Le Barman du Ritz

by Philippe Collin

Juin 1940. Les Allemands entrent dans Paris. Partout, le couvre-feu est de rigueur, sauf au grand hôtel Ritz. Avides de découvrir l'art de vivre à la française, les occupants y côtoient l'élite parisienne, tandis que derrière le bar œuvre Frank Meier, le plus grand barman du monde.

S'adapter est une question de survie. Frank Meier se révèle habile diplomate, gagne la sympathie des officiers allemands, achète sa tranquillité, mais aussi celle de Luciano, son apprenti, et de la troublante et énigmatique Blanche Auzello. Pendant quatre ans, les hommes de la Gestapo vont trinquer avec Coco Chanel, la terrible veuve Ritz, ou encore Sacha Guitry. Ces hommes et ces femmes, collabos ou résistants, héros ou profiteurs de guerre, vont s'aimer, se trahir, lutter aussi pour une certaine idée de la civilisation.

La plupart d'entre eux ignorent que Meier, émigré autrichien, ancien combattant de 1914, chef d'orchestre de cet étrange ballet, cache un lourd secret. Le barman du Ritz est juif.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, France, World War II, Roman, War, Audiobook

416 pages, Paperback

First published April 24, 2024

About the author

Philippe Collin est un producteur de radio, auteur et journaliste. Il effectue des études d'histoire à l'Université de Bretagne occidentale, à Brest. Il est titulaire d'une maîtrise d'histoire contemporaine consacrée à l'épuration des collaborateurs à la Libération.

Philippe Collin is a radio producer, author, and journalist. He studied history at the University of Western Brittany in Brest, where he holds a master's degree in contemporary history focusing on the purge of collaborators after the Liberation.

Reviews

[Stacey B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Le Petite Bar in The Ritz Hotel
Paris, France 1940

A slow burn novel coupled with history; this is a good one.
Based on a true story about the tenure of a polished gentleman and great looking barman Frank Meier was known in his heyday as "The Father of Luxury Cocktails."

But Frank has a secret that has little to do with alcohol or The Ritz- unless they find out first.
So much so, I became anxious and had to keep putting the book down.
Im so sorry, but adding anymore detail would result in spoilers. :(

By the way, I have never heard of these drinks named below.

"In 1921, Meier helped open the Petit Bar at the Ritz Paris (later renamed the Hemingway Bar). He is credited with inventing or popularizing legendary drinks like the Bee's Knees, the Olympic, and a high-end variation of the Sidecar made with rare 1865 cognac.T(later renamed the Hemingway Bar). He is credited with inventing or popularizing legendary drinks like the Bee's Knees, the Olympic, and a high-end variation of the Sidecar made with rare 1865 cognac."

[Maria E (de Enigma, Espada, Esfinge…) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As 1533 noites de Frank Meier


“Quando sonho com a vida depois da morte, com o Paraíso, vejo­-me sempre transportado para o Ritz de Paris.”
Ernest Hemingway

Entre 14 de junho de 1940 e 2 de agosto de 1944 Paris foi ocupada pelas tropas alemãs. Foram 1533 dias e noites que os franceses suportaram a ocupação nazi. Por essa altura, o Ritz Paris era o único hotel 5 estrelas em funcionamento pois os seus proprietários, de nacionalidade Suíça, assumiram a posição tipicamente neutral do seu país. Nesse espaço de neutralidade, coexistiram oficiais alemães e elementos da resistência francesa, num teatro de paz simulada …

Ao balcão do bar encontrava-se Frank Meier, um reputado Barman de origem austríaca que se revelou um precioso colaborador da resistência francesa. Se ainda constasse entre os vivos, quiçá teria 1533 histórias para nos ofertar. Como não, Philippe Collin cuscou em documentos e depoimentos as histórias que Frank Meier legou mas… jamais contou.

————————————————————-

Who Was Frank Meier?


“Your cocktails are charming. They dispel suffering. They are the only ones with this power”

Frank Meier was the Bartender of the Ritz Paris, an exquisite space where war happened wearing a mask of neutrality (the owners were Swiss). In those days, this majestic building has been frequented by Nazis and anti-Nazis. Although the former went there for fun, the latter, assisted by Frank Meier, traded messages and conspired...

