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Haunting Paris
A timeless story of love and loss is transformed when a bereaved pianist discovers a mysterious letter among her late lover's possessions, launching her headlong into a decades-old search for a child who vanished in the turbulence of wartime Paris.
In the summer of 1989, while all of Paris is poised to celebrate the bicentennial of the French Revolution, Sylvie mourns the loss of her lover, Julien, and is unable to find solace in the music that has always been her refuge. But when she accidentally dislodges an envelope hidden in Julien's desk, she finds an enigmatic note from a stranger and feels compelled to meet this woman who might hold the key to Julien's past and to the story of the missing child he could not find in his lifetime. Julien's sister and one of her daughters perished in the Holocaust; but Julien held out hope that the other daughter managed to escape. Julien had secretly devoted years to tracking his niece, and now Sylvie picks up where he left off.
With only the scant clue of an unnumbered street, Sylvie sets out on her quest for knowledge, unaware that she is watched over by Julien's ghost, whose love for her is powerful enough to draw him back, though he is doomed to remain a silent observer in the afterlife. Sylvie's journey leads her deep into the secrets of Julien's past and she finally learns the devastating reason for Julien's reticence about a tragedy both personal and historic, shedding new light on the dark days of Nazi-held Paris and on the man Sylvie loved.
Mamta Chaudhry's gorgeously written and profoundly moving debut novel explores the grief of mourning a partner, the protective conspiracies of family secrets, and the undeniable power of memory. Weaving a narrative rich in vivid imagery and historical resonance, Haunting Paris matches emotional intensity with lyrical storytelling to bring a long-buried secret to light, capturing a relationship, a family, and a city in breathtaking new ways.
In the summer of 1989, while all of Paris is poised to celebrate the bicentennial of the French Revolution, Sylvie mourns the loss of her lover, Julien, and is unable to find solace in the music that has always been her refuge. But when she accidentally dislodges an envelope hidden in Julien's desk, she finds an enigmatic note from a stranger and feels compelled to meet this woman who might hold the key to Julien's past and to the story of the missing child he could not find in his lifetime. Julien's sister and one of her daughters perished in the Holocaust; but Julien held out hope that the other daughter managed to escape. Julien had secretly devoted years to tracking his niece, and now Sylvie picks up where he left off.
With only the scant clue of an unnumbered street, Sylvie sets out on her quest for knowledge, unaware that she is watched over by Julien's ghost, whose love for her is powerful enough to draw him back, though he is doomed to remain a silent observer in the afterlife. Sylvie's journey leads her deep into the secrets of Julien's past and she finally learns the devastating reason for Julien's reticence about a tragedy both personal and historic, shedding new light on the dark days of Nazi-held Paris and on the man Sylvie loved.
Mamta Chaudhry's gorgeously written and profoundly moving debut novel explores the grief of mourning a partner, the protective conspiracies of family secrets, and the undeniable power of memory. Weaving a narrative rich in vivid imagery and historical resonance, Haunting Paris matches emotional intensity with lyrical storytelling to bring a long-buried secret to light, capturing a relationship, a family, and a city in breathtaking new ways.
275 pages, Hardcover
First published June 18, 2019
209 people are currently reading
4790 people want to read
About the author
Mamta Chaudhry
1 book78 followersMamta Chaudhry lives with her husband in Coral Gables, Florida, and they spend part of each year in India and in France. Much of her professional career was in television and classical radio at stations in Calcutta, Gainesville, Dallas, and Miami. Mamta has studied with Marilynne Robinson and has also taught literature and creative writing at the University of Miami. Her early fiction, poetry, and feature articles have been published in newspapers and magazines in the States and in India. She is currently working on a second novel.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 213 reviews
August 18, 2019
Recently when I was scrolling through the historical fiction on Netgalley it seemed like every other novel was set in France during WW2. Not only that but they all sounded like they were built to the same formula - heroic women, dual timelines, an undiscovered mystery or secret. This one attracted me because it sounded different, more literary, less formulaic (despite the presence of some of the above tropes).
