Jack's ability to move through his own terror, which Matthew had come to understand was the true definition of bravery.

The sound coming from her is like that of an animal bellowing with the lion at its throat. Strangled. Wordless. As though her larynx had been cut.

... as he walks down the stone steps that permit access to the river's edge he begins, if not to relax, then at least to decompress from the shock of the evening. He has been foolish, he now realizes, to think that his notoriety, his infamy, his *shame*, would not find him here. He will either have to learn to deal with it, or become a hermit.

He ... concentrates on his footsteps. One in front of the other. Just this. Stone under foot. Water. Stars. Houseboats.

A flood of loneliness abruptly overcomes Matthew, leaving [him] pierced with a jolt of electric isolation.

"Is your life so terrible that you want to destroy it?" she says.

"You looking for somebody to tie up again?" Matthew chuckles, makes a point of chuckling because as soon as the words have left his mouth he sees how imprudent they are. They would not have been spoken had he been completely sober.
"Fuck that. I'm looking for somebody who makes me *stop* thinking about tying them up."

... Saida feeds him, for food is always good in the belly to bring the soul back to its centre, away from whatever dark place it has wandered into.

Still there is nothing, just the blank of him where she can find no purchase on which to pull herself into his heart.

I sifted through the murk to find the clear space of morality, for I wanted that more than I wanted anything. I could, and did, take sides. I was no pacifist. The problem was I took so many sides. I saw the right and wrong in a specific situation -- the machete across the arm, the landmine under the foot, the cigarette in the palm -- but once I stepped back, beyond the limits of any specific incident, the moral terrain became confusing. Motivation was a fog, obscuring everything. Truth hid behind a great rock of rage and sorrow and perspective, and the heart-rip of regret.

"But we're all right now, we're all right now," Matthew had said, repeatedly, and prayed that by the next morning the dread would be gone. It wasn't, but after the fourth night of incessant drinking and talking, it did reduce to a manageable level, a sort of spiritual tinnitus.

"I can't help but care *about* the things I care *for*."

The room festers with ghosts. They breathe on him, their breath icy and foul.

He was only a little boy when they left Lebanon. He remembers only in the bones, in the muscles that twitch to escape.

By the time he reaches the Bok-Bok, the feelings have dwindled and he is a little shaky, ambushed by his own impulses.

Now that she knows he is alive, is free and unharmed, Saida's hands tremble. There is nowhere to put the futility, nothing to wrap her fingers around ...

It was something to do with her hands. Cilantro, cinnamon, garlic, onions. Lentils, spinach and potatoes. The rhythm of chopping, the smell of the spices, clean and hopeful. Make something good to eat and your men will find their way home.

... they meander about, slightly drunk on beauty.

"Look, I know people think that we should get over it. I know that. They say,'The war's been over for decades Get over it. Move on.' Well, it's not something you move on from, it's something you move on *with* -- it's memory but it's more than memory -- and sometimes finding a place like this, a landscape that suits you, no matter how weird, it's like floating in saltwater. It takes the weight off, lets you feel lighter. You get that, right?"

It is fearful, this attraction to the underground, and yet at the same time it is an alluring slip out of rational skin, away from the brazen head of civilization.

"Everybody in the world's got it hard one way or the other. Stay mad at the injustice, let go of the resentment. That stuff will give you cancer."

[Magdelanye]

human life is pure chaos, and the job of the artist-the only thing he's
good for incidentally-is to work that confusion into order. p181

Paris is the radiant city that shines like a beacon for refugees of all kinds. Of the haunted, disconnected characters weaving in and out of this penetrating story of displacement and identity, all, including the young Joseph, just coming of age in a culture he is learning to call home, all endure the extremes of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Coming together in the warmth of Saidas' family Lebanese restaurant, those who survive the machinations of the plot find acceptance and the possibility of healing.

It was a surprise to me to discover that this book was written some years previous to the one I read, which made a brave statement but was not nearly as polished. Paris lives in these pages, and its paradoxical freedom, its alluring topography and its particular character are well portrayed. The dialogue is fluid and believable.

LBD covers all the bases in terms of social relevance. We get a stark overview of global unrest (and the life of a journalist of such conflicts) that goes deep enough beneath surface statistics to wound. Matthews writing, especially,reveals the tedious effect that war has on bystanders.

There were a few things that prevented me from loving this book. In fact, if it were not for the positive reviews of the group posted in a cbc monthly group read, in which I am a member, I would never have read past page 2, so horrific is the opening scene. It did not draw me in, but alienated me entirely. I turned to a few other books affirming the will to live, and was surprised, when I returned to tRC, I was able to engage with the characters and the topics which in fact are of great interest. I even began to let down my guard and start to care: big mistake. Maybe its a good thing that this book hurts so much, for those who do need these insights. For those like myself who have experienced violence firsthand, Im not so sure if shock and sacrifice are necessary, and I dislike using these devices just to further the plot.

This version of Paris is much like the Paris I know from short visits and two undefended days (and nights) waiting for a plane back to Canada after my wallet was stolen. My love-hate relationship with this book is propelling me to rate it 4 instead of 1, for being so provocative.

