The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris

Reviewed By  Janet Mawdesley       October 27, 2022

 

Author  Daisy Wood

Distributor:      HarperCollins Publishers Australia
ISBN:                 9780008538873
Publisher:         Harper Collins Publishers Australia/HQ Fiction AU
Release Date:   October 2022  

   Website:   https://www.harpercollins.ca

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Powerful, captivating and immensely enjoyable The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris captures the devastation of the war years in Paris, the destruction caused by the German occupation, the tireless and dangerous work of the underground to not just smuggle military personnel out of the war zone, but many thousands of Jewish women and children.

Jacques is a dreamer, a lover of books, a man with a dream of one day owning his own bookshop. When the chance presents itself to not only take on the lease of a dusty, unloved shop he seizes the opportunity. It also comes with a flat up the stairs, accessible from the Shop.

He is in love with Matilde, a curator at the Musee de l’Homme, stunningly beautiful and in his mind out of his reach. She is a woman of strong options and beliefs which does not bode well in a Paris entering the dark days of the German occupation of Paris.

Kevin and Juliette are on their last night in Paris, going to dine out at a highly recommended restaurant before flying back to America the next day. Juliette is feeling frustrated as she has always had a deep yearning to find the bookstore in a picture much loved by her Grandmother.

 She accidently discovers Kevin is having an affair with their neighbour and decides that she would like to remain in Paris for a while longer to try and discover, not just where she believes her Grandmother lived during the war years, but who she is and what she wants to do with her life.

So sets the scene as the story of Jacques, Matilde, Juliette and the deadly and destructive days of Paris under occupation, combine and the immense power of love, courage and hope that was and is ever present.

The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris is story about everyday people who are forced to make choices and decisions which can and did, have deadly consequences and the bravery shown by so many in the face of terrible adversity.

Swinging between today’s world and world of long ago, Daisy Wood has very carefully kept the historic detail as accurate as possible and has also created characters who immediately feel they are people you may have known all your life.

The Forgotten Bookshop in Paris is an excellently constructed story that is very difficult to put down once begun.