At the heart of this novel is the night in 1942 when the French police rounded up many of Paris' Jews, including Clara and her two young daughters. Her brother, who is also dead when the novel begins and performs his narration as a ghost, believes one of the daughters might have survived but has never shared this belief with Sylvie, his long term lover. Here is the first of several acts of clumsiness in the plot and artistry of this novel. Why, seeing as his relationship with Sylvie is depicted in ideal terms, did he never tell her? Instead, rather melodramatically, Sylvie finds an envelope and discovers he has been paying money every month to some mysterious person whose name begins with M and it's her challenge to solve the mystery.
The first thing to say is that the author writes really well. I enjoyed her way with words, except when she veers towards the mawkish which she does have a tendency to do. The problems I had were with the structure/focus and characterisation. The novel had too many narrators for me and too many timelines and as a result kept losing its focus. The juggling of timelines and narrators is confusing. There was one incident of a girl committing suicide that I never understood. And quite often the narrative wandered off into irrelevant sideshows. One narrator is the ghost of Julien - a presence which rarely seemed of much purpose to me except as a gimmick. Often he seemed to assume the guise of tourist guide, recounting interesting facts about the history of Paris. The novel is suffused with a love of Paris, though perhaps a little too much through the wide-eyed wonder of the tourist rather than a native Parisian. Another narrator is an American man visiting Paris with his wife. He longs to enter the secret life of Paris and shed his mantle of tourist - something the book itself tries to do. Whenever writing about him the author seemed less inspired and I was never quite able to understand what he and his wife were doing in the novel. Whenever they appeared the narrative drifted far away from the Holocaust.
As often seems to be the case in Holocaust novels, the Jewish characters and their allies were all idealised. It's interesting there's often this fairy tale element to Holocaust novels. As if everyone murdered by the Nazis never succumbed to an unworthy emotion in their lives. For me, it usually serves to keep these characters remote. After all, it's part of being human to occasionally give vent to an ugliness in one's nature. We all do it. Here though they are all haloed characters. We have ideal husband, ideal wife, ideal mother, ideal father. Everyone a prototype of a faultless human being except the ex-wife of Julien who, bafflingly, is the novel's villain. Abandoned by her husband for the much younger Sylvie surely she has every right to treat her victorious rival with scorn. Yet the author has no sympathy for her predicament and portrays her consistently as snobbish and sordidly venal. In many ways she was potentially the novel's most interesting character but received short shrift from the author who was more interested in her fairy story relationships.
In short, it's a novel that has qualities and I really wanted to love it but I kept hitting buffers. That said less cynical readers might well love it to bits.
At the heart of this novel is the night in 1942 when the French police rounded up many of Paris' Jews, including Clara and her two young daughters. Her brother, who is also dead when the novel begins and performs his narration as a ghost, believes one of the daughters might have survived but has never shared this belief with Sylvie, his long term lover. Here is the first of several acts of clumsiness in the plot and artistry of this novel. Why, seeing as his relationship with Sylvie is depicted in ideal terms, did he never tell her? Instead, rather melodramatically, Sylvie finds an envelope and discovers he has been paying money every month to some mysterious person whose name begins with M and it's her challenge to solve the mystery.
The first thing to say is that the author writes really well. I enjoyed her way with words, except when she veers towards the mawkish which she does have a tendency to do. The problems I had were with the structure/focus and characterisation. The novel had too many narrators for me and too many timelines and as a result kept losing its focus. The juggling of timelines and narrators is confusing. There was one incident of a girl committing suicide that I never understood. And quite often the narrative wandered off into irrelevant sideshows. One narrator is the ghost of Julien - a presence which rarely seemed of much purpose to me except as a gimmick. Often he seemed to assume the guise of tourist guide, recounting interesting facts about the history of Paris. The novel is suffused with a love of Paris, though perhaps a little too much through the wide-eyed wonder of the tourist rather than a native Parisian. Another narrator is an American man visiting Paris with his wife. He longs to enter the secret life of Paris and shed his mantle of tourist - something the book itself tries to do. Whenever writing about him the author seemed less inspired and I was never quite able to understand what he and his wife were doing in the novel. Whenever they appeared the narrative drifted far away from the Holocaust.
