One Night in Paris opening lines: It happened to people, this longing, emerging from an unknown void, grabbing the soul with a firm hand, the urge to simply let go and sink to the depths of the ocean.
My blurb:
Claire is not sure if she is just bored in her marriage, or bored with her marriage. She does know that she is not fulfilling her true self. Maybe their annual holiday in Brittany will lead her to who she really is, and who she really wants to be? But will it cost her everything, including her son?
One Night in Paris
Claire Cousteau is one of France’s most esteemed biologists, with a seemingly perfect family life, but she has become increasingly frustrated by her marriage and her husband’s affairs.As the Cousteaus prepare for a summer in Brittany, Claire’s son Nico asks if his new girlfriend, Julie, can join them? Julie has conundrums of her own – she is an ambitious woman, and unsure if Nico really is her match. But what the family don’t realise is that Julie and Claire have met before, in a Parisian hotel during a night that Claire thought was her secret.Beneath the Breton sun, could their surprising bond alter the course of their lives for all time?
My verdict:
Dave read this book before I did, and he said he persisted because it was set in Brittany for the most part. I persisted because I wanted to know how it ended. There was just enough to keep me engaged in the various storylines. Do not expect this book to be about Paris! The city is peripheral to the book itself. If you are a Nina George fan, add it to your to be read pile.
About the Author:
Nina George is the author of The Little Paris Bookshop, The Little French Bistro, and The Book of Dreams. The Little Paris Bookshop spent more than forty weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was translated into thirty-six languages. George is president of the European Writers’ Council. She is married to the writer Jens J. Kramer. Together they also write mystery novels and children’s books. Nina George lives in Berlin and in a little fishing village in the Brittany.
Read an extract:
It happened to people, this longing, emerging from an unknown void, grabbing the soul with a firm hand, the urge to simply let go and sink to the depths of the ocean. Deeper and deeper, without resistance, throwing away yourself and your life, as if you had come from the gorges of the sea and were destined to return there one day.
Vertigo marée, the old Breton fishermen called it, that desire that came from nowhere – to erase the self, to be free, free from everything. It usually came on the most beautiful of nights, that was why fishermen avoided looking into the deep, and hung thick curtains at their sea-facing windows when on dry land.
Publishing information:
Penguin Random House South Africa sent me this novel to review.
See the links below for blog posts I published on March 22:
- 2021: Orange Olive Oil Cake
- 2020: How The Dead Speak
- 2019: Tuna Sauce
- 2017: A Barging Holiday In France
- 2015: Hello From The Gillespies
- 2012: Lemon Myrtle Panna Cotta
- 2011: Pasta With Crayfish And Mushrooms
I am glad that it’s not about Paris..tired of hype of Paris LOL
I love Paris, but this book is really about relationships 🙂
Excellent writing from the excerpt. She clearly has a way with words.
She certainly does 🙂
An interesting premise. Secrets are never a good thing. There is always a chance they’ll come out.
for sure!