Frank Meier dealt with characters from both sides of the war. His magic cocktails granted him the sympathy of the Nazis. Behind the scenes, he collaborated with the French resistance (providing false documents to Jews and war fugitives), in addition to being used as a mailbox by anti-Nazi officers who conspired against Hitler...

With Frank Meier as a central character, Le Barman du Ritz tells the real story of the German occupation in Paris. As for me, it's a reading not to be missed...

[Mihaela Abrudan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Frank Meier, barmanul de la Ritz, cel mai celebru barman, a fost obligat de împrejurări să își pună arta în slujba naziștilor, fără ca aceștia să afle vreodată ca era evreu. Dincolo de frământările interioare Frank Meier a fost un bărbat loial pasiunii sale și un bărbat curajos, povestea lui este impresionantă.
P.S. Dacă vă doriți să aflați și povestea lui Blanche Auzello, vă recomand Doamna de la Ritz a lui Melanie Benjamin. Citite împreună dau un tablou complet al atmosferei de la Ritz din timpul ocupației naziste.

[lauriane · Rating 2 out of 5]

dnf à la moitié

je trouve l’auteur trop à distance de son personnage, historiquement c’est très bien mais romanesquement on n’y est pas vraiment, ça manque d’envergure, d’émotions, d’humain. ça m’ennuie, c’est fade. on sent que collin ne s’est pas saisi de frank meier.

[Cheryl · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

This novel of historical fiction is loosely based on the wartime experience of Frank Meier who was the celebrated barman at the Ritz Hotel in Paris.

Frank was known as an exceptional barman whose skills in concocting unusual drinks was celebrated by the Paris elite as well as well known international figures such as Coco Chanel, Barbara Hutton, Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Frank also authored a book entitled The Artistry of Mixing Drinks, which is currently being republished.

When Paris was invaded by the Nazis, many military officers as well as Hermann Goring took up residence at the Ritz. The hotel bar was the daily gathering place where people came to unwind and socialize. In his position as barman, Frank Meier was privy to the gossip and secrets revealed by the bar’s patrons. He quietly performed his duties and was well respected by the clientele, often becoming a confidant. As the horrors of war took place outside the walls of the grand hotel, Frank and his staff lived a sheltered life in the rarified world of the Ritz.

Frank, however, held his own secrets and continually found himself facing a moral dilemma and questioning whether he was seen as a passive collaborator, a secret helper to Jews trying to escape from Paris or a man simply trying to survive.

This beautifully written book with its wide cast of characters and vivid sense of place will draw you in and hold your interest to the very end.
Author Philippe Collin’s research over a period of seven years resulted in this unforgettable international bestseller.

[Marta Silva · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Se o cocktail é uma arte do rigor e da medida, gerir um bar é, pelo contrário, a arte da desordem; deixar a vida transbordar, jogar com os limites, aceitando, por vezes, ultrapassá-los - foi isto que fez o êxito de Frank Meier, mais ainda, sem dúvida, do que as suas célebres bebidas. É também o que o torna tão ambíguo. Um espírito disciplinado atraído pelo inconformismo.”

É na sua condição de judeu e numa tentativa de sobrevivência que este barman do Ritz vai, ao longo da narrativa, deambulando entre a audácia, a renúncia, o temor e até na tristeza e na angustia. Aliados, ele sabe, são a única fórmula para conseguir chegar até ao fim…
Na minha opinião, faltou alguma profundidade nas personagens mas, pela escrita fluída e factos, tornou-se numa leitura diferente, agradável.

[Aurélie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Les passionnés d'histoire connaissent bien Philippe Collin et ses merveilleux podcasts diffusés sur France Inter. Pour son premier roman, il nous captive en nous plongeant dans l'étouffant huis-clos du bar du Ritz. Devenu après la défaite de 1940 le siège de Luftwaffe, l'hôtel va héberger les huiles nazies tout en continuant d'accueillir la fine fleur de la capitale. Le bar, devenu légendaire grâce à Ernest Hemingway et Francis Scott Fitzgerald, reste ouvert afin que les soldats allemands profitent de l'ivresse de la vie parisienne. Aux shakers depuis 1921, Frank Meier, juif autrichien et ancien Poilu, tente de sauver sa peau dans ce microcosme improbable. Philippe Collin retranscrit incroyablement l'ambiance lourde d’un Paris occupé, entre couvre-feu et privation d’un côté et champagne et festivités de l’autre.