As often seems to be the case in Holocaust novels, the Jewish characters and their allies were all idealised. It's interesting there's often this fairy tale element to Holocaust novels. As if everyone murdered by the Nazis never succumbed to an unworthy emotion in their lives. For me, it usually serves to keep these characters remote. After all, it's part of being human to occasionally give vent to an ugliness in one's nature. We all do it. Here though they are all haloed characters. We have ideal husband, ideal wife, ideal mother, ideal father. Everyone a prototype of a faultless human being except the ex-wife of Julien who, bafflingly, is the novel's villain. Abandoned by her husband for the much younger Sylvie surely she has every right to treat her victorious rival with scorn. Yet the author has no sympathy for her predicament and portrays her consistently as snobbish and sordidly venal. In many ways she was potentially the novel's most interesting character but received short shrift from the author who was more interested in her fairy story relationships.
In short, it's a novel that has qualities and I really wanted to love it but I kept hitting buffers. That said less cynical readers might well love it to bits.
June 20, 2019
“Squandered time. The most enduring of regrets. In the end, a lifetime is not enough, the heart yearns for more.”
A highly original and unforgettable story of lovers and loss, merging the dead with the living. I was sympathetic to grieving Sylvie’s story and her quest to unravel the mystery of a letter found in her dead lover Julien’s desk, and especially loved Julien’s musings as a ghostly presence watching over Sylvie. His thoughts are beautifully written.
The author brought Paris’s history to life and stirred personal memories of when I once walked its’ streets.
A highly original and unforgettable story of lovers and loss, merging the dead with the living. I was sympathetic to grieving Sylvie’s story and her quest to unravel the mystery of a letter found in her dead lover Julien’s desk, and especially loved Julien’s musings as a ghostly presence watching over Sylvie. His thoughts are beautifully written.
The author brought Paris’s history to life and stirred personal memories of when I once walked its’ streets.
April 15, 2025
Sylvie is Julien’s heartbroken widow.
Not yet a year after his death, she discovers an envelope in his desk drawer that is a mystery to her.
As she goes about carefully trying to figure it out, the past is intermingled with the present and the reader will be taken back to France.
This was a story with a cool way of creating a dual timeline. Mamta Chaudhry was able to make me feel all of the feelings when I think about these horrific events in our not-so-long ago past. It hit a little harder knowing what is going on on our world today and knowing that so many people have not learned anything from history.
My reasoning for 3 stars is that it took toooo lonnng to get going. I was almost 100 pages in before I was wanting to choose the book over playing a game on my phone.
Not yet a year after his death, she discovers an envelope in his desk drawer that is a mystery to her.
As she goes about carefully trying to figure it out, the past is intermingled with the present and the reader will be taken back to France.
This was a story with a cool way of creating a dual timeline. Mamta Chaudhry was able to make me feel all of the feelings when I think about these horrific events in our not-so-long ago past. It hit a little harder knowing what is going on on our world today and knowing that so many people have not learned anything from history.
My reasoning for 3 stars is that it took toooo lonnng to get going. I was almost 100 pages in before I was wanting to choose the book over playing a game on my phone.
June 3, 2019
HAUNTING PARIS: A NOVEL
Haunting Paris is an extraordinarily beautiful book. Set in 1989 on the Île Saint-Louis Paris, Sylvie is mourning the death of her lover Julien. His spirit haunts the island, willing her to resolve unfinished sorrows from his past.
How Sylvie and Julien met and built a life together is interwoven with family tragedies during WWII and the German occupation of France. Delicate and ethereal, understated and sublime, this tale floats to the surface with exquisite clarity and gentleness.
