The Last Hours in Paris

 The Last Hours in Paris

Reviewed By  Nan van Dissel       August 7, 2022

 

Author  Ruth Druart.

Distributor:      Hachette Australia
ISBN:                 9781472268037
Publisher:         Hachette .
Release Date:   July 2022  

   Website:   https://www.hachette.com.au

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Occupied Paris in the autumn of 1944 is a city overwhelmed by a sense of tension; one of the most beautiful cities in the world is just a ghost of its former self. Parisians live in fear of being arrested or deported by their Nazi captors. It is a terrifying time; a period of distrust and distress.

 Then why does a young Parisian, who has nothing but contempt for the Germans, risk being labeled a collaborator by forming a union with a German? How will the secrets surrounding this relationship affect their daughter years later?

Elise Chevalier, working by day in a bank, helps at a shelter for Jewish children in the evening, where she risks the lives of herself and that of her family by assisting the resistance movement to smuggle some of the residents out of the country. Sebastian, a document translator with a French mother is a reluctant wearer of the German uniform; he despises the power and the way of life it represents. After a chance encounter in a bookshop, Elise is ill prepared for the effect this young German will have on her life.

Years later in Brittany, Josephine Chevalier uncovers a secret which shakes her to the core; she is determined to unearth the truth. Will Elise’s secret past catch up with her?

Inspired by the story of her East German great-uncle, author Ruth Druart, has written a powerful well researched book about a time that for many readers is hard to imagine. By capturing the atmosphere of Paris during the occupation extremely well, the reader is exposed to the prejudice, judgement and cruelty of the ordinary residents of Paris. 

I highly recommend this riveting dual timeline novel. Not only will you find it difficult to put down but you’ll also be totally immersed in the plot and the lives of the three main characters until the final page. Definitely a book you’ll recommend to friends.

Fiction, History