[MCB · Rating 2 out of 5]

J’ai mis teeeellememt longtemps à finir ce livre. Je pensais l’adorer mais il m’a laissée indemne. Je trouve qu’on ne rentre pas du tout dans la peau du personnage principal, le fameux barman Frank Meier. L’histoire est très focalisée sur cette haute société française qui se frotte aux généraux allemands pendant l’occupation - on voit défiler des noms à n’en plus finir, ca ne m’a pas intéressé. Hormis une chasse aux juifs sous latente et vers la fin du roman le complot pour tuer Hitler, il n’y avait pas d’action dans ce roman. J’aurais retenue que les haute société parisienne n’avait aucun problème à se frotter aux nazis 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Yalla Balagan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Paris endured 1,533 nights of German occupation, from June 1940 to August 1944, and the Ritz, a luxury hotel on the Place Vendôme, stayed open, with German officers in the east wing and French society in the west. Frank Meier tends its Petit Bar. He is Austrian by birth, French by choice, a veteran of the First World War battle of Verdun, and a Jew in hiding. There really was a historical Frank Meier that tended that bar.
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The Ritz suits a story about collaboration with an occupier, a conqueror and conquered ordering from the same vain menu. Frank pours German officers a 1933 Bordeaux, a poor vintage that shares its year with Hitler's rise, and raises the price. Hermann Göring, chief of the German air force, takes the Imperial Suite and bathes so often that the hotel runs short of hot water. Marie-Louise Ritz, the founder's widow and board chair, asks him to limit baths to one a day. He replies that revenge is among life's great pleasures. Monsieur Süss, the deputy manager, nicknames the hotel "the glamour bunker."

Frank is ambiguous on purpose. Minutes before he greets the first German officers with "Good evening, gentlemen. Welcome to the Ritz bar," his thoughts have been waiting for "the damn Krauts." The book is split between smile and thought. He takes racing bets from officers, and he also obtains forged passports for Jewish families, for a fee. "Two measures of duplicity, a dash of luck, and a healthy dose of cynicism."

Collin overstocks the guest list. The writers Hemingway and Fitzgerald, the designer Coco Chanel, the artists Cocteau and Picasso, and the German author and army captain Ernst Jünger pass through, in person or in memory, and several exist to deliver a single quotable line.
[image error]
A German colonel named Speidel, a regular at the Petit Bar, tells the barman over brandy that German authorities receive fifteen hundred letters a day from French citizens denouncing neighbors. Brandy begets a chilling truth.

Blanche Auzello, the hotel manager's American wife, hides her Jewish birth behind papers Frank obtained years ago. She also takes morphine, and Frank obtained that too. Frank loves her. She visits his bar after closing when she needs something. Papers, a Martini, a favor. The pattern is overwhelming in its predictability. Italics coach Frank repetitively as well. "Smile, Frank." "Stand up straight, stay calm." "Hold it together, Frank." His nerves are established in the first scene, and the reminders keep coming. The diary entries Collin invented retell what the narration has already shown, so Blanche's morphine habit gets told twice, once per voice.

Neutrality is the book's subject. The hotel's Swiss owners keep it open to both camps, and the interim manager says neutrality may be the hotel's only chance of survival. A barman has the same training in miniature. Agreeing with customers is part of the job. Collin asks what that habit amounts to when the barman is a hidden Jew pouring for officers of the Gestapo, Germany's secret police.

Frank starts the war admiring Marshal Pétain, the Verdun commander turned head of the French government that cooperated with the occupiers. The book follows that admiration as it turns into a whiskey sour. The author's note closes by asking us what we would have done in Frank's position. Frank's choices on the page support several answers. Collin leaves the label off the bottle.

Chapters run short, wear a date like an episode title, and close on a hook, such as "He looks like he's seen the devil." As a tour of the past, the book is an agreeable guide, though the guide lectures at times. It serves the war years on the rocks, chilled and easy to swallow, and a stiffer measure of doubt would have lengthened the finish. The people its hero rescues, as well as the millions murdered, stay offstage, so the dilemma plays out in one head. I felt they deserved a scene.

