A WEEK IN PARIS by RACHEL HORE...

A WEEK IN PARIS

BY RACHEL HORE

THE BLURB:-

The streets of Paris hide a dark past...

September, 1937. Kitty Travers enrols at the Conservatoire on the banks of the Seine to pursue her dream of becoming a concert pianist. But then war breaks out and the city of light falls into shadow.

Nearly twenty-five years later, Fay Knox, a talented young violinist, visits Paris on tour with her orchestra. She barely knows the city, so why does it feel so familiar? Soon touches of memory become something stronger, and she realises her connection with these streets runs deeper than she ever expected.

As Fay traces the past, with only an address in an old rucksack to help her, she discovers dark secrets hidden years ago, secrets that question who she is and where she belongs...

THE REALITY:-

It's really hard to find fault with this novel, as it drew me in and kept me there until the very end, eager to turn the pages as it reached its conclusion. And that's exactly what a story should do. This was not the first Rachel Hore book I've read, and whilst not as personally appealing as A Place of Secrets, this one certainly worked for me.

World War II was a harrowing time for so many millions of people, and it's the tales of individual strife that interest me the most- we all know and understand the basics, but it's the personal stories that matter supremely. There were so many layers to lives during wartime. Kitty's life in Paris under German occupation, her husband's work and death, her subsequent arrest and transportation to Vittel and harrowing mission to be reunited with her little girl were moving in the extreme. You rooted for her all the way! This was all brought to life by interesting perspectives from characters such as Natalie/ Therese (you feel for her whilst wanting to wallop her, all at the same time!) the other Parisian nuns, Serge and likeable, tragic figures like Mr. Zipper. The writer has certainly done her WW II research.

Rachel Hore uses a career within an orchestra as a backdrop for both Kitty and her daughter Fay. She did this in The Glass Painter's Daughter, so it makes me wonder if she has personal experience in this field herself? I did question whether it was believable that Fay would simply not be able to recall the first four years of her life, as happens here. I know childhood memories are fragmented at that age, but to remember NOTHING? But then maybe trauma does strange things to some people.

I loved the spooky deja vu from Fay that opened the novel and made me want to read more. Compelling reading!