[Natasha Penney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a stunningly writer character-driven story that will, for me, remain unforgettable. Lauren B. Davis captured me with the opening sentence and she didn't let up until the final, heartbreaking and touching scenes. Her story, which centers on a war corespondent's PTSD and subsequent journey to wellness is set against the dramatic backdrop of Paris - The Radiant City - and Davis uses the colour and light, darkness and shadow of the fabled city to mirror and at times juxtapose Matthew's emotional well-being and character progression. She managed to make the city a main character without overtaking Matthew's compelling journey. This book also has a SUPERB cast of supporting characters, and along with Matthew, the Ferhat family will remain with me - Saida and her grace, courage and own redemption; Joseph and his struggle for identity, and Elias and his disenchantment with exile in Paris and his longing for his native Lebanon and a life that no longer exists for him to reclaim. Five stars. Brilliant!

[Lucy Bernard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful novel. I read it last July and found the plot so engaging and relevant I immediately recommneded it to many friends. I just joined Good Reads, so am happy to post this review.
It's about a war correspondent recovering in Paris from an incident during which he was injured, and he's reflecting on past assignments in war-torn countries, and how humans can behave in difficult circumstances. The story alternates between these experiences and interactions in Paris with a fascinating cast of characters. Saida, the lebanese woman who is one of these characters is a delight. Wow - this is a perspective of Paris you won't read about in the average tourist guidebook. The author writes with great compassion and you just want to keep reading to find out what happens to characters you can't help but care about. Highly recommended!

[Tricia Dower · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent read! I stumbled across it at Page's bookstore in Brentwood Bay and was delighted to discover that it's in Paris which I visited for the first time in October. Davis's book animates many parts of the city I didn't see and gave me an insightful look at immigrant life there. The characters are compelling; I was able to care about them all. Davis employs both gritty and sensual details to bring her fictional world alive and portrays the cost of war on sanity through a raw and unflinching narrative. Highly recommended.

[Lindasp · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very moving story of a journalist who has experienced horrific situations in wartime reporting and moves to Paris to deal with his PTSD. There he becomes involved with others who are also 'misfits' in society. Again, I am amazed at Ms. Davis's powerful writing which displays the emotions of the characters in these disturbing situations. This is the second book by her that I've read (and loved) and although the stories were quite different in each book, her writing moves me!

[Britt Buntain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way this author wove all of the senses into describing a scene. There seemed to always be a scent, sound, visceral detail, and taste along with the visual descriptions. It was so well done, I felt enraptured by the writing style.

It was also hard to read at times; graphic. I found myself holding my breath at one moment and tearing up with emotion for how the characters cared for each other through trauma.

This book was beautiful and brutal at the same time.

[Kanneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a deep novel... sometimes dark, difficult, painful and scary ... traumatic yet emotionally rewarding ... i enjoyed my trip to paris and the people i met there... i did not want the story to end because i liked the people so much... a good read

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, this review is very long, so I'll leave a link. This link is also connected to a very insightful and inspiring interview with this author. I'm very impressed and I can't wait to get my hands on The Stubborn Season, also by Davis.

So here's the link to the full review http://www.examiner.com/x-48436-Toron...

I'll add here, for those who don't have the time to read it; READ THIS! It's worth it. I was blown away. There.

[Jayme Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story made me feel so grateful that I live in an incredibly safe and beautiful part of the world, while at the same time feeling such sadness for the people who live in the midst of war.

The characters in the book all share one thing in common - a violent past. Be it done to them, or things they did. I liked how the author ended the book, providing us with the final details we were missing, and providing hope for the future of the protagonist.

Strong, violent, graphic, and yet a good read.

[Sharen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would like a category of stars called "Admired it" because "Liked it" or "Really Liked it" don't capture my feelings about this novel. Even with in-depth research, I cannot imagine how Lauren B. Davis could enter so well into the minds of journalists who cover wars and human tragedies such as the massacres in Rwanda. She delicately embroiders the lives of all her characters on your mind and heart and leaves you changed. An exceptional writer.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting, emotional story about people trying to find their way back to some kind of equilibrium after having experienced horrible violence of different kinds. The descriptions of PTSD seemed so real and terrifying. I also enjoyed the portrayal of Paris as a real, complex city rather than a romantic, almost mythical place.

[Elizabeth Harlan-Ferlo · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters were great but I felt the plot was a little compressed; I would have liked this book to take its time a little more.

On the other hand, I read it on a flight from Italy to JFK, so maybe that's why.

[Paul Jellinek · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts out very strong but then settles into a fairly formulaic love story. Although well-written, the characters never really came to life for me, and I found it difficult to relate to the main character's anguish from his experiences as a war correspondent.

[Buddy Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book as part of an online book club. It wasn't something I would normally seek out and it was a bit of a slog to get through. Once I finished and asked myself how it was? I had to admit it was decent, well written and kept the story going in the same direction.

[Ron Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

great prose, lovable characters, captivating, enchanting! A wonderful writer, I highly recommend The Radiant City.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I requested this book through my libraries Interlibrary Loan program. Can't wait to start it!

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts a little slow but that slowness is necessary to fall in love with the characters and all their flaws. An oddly comforting view of depression and mental health with a fast paced ending.