This debut novel followed seven years of research, helped by an amateur historian of the hotel and its longtime head bartender, and has sold 350,000 copies in France and reached thirty languages. A historian adding this much fiction should expect the audience to ask for the recipe.





❤️ 🇮🇱

[David Mc · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite a great premise and stellar reviews…..this novel just didn’t do anything for me. in this regard, the story focused on Frank Meier, a legendary Paris bartender working at the upscale Ritz Hotel in 1940, just after German troops defeated France. Aside from having to hobnob with the top Nazi officers who flock to the bar, Frank needs to hide the fact that he is secretly a Jew; which should have added some tension to the story, but seems to fall flat in this novel.

Unfortunately, for whatever reason, I just didn’t feel much of a connection with Frank or the endless number of characters that crossed the pages of the novel. In this regard, Frank’s constant name-dropping of his clients and friends (e.g., Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Coco Chanel, and many others) got old very quickly. On top of that, along with the somewhat annoying voice of the audiobook’s narrator, I could have done without Frank's continual pining for a married woman.

If nothing else, I suppose it should be impressive that anyone could write such a dull book about a very dramatic and action-packed time period in WWII. Thus, I feel that I am being generous with a 2-star review.

[Swanky Tanky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superbe roman qui nous plonge dans la vie parisienne de l’Occupation à travers les yeux du barman fétiche du Ritz, Frank Meier. C’est un livre profondément humain qui se focalise sur les hommes tels qu’ils étaient, allemands, français et autres, pris dans l’étau d’une guerre que tous ont subie. Les lâches, les traites, les téméraires et les indulgents ne sont pas que d’un camp et pas pour les mêmes raisons. Ça m’a souvent donné la chair de poule et je recommande ça fortement à quiconque aime ces récits de guerre où on est plongé dans la vie concrète de ceux à qui ces épreuves ont été imposées. Petite citation de fin qui sont censées être les dernières paroles que Fitzgerald ait prononcées à Frank: « Il faut savoir que les choses sont sans espoir, et être pourtant déterminé à les changer. »

[Rita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entre o luxo e a sombra da guerra



Em O Barman do Ritz, Philippe Collin transforma o lendário bar do Hotel César Ritz, na Place Vendôme, em Paris, num micro-universo da França ocupada (1940-1944).

“O barman do Ritz vê desaparecer o seu último cliente do mundo de antes. (…) Por isso, fica a ver entrar o primeiro cliente do mundo que há de vir.”

Frank Meier, barman austríaco naturalizado francês, oculta a sua origem judaica enquanto continua a servir, com a maior elegância, os mais sofisticados cocktails à alta sociedade parisiense e aos oficiais nazis que frequentam o espaço.

A escolha do bar como cenário central é um dos grandes trunfos do romance. Em vez de acompanharmos soldados ou combatentes no campo de batalha, observamos a guerra “por dentro”, a partir de um bastidor de luxo onde se cruzam ocupantes e ocupados, vítimas e cúmplices.
O Ritz é um lugar de brilho e de medo, de sedução e de sobrevivência.

Frank Meier é uma figura complexa, moralmente ambígua — e talvez por isso mesmo fascinante. Não é um herói nem um vilão, serve os ocupantes, protege alguns fugitivos, arrisca a vida, oculta a sua identidade e, por vezes, colabora até certo ponto.

“Sou Frank Meier, chefe de bar do Ritz, antigo combatente em Verdun e judeu asquenaze.”



Frank Meier existiu de facto. Nasceu em 1884, trabalhou em Nova Iorque, lutou em Verdun sob as ordens de Pétain e, anos depois, tornou-se o célebre barman do Ritz, a quem se atribuía o título de “melhor barman do mundo”. Durante a ocupação, o hotel foi residência de oficiais da Wehrmacht e ponto de encontro de figuras como Arletty, Gabrielle Chanel, Jean Cocteau, Ernst Jünger ou Sacha Guitry — todos retratados no romance, entre o glamour e a cumplicidade com o poder nazi.

As partes escritas sob a forma de diário fictício dão ritmo e profundidade à história, e permitem um olhar mais íntimo sobre o protagonista e os seus medos.
O amor platónico de Frank Meier por Blanche Auzello, a mulher do director do Ritz, confere à história uma melancolia discreta, um contraste com o horror que se adensa fora das paredes do hotel.

