How do you choose a book to read? I’m in a book club, so most of the time, I’m diving into someone else’s pick. I’ll admit it…I’m a sucker for a beautiful cover. Make it pretty, and I’ll hope the story is just as lovely. In this case… I love books, and I love Paris, so it felt like an easy win.
For our 40th
birthday, Amanda surprised us with an "amuse bouche" of Europe…an
approximately 48-hour whirlwind in each of the eight cities she planned, one of
them being Paris. We packed so much into so little time: visiting the graves of
Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, and Oscar Wilde… floating along the Seine… lighting
candles for our loved ones in Notre Dame… standing beneath the Arc de Triomphe…
the Eiffel Tower… the Louvre. I even managed to convince Amanda to let us stop
for ice cream at some fountain near the Louvre (the name escapes me). We ended
that perfect Parisian night with steak and frites under a café's red-striped
awning, sipping wine and recapping all we had seen. And yet…even with all of
that…it wasn’t enough. I still long to wander the flea markets and get lost in
the bookshops of my dreams. I must go back. Until then, this book was a
perfect escape.
The
Forgotten Bookshop in Paris
unfolds in a dual timeline, set in both WWII-era Paris and the present day,
told through the eyes of two women: Mathilde and Juliette.
The past
storyline, 1941 to 1945, completely drew me in. Jacques and Mathilde Duval were
newlyweds at the start of the war, full of love and life. She was spirited,
impulsive, and brave…qualities that ultimately landed her in prison. Jacques,
more reserved, ran a cozy little shop called La Page Cachée (“The Hidden
Page”—how perfect is that?). As the war raged on, Jacques banned books and
later joined the Resistance, sheltering not just fellow adults but eventually
children, too. Can you imagine having that kind of courage? There’s a prayer he
repeated throughout his life…even as he faced being arrested, “Father, I give
myself up to You, do with me as You will. I am ready for everything, I accept
everything.” That line gave me chills.
In the
present day, Juliette finally arrives in France with her husband, hoping for a
romantic escape. But the distance between them feels like too much, and she’s
yearning for something more. When she stumbles across a little bookshop for
sale…abandoned and waiting…it feels meant to be. As she uncovers its secrets,
the boundary between past and present begins to dissolve.
The way the
two timelines wove together surprised me...in a good way. Jacques, Mathilde,
Nico, and Juliette are bound by more than chance. The threads connecting them
brought a satisfying depth to the story.
“I’m thinking
of calling it The Forgotten Bookshop. What do you think?” “Very poetic.” Arnaud raised his glass. “We
should be breaking out the Champagne.” “I’d like people to feel as though they’ve
found a place off the beaten path, somewhere only the locals know,” Juliette
said. “I want this shop to become part of the community…a book club, poetry
readings, writers dropping by.”
Honestly?
That’s exactly the kind of place I’ll be seeking the next time I return to
Paris.
As Jacques
said, “Chéri, death is coming for all of us, sooner or later. It’s how we
live that matters.”
And if
living means books, beauty, and a little bit of Paris magic…I’m all in.
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