Tender healing from grief and acceptance of small moments of wonder combine to make this a beautiful piece of storytelling. As this is the author's first novel, I can only feel that she has an exquisite talent that I hope she continues to develop and share her gift.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Mamta Chaudhry, and Nan A. Talese /Doubleday and Penguin Random House LLC for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Haunting Paris is an extraordinarily beautiful book. Set in 1989 on the Île Saint-Louis Paris, Sylvie is mourning the death of her lover Julien. His spirit haunts the island, willing her to resolve unfinished sorrows from his past.
How Sylvie and Julien met and built a life together is interwoven with family tragedies during WWII and the German occupation of France. Delicate and ethereal, understated and sublime, this tale floats to the surface with exquisite clarity and gentleness.
Tender healing from grief and acceptance of small moments of wonder combine to make this a beautiful piece of storytelling. As this is the author's first novel, I can only feel that she has an exquisite talent that I hope she continues to develop and share her gift.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Mamta Chaudhry, and Nan A. Talese /Doubleday and Penguin Random House LLC for the opportunity to read and review this book.
July 23, 2019
Once again this is a book where I don't get all the 5 star reviews. The premise had such potential but the execution was rather weak. I found the
- Timeline overly complex
- Introduction of characters confusing
- Flow disjointed
Either the author has 133 really good friends, or I need to go back to English class. It's a good effort for a first time book, but it's not a 5 star read. I can see where some readers would be mesmerized by the storyline and the descriptions of Paris. Both were powerful, but the mechanical execution got in the way of a good story. Luckily, my library had a copy or I would be very upset.
- Timeline overly complex
- Introduction of characters confusing
- Flow disjointed
Either the author has 133 really good friends, or I need to go back to English class. It's a good effort for a first time book, but it's not a 5 star read. I can see where some readers would be mesmerized by the storyline and the descriptions of Paris. Both were powerful, but the mechanical execution got in the way of a good story. Luckily, my library had a copy or I would be very upset.
October 14, 2023
Honestly, this one was just two dark for me. Its wrapped up in grief and sorrow.
Narrated in part by a ghost, a grieving widow, who has always been alone, tries to piece together the sorrow that marked her husbands life. She uncovers more about the story of his sister, lost to the Holocaust. And in so doing rescues a lost story, and slowly opens herself up to healing.
Narrated in part by a ghost, a grieving widow, who has always been alone, tries to piece together the sorrow that marked her husbands life. She uncovers more about the story of his sister, lost to the Holocaust. And in so doing rescues a lost story, and slowly opens herself up to healing.
July 5, 2019
I don't remember the last time I read a book in one sitting, but Haunting Paris is a book that I could not put down until this evocative, sad, and hopeful story had been told and its very satisfying ending was reached. This is a book that covers a tremendous amount of difficult emotional ground, from loss to grief to regret, always with a warm and compassionate tone that ultimately finds its way to forgiveness. It explores themes of sacrifice, family, belonging, and shows that the way to overcome life's sorrows is by facing the truth of a difficult situation with strength and empathy. Ultimately, this is a hopeful story, that demonstrates how important it is to find and create a community around yourself that is loving, honest, and true. I loved it. An amazing, beautiful story, very well told.
March 4, 2019
Mamta Chaudhry's beautifully crafted novel lifts off quickly like a symphonic poem whose revered subject is the city of Paris. One cannot resist fondness for her soulful characters, woven together by grief, longing, secrets and love. Gustav Mahler once said that a symphony must contain the whole world, and this lyrical tale, with its ghosts, survivors and dreamers does not shy away from the horrific realities of history, war and genocide. But Chaudhry also conjures motifs of mystery, music, and psychoanalysis, always with refined prose that sing with a trustable voice deftly accompanied by a subtle presence of the ineffable. When the novel concludes, it is as though one has said adieu to old friends. This memorable book is highly recommended!