É um romance que, sem perder o ritmo nem o encanto, nos lembra que mesmo nos lugares de luxo mais cintilantes pode esconder-se o medo e que a sobrevivência, nesses tempos, raramente vinha sem compromissos.

[Lucia Nieto Navarro · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

Nos encontramos ante una novela histórica, con espías, con un pelín de romance y algo de misterio. El autor nos pone en la piel de Frank, el Barman del Ritz, en una época donde los alemanes arrasaron Paris.
.
Por este hotel tan prestigioso tendremos a figuras históricas tan conocidas como Otto von Habsburg, Ernest Hemingway, el gran ogro Herman Goering, la tan desagradable Gabrielle Channel, así como el oficial de la Gestapo, Lafont.
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La particularidad de todo esto, es que Frank es judío, aunque a lo largo de la historia veremos que hay otros judíos, todos se esconden bajo la mirada de sus enemigos, cada uno a su manera.
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Frank es un personaje que demuestra mucha valentía en algunos momentos pero también cobardía, pero claro habría que verse en su situación.
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Es una novela basada en hechos reales , donde muchos personajes son reales, otros no, hay ciertos capítulos que podemos llamarlos como el diario de Frank, totalmente de ficción pero que cuenta como se siente ante todo lo que ocurre.
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No es un libro de acción con mil giros, no esperes eso, es un libro para leerlo con calma, aprender y darse cuenta de cómo fue ese París ocupado, corrompido por la ocupación alemana, que finalmente resistió.
.
Recomendado para los amantes de esta época sin duda.

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5
Je suis un peu partagée sur ce livre. D’un côté, j’ai beaucoup aimé découvrir l’ambiance du Ritz pendant la guerre, et comment les grands bourgeois ont fait face à l’occupation (composer voir fraterniser avec l’ennemi pour ne pas perdre leur statut). On voit passer des figures historiques (Coco Chanel est rhabillée pour l’hiver) et c’est une perspective intéressante sur Paris occupé (différence entre les riches et le reste)

De l’autre côté on assiste à la pire histoire d’amour de tous les temps, probablement complètement romancée avec saillies romantiques tellement cringe que je voulais brûler le livre (ton monologue intérieur, Frank, ferait mieux de rester secret on s’en balek de tes états d’âme)

Reco de Toto (Paris + occupation=sa passion absolue), c’est un peu mieux mais pas incr non plus

[Germán Moya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una novela que me ha gustado bastante. Y eso que creía haber leído ya de sobra de la II Guerra Mundial. Pero este enfoque me parece muy original, además de que está muy bien escrita y bien traducida.
La novela narra el tiempo de la Segunda Guerra Mundial desde un punto bastante peculiar, el de la barra del bar más exclusivo de París, desde una perspectiva observadora distinta. Como el buen barman que es, Frank Maier sabe oír sin parecer que escucha. Es fiel a si mismo en un enjambre de traiciones y deslealtades, fruto de la heterogénea muestra de personajes históricos que pasan por el bar del Grand Hotel Ritz de París desde la ocupación alemana hasta la liberación. Desde ese rincón se pinta un cuadro que evoluciona y describe cada parte de la contienda. Y lo hace de forma amena y más que interesante, haciendo hablar a personalidades ilustres y formando parte de conversaciones que pudieron cambiar la historia.
Me ha gustado mucho

[Laurine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quelques longueurs et passages flous mais un excellent récit de l’occupation

[Jose Garrido · Rating 5 out of 5]

