Paris: The Novel by Edward Rutherford

Moving back and forth in time across centuries, the story unfolds through intimate and vivid tales of self-discovery, divided loyalties , passion, and long-kept secrets of characters both fictional and real, all set against the backdrop of the glorious city—from the building of Notre Dame to the dangerous machinations of Cardinal Richlieu; from the glittering court of Versailles to the violence of the French Revolution and the Paris Commune; from the hedonism of the Belle Époque, the heyday of the impressionists, to the tragedy of the First World War; from the 1920s when the writers of the Lost Generation could be found drinking at Les Deux Magots to the Nazi occupation, the heroic efforts of the French Resistance, and the 1968 student revolt. 

REVIEW:

I have never read anything by Edward Rutherford before, but have read rave reviews of his historical epics and was eager to pick up his newest, especially as it concerns Paris, a city whose history and personality fascinate me. The physical heft of the book (at 805 pages, even the paperback galley is a bit of a beast) was intimidating, and made the book a 'bedside table only' read, rather than a 'come to work/the gym/the bar/the park' book, but I could live with that. Unfortunately, the substance of the book did not live up to its impressive outer structure. Rutherford chooses a few families and follows their different generations across time to paint a vivid picture of the city's life and society throughout history. Because the book is not written chronologically, however, but rather jumps a bit frenetically forward then backward, it was hard for me to develop any real sense of the characters or their relation to other characters who had already been introduced, but may have lived 100 years later. I found that the time jumps made it very difficult to feel involved in the story, and so I got more than a little bored while reading.

I love the idea of the city of Paris as her own character, and Rutherford is clearly a thorough researcher, but the writing style was only 'ok' and the meat of the book was difficult to slog through - I expected Paris to come alive on the pages, and was disappointed when she did not.