August 28, 2019
This book started out promising but lost its focus at times. I enjoyed the descriptions of Paris, took me right back. I enjoyed the history, though at times it seemed extraneous. I lost the timeline at points. At first it seemed fairly straight-forward, the italicized passages were for the revenant/Julien and the beginning of each chapter was from the point of view of Silvie, then later her American renters or sometimes by another character (maybe too many different points of view). Julien/Silvie would reminisce about a particular event from their past, one then the other.
Then the chapters got a little time jumpy, and I couldn’t tell if I was in the past or the present. I did get the feeling while I was reading that the plot in the book summary was taking a long time to materialize. I got a little lost after Sylvie left Marie, first at the apartment then at the coffee shop. Then suddenly I lost the narrator, following Clara into the events that were happening around her, and I’m not sure whose point of view I was reading.
And who was Delphine and what does she have to do with anything? Oh and what was up with Sylvie’s open door and Coco just running out it to join Alice every morning all of the sudden? That was never explained. The narrative just went off on a lot of tangents that only sometimes tied into the story. It eventually came back to Sylvie and the mystery of the letter/bankbook, which was tied up nicely. Essentially, I enjoyed the beginning of the book and the end of the book but there was a total loss of focus in the middle.
Then the chapters got a little time jumpy, and I couldn’t tell if I was in the past or the present. I did get the feeling while I was reading that the plot in the book summary was taking a long time to materialize. I got a little lost after Sylvie left Marie, first at the apartment then at the coffee shop. Then suddenly I lost the narrator, following Clara into the events that were happening around her, and I’m not sure whose point of view I was reading.
And who was Delphine and what does she have to do with anything? Oh and what was up with Sylvie’s open door and Coco just running out it to join Alice every morning all of the sudden? That was never explained. The narrative just went off on a lot of tangents that only sometimes tied into the story. It eventually came back to Sylvie and the mystery of the letter/bankbook, which was tied up nicely. Essentially, I enjoyed the beginning of the book and the end of the book but there was a total loss of focus in the middle.
November 7, 2019
A gorgeously rendered novel about a widow's search for her late husband's family, lost in the Holocaust. I hadn't known much about the fate of the Jews who lived in Paris; Chaudhry relates this history in precise and brutal prose.
The other aspect of the novel that I loved was an ongoing comparison of French and American culture--it made me want to live in Paris!
The book is dark and romantic and, true to its title, haunting.
The other aspect of the novel that I loved was an ongoing comparison of French and American culture--it made me want to live in Paris!
The book is dark and romantic and, true to its title, haunting.
February 24, 2019
Haunting Paris is a beautifully and lucidly written novel, hard to put down and impossible to forget. Paris, past, present and future, is both the setting and the protagonist of this subtly interwoven, resonant and profoundly moving love story.
April 14, 2019
Haunting Paris has been haunting me since I read it.
Every line is beautifully constructed, every word carefully chosen.
Isle St Louis was described to perfection and the brutality of the war heartbreaking.
A beautiful book, a must for all lovers of Paris and its history.
5 stars definately
Every line is beautifully constructed, every word carefully chosen.
Isle St Louis was described to perfection and the brutality of the war heartbreaking.
A beautiful book, a must for all lovers of Paris and its history.
5 stars definately
July 7, 2020
Reading Haunting Paris for the second time, I appreciated it even more than the first - which is saying a great deal. The novel, which is set in 1989, has a wonderfully suspenseful plot, revolving around the harrowing deportation of the French Jews. The recently widowed Sylvie discovers that her much missed husband has been keeping a secret and sets out to try to discover it. Deportation and death are dark topics but Haunting Paris is full of lighter moments - walks by the Seine, the thoughts of the dog Coco, delicious dinners, and the visiting Americans who, of course, fall in love with Paris. I was sad (and exhilarated) when the novel ended.
June 12, 2019
As a classically trained musician myself, I was delighted and eager to read Haunting Paris based on the book synopsis. Unfortunately the novel fell flat for me, a slow and steady downward spiral. While the author writes elegantly and paints a lovely picture, it was difficult to keep track of whether the story was in the 1980s or 1950s. This continuous jumping between eras isn't atypical for historical fiction reads, yet for me it was a bit too distracting and ultimately took away from the romance and mystery at the core of the plot. I can see others who avidly read historical fiction enjoying this title, it just wasn't the right fit for me!