De vez em quando, todos merecemos, encontrar um livro assim. Porque não mais vezes, mais frequentemente? Por que lhe daríamos menos valor e pelo desgaste emocional.
Le Barman du Ritz de Philippe Collin, é um desses livros. Grande.
A história conta-se em duas penadas. Passa-se no bar do Ritz de Paris, um lugar superlativo, e tem como peça-chave Frank Meier, aventureiro, de origem polaca, depois austríaco, que combate na Grande Guerra pela França e torna-se um expert mundial em cocktails – o maior barman do mundo – servindo clientes como Hemingway (já repararam que ele está sempre lá? Seja onde for?), Fitzgerald, Chanel, Guitry, you name it. O romance decorre fundamentalmente entre dois eventos: a queda de Paris (invadida pelos alemães) e a libertação de Paris (pelos Aliados), quatro anos mais tarde.
É desta perspectiva, folheada a luxo, que se assiste à descida aos abismos da sociedade francesa. Enquanto uma certa sociedade faz os possíveis e os impossíveis para continuar a flutuar, num contexto naturalmente colaboracionista, que o autor utiliza como cenário, mas também contexto e caldo de cultura para os heroísmos do possível.
Frank, é indubitável, colabora, mas também se empenha e arrisca profundamente para salvar pessoas perseguidas pelo ocupante.
Com uma fleuma, indissociável do perfil psicológico de alguém que esconde a sua origem, polaca, atrás da infância austríaca e combate na Grande Guerra do lado oposto às suas origens, Frank é sempre de uma contenção que chega a ser perturbadora. É que ele é portador de um segredo que quase não o é – uma paixão por uma mulher casada – e de outro que o é, apesar de algumas suspeitas aqui e além, quase até ao final, – é judeu.
Duvido que me apareça até ao final do ano meia mão-cheia de coisas tão boas como esta – mas cá estamos.

[Jean-Pascal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ça se lit, bien sûr, on tourne les pages. Mais l'histoire est racontée de la manière la plus simplette et maladroite possible. Quand on veut nous rappeler un point d'histoire, un personnage s'empresse de le raconter à son voisin. Du coup, on y croit vachement. Le soit disant journal intime n'a aucune personnalité. Et l'écriture, enfin, est elle aussi particulièrement simplette (le maître mot du ivre).

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intéressant d'en apprendre plus sur Paris durant l'occupation allemande! Moins intéressant d'entendre parler de l'avis du barman sur les seins ronds de ses clientes.

[Lisa Kusel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened. Simon Paisley Day embodied most of the characters in this book with subtlety and panache, tho when he read Frank's internal asides (there were a great many) he sounded a bit too much like Snidely Whiplash..

I am, much like Frank was throughout this fictionalized account of his time tending bar at The Ritz, torn. I am not sure whether or not he deserved my sympathies and support. Would I have acted similarly had I been in the same situation? Perhaps. Probably not.

The novel depicts a few decadent years in the behemoth that was WWII, which, in the end, didn't amount to a hill of beans.

Read this if you like name-dropping of famous people in the 40s and/or some cocktail recipes.

[Bea · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 ***

WO2 in Parijs, meer bepaald in het Ritz.
De directie, het personeel, de vaste bewoners, de vaste gasten, de Duitse officieren.
Collaboratie en verzet, opportunisme en ideologie.

Interessant gebracht met tal van personages die ook echt bestaan hebben en daar in het Ritz effectief aanwezig waren.

Maar ik heb het gevoel dat ik de laatste jaren net iets te veel over WO2, collaboratie, verzet, etc gelezen heb en dat in zowel het Frans, Engels, als Nederlands. Ik ben compleet verzadigd wat betreft dit onderwerp. Anders had dit boek waarschijnlijk 4 **** gekregen want het is zeker geen slecht verhaal met afwisselend een verhalend gedeelde, onderbroken door de persoonlijke (fictieve, maar wel realistisch gebrachte) gedachten en/of dagboekfragmenten van Frank Meier, die in die periode barman was in dat prestigieuze hotel.

Het boek wordt afgesloten met historische foto's van de personen die een rol spelen in het verhaal, altijd interessant wanneer een aantal hoofdrolspelers uit het verhaal - letterlijk - een gezicht krijgen.

[Félicitie Mason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Je suis un peu mitigé sur ce livre! Il a une moyenne de 4.5 sur Goodreads donc j’avais trop hâte de le lire, puis au final il ne m’a pas tant marqué que ça…certains passages sont chouettes, mais d’autres manquent ce petit quelque chose. Je trouve l’idée du livre intéressante: un barman surdoué, Frank Meier, qui travaille loyalement au Ritz pendant l’occupation allemande en France de 1940 à 1945. J’ai aussi eu un peu de mal avec le nombre important de personnages cités à chaque page: Gabrielle Chanel, Blanche Aurezello, la Veuve, Luciano, Elmingee, Süss…avec chacun qui fuit et/ou se fait arrêté par la SS. Bref, il faut rester accroché. Même si mon avis est assez mitigé jusqu’ici, je trouve l’histoire, le scénario intéressant et original, avec un angle abordé qui change de celui qu’on a généralement pour la guerre de 1940-45.