February 15, 2019
A mesmerizing book, full of dark secrets and radiant beauty. It brings Paris to life. I felt I was there without having to buy a plane ticket. Each character is memorably drawn and the writing is gorgeous. Out of unimaginable horrors, Mamta Chaudhry has created a world redeemed by courage and love.
February 23, 2019
A very moving story written with grace and intricacy. It describes great love and great loss, set against the historical reckoning of humankind's cruelest deeds and the celebration of heroism. The author does all this while weaving together charming stories of lanes and byways, music, and a dancing dog. Can't wait for her second novel!
April 30, 2019
This is an exquisitely written tale of love, lost and a painful reminder of the Holocaust. A historical story with a ghostly imprint that will tug at your heart strings and bring tears to your eyes. The writing is remarkable, the characters exceptional and with an ending that will echo within you long after the last page is read.
Highly recommended!
Highly recommended!
May 14, 2019
An exquisite book with love, history and a city that is steeped in culture with it's own share of historical events made this a compelling read.
The writing made me 'feel' the story as I read, totally immersed as I turned the pages.
If you want a book to get lost in, this one fills the bill. 5 STARS!
The writing made me 'feel' the story as I read, totally immersed as I turned the pages.
If you want a book to get lost in, this one fills the bill. 5 STARS!
July 6, 2019
Wonderful writing, unique voice, tale told interestingly. Although plot bears no resemblance to Ondaatje's The English Patient, I found the experience of reading this book to feel similar.
September 3, 2019
A beautifully realized story weaving in time from WWII to 1989, and featuring the grieving Sylvie, her ghostly love Julien, and the secret she is drawn to solve from a cryptic find in his desk drawer. I heard the author speak about her book on a panel at the Mississippi Book Festival recently, and met her briefly as well. Her knowledge of music served her well as the early career for Sylvie, and she created many interesting characters playing their parts in the drama. This was an excellent read for me, with plenty of historical interest. Highly recommended.
April 30, 2019
Literary and lyrical, this novel is set in 1989 Paris and from there reaches back into history with an air of mystery. The story is told in the alternating voices of a narrator and a newly departed spirit, both centered around a still-young widow, her complex family, and the eclectic residents of her elegant building. Deliberately artful, it wraps motifs of music and reverence for this ancient city with echos of romantic and Gothic fiction; yet at the heart of this rich pastiche is a 20th-century story that is in some respects bluntly modern, even anti-romantic. The veiled center is slowly revealed over the course of one summer, with flashbacks across time, in brief scenes that are empathetically observed and precisely rendered, with tones of pathos and dread leavened by wisps of beauty, comedy, and insight.
May 27, 2019
I thoroughly enjoyed this book for a number reasons. The first page, an introduction of sorts, sets the tone for the beautiful language that Chaudhry uses throughout the book. (A simple sentence like "Consomé clear enough ....." - beautiful!) The descriptions of Paris are wonderful. There's humor in her descriptions of Coco, but also in the description of the dinner at the very end of the book. At the same time it's daring of Chaudhry to take on the topic of World War II Paris and the persecution of its Jewish citizens. There are some detailed descriptions, as Chaudhry describes a very dark page in the history of Paris, and of humanity, and I appreciate how she manages to maneuver through this with sensitivity. Chaudhry writes about loss and love in a beautiful way. And lastly, her descriptions of historic events in Paris and France are wonderfully suggestive and imaginative - they made me curious to look up additional details on line. This is clearly well researched. A good - or rather excellent - read indeed!
March 16, 2019
A complex and intriguing structure, deeply researched historical details that are woven with skill and meticulous care into the narrative, deeply sympathetic characters whose captivating story unfolds to reveal the complexities of life--all combine to make this debut novel a clear winner. Set in Paris in 1989, the novel moves between mysteries of the past and life in the present and traces the myriad ways in which history never loses its hold. While Mamta Chaudhry's novel scores in these many ways, it is her evocation of Paris that is superb. Her ability to render telling details and convey the sights, sounds, and the very texture of life in Paris puts the reader in the center of the city. Those who know the city will revel in this marvelous re-creation, those who do not will finish the novel feeling regret that the visit is over. An absorbing must-read.
March 10, 2019
What a delightfully satisfying read! Mamta Chaudry literally delivers a haunting love story with beautifully drawn characters that include the city of Paris with all of its light and shadows, its glories and its tragedies. As Sylvie slowly emerges from the sorrow of her lover’s death, Julien’s ghost watches from the shadows, unable to help her but silently encouraging her to solve the mystery of his sister’s death and to find his niece, lost during the roundup of French Jews in WW II Paris. The horrors of that shameful moment in French history are present in a very personal way but there are humorous and light-filled moments as well and the author’s poetic language and sympathetically drawn characters draw the reader into an intimate connection with the story.
June 22, 2019
“Haunting Paris” requires the reader to accept two somewhat iffy premises:
The easier one to believe is that ghosts exist, with their own rules of behavior. In this case, it’s the ghost of a Jewish-French psychologist, Julien Dalsace, who is roaming the streets of Paris for a glimpse of his longtime lover, Sylvie.
The tougher one is that a sealed envelope would just happen to fall out of Julien’s desk, along with a checkbook, and that nevertheless Sylvie would refrain from opening the envelope until page 70.
Still, once that envelope is opened, the novel becomes engrossing, as Sylvie picks up Julien’s search to learn whether his niece survived the Nazi occupation of France. And the language is always beautiful, whether describing Paris or love itself.
The easier one to believe is that ghosts exist, with their own rules of behavior. In this case, it’s the ghost of a Jewish-French psychologist, Julien Dalsace, who is roaming the streets of Paris for a glimpse of his longtime lover, Sylvie.
The tougher one is that a sealed envelope would just happen to fall out of Julien’s desk, along with a checkbook, and that nevertheless Sylvie would refrain from opening the envelope until page 70.
Still, once that envelope is opened, the novel becomes engrossing, as Sylvie picks up Julien’s search to learn whether his niece survived the Nazi occupation of France. And the language is always beautiful, whether describing Paris or love itself.
February 27, 2019
Mamta Chaudhry delivers a gripping story, deftly told and supremely rewarding on many levels. A profound love moves us through this multi-layered mystery. At the same time, we relive a very dark time in the history of Paris, normally known as the "City of Light”. Through exquisitely evocative language, e.g., “like breath on glass", we feel an intense bond between the dead the the living. This is a story worth telling and definitely worth reading.
February 11, 2019
What a gripping read! I thoroughly enjoyed it and could not put it down...So much research, so much work has gone into it and it reads like a thriller. It is a historical discovery of WW2 Paris, fascinating! And even for those of us who already know Paris it makes you want to walk in the protagonists footsteps and discover it all over again.
February 27, 2019
With little spare time, this is just the read I needed and I was happy to rush home from work to get back to "Haunting Paris". It's much more than a love story-I was drawn into an intimate tale of loss and the broader lingering effects of WW2 so vividly depicted that it compelled me to re-imagine my own family's history of internment and continued to move me long after closing the book.
April 3, 2019
Haunting Paris by Mamta Chaudhry is literary (and literate) fiction at its best. The book is rich in atmosphere, and unfurls in a way that economically and insightfully reveals the moral code of each character. The author’s able interweaving of music, poetry, art, politics, and history kept this reader fascinated right to the last line.
April 14, 2019
A book to savor - a veritable multi-course French feast complete with a very literary, eloquent ghost and a dog named Coco. This polished debut takes the reader from dark to light, from despair to hope. And it took me with it every step of the way with a bit left of leftover haunting reserved for 2:00 am pondering. Impressive. A book not to be missed.
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