[Lou · Rating 2 out of 5]

Je mets 2 étoiles pour l’amélioration au bout de 200 pages mais ça reste très mauvais.
Je me questionne sur les derniers gros succès en librairie, à chaque fois on remarque une écriture assez pauvre, des éléments devinables dès les premiers chapitres et une conclusion navrante. Et pourtant, que de personnes ont crié au génie !
Point négatif supplémentaire : le names dropping incessant juste pour tenter d'impressionner et de prouver la véracité de ses propos.

Comme quoi être chroniqueur France Inter ne fait pas forcément de vous un auteur.

[Cynthia]

Abandon pour l'instant.

Aucunement envie de le reprendre. Ce n'est pas un mauvais livre, mais je ne suis vraiment pas d'humeur à lire sur la 2e guerre mondiale présentement.

[Anni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mä yllätyin siitä kuinka paljon pidin tästä, nyt täytyy avata Google kun haluan tietää mitkä osiot olivat totta ja mitkä spekulaatiota

[Angie Miale · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Barman of the Ritz by Philippe Collin, translated from the French, had such an intriguing premise that I really wanted to love it more than I did.

Set primarily at the Ritz Hotel in Paris during the Nazi occupation from 1940–1944, the novel follows Frank, a bartender who continues doing his job—serving drinks, listening to conversations, and interacting with some of the most infamous and recognizable people of the era—all while hiding the fact that he is Jewish.

It’s a fascinating position to put a character in. As Frank serves Nazi officers and other guests at the Ritz, you can’t help putting yourself in his shoes and wondering: What would I do to survive in this situation? What compromises would I make? What would resistance even look like when simply being discovered could cost me my life?

The historical setting is incredibly ambitious. The Ritz becomes almost a crossroads of occupied Paris, with Nazis, members of the French elite, Coco Chanel, and seemingly every notable person who might have passed through its doors. Unfortunately, that was also where the book began to lose me. There are SO many people to keep track of—there’s even a cast of characters at the beginning—and at times it felt as though the novel was determined to include everyone who could possibly have been there.

The reading experience reminded me a little of reading a classic. The pacing is deliberate, the book is dense, and it requires more sustained attention than I apparently have these days! 😂 I found myself appreciating what the author was doing without necessarily enjoying the process of reading it. It could be quite dry, and I sometimes struggled to keep track of everyone.

My favorite sections were the passages written as though they came directly from Frank’s diary. Those felt more intimate and immediate and gave me more of the personal connection I wanted from the rest of the novel.

This is historical fiction rooted in real people and events, and I have a lot of respect for the scope of what Collin was attempting. I’m also curious whether some of the rhythm or nuance may feel different in the original French. Ultimately, though, this was a book I respected more than I enjoyed.

⭐️ 3/5 stars

Thank you to Scribner for the finished copy.

[Lucía RP · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘-¿Qué ha aprendido de todo esto, Hans? -pregunta.
-Que hay que preocuparse por las personas y no por las banderas. Sólo cuentan nuestros actos, en realidad.

[…]

-¿ Y usted, Frank? ¿Qué ha aprendido usted?
-Que hay que amar la vida tal como es. Feliz o desgraciada.
-¡Gran sabiduría!
-Me he dado cuenta tarde. Ninguna vida está hecha sólo de dichas o de sufrimientos. Trato de recordármelo con frecuencia para no hundirme del todo...
-Hundirnos, ese es el peligro que nos acecha.’

[Isabel Fernandez Acin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me ha gustado mucho. Sobre todo, la forma en la que refleja la supervivencia y cómo, casi sin darte cuenta y simplemente siguiendo con tu día a día, puedes cambiar la vida de otras personas y encontrarte en medio de acontecimientos que acabarán pasando a la historia.

[Elisa Dns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un voyage dans le Paris mondain durant l'occupation. J'ai adoré ce roman historique, rythmé et très bien écrit.

[Anastasja Kostic · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mene ovo podseca na "Alo Alo ", samo sto nije duhovito.