A Paris Odyssey by Axel Forrester: July in Paris 2023 Challenge

 For Paris in July 2023 Reading Challenge 

A Paris Odyssey by Axel Forrester

Published April 1, 2023; NetGalley

Genre: travel fiction, Paris, France
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

At first I thought this was a memoir, the details sounded to true and the narrator so authentic. Then I realized that the book was actually fiction - a novel about Grant the photographer on his first trip to Paris, written by a female author! This really didn't matter, in the long run.

The details of how Grant is robbed by professional pickpockets of his wallet, passport, and other IDs, and how easy it was to have them replaced at the American Embassy, rang so true. I had heard about pickpockets in all the major cities of the world.

I enjoyed the character's candid comments on visiting the famed catacombs, the underground tunnels of Paris filled with human bones from over the centuries. It's a place I have decided I'd never visit, as I hate anything speaking of horror!

The visit to the Louvre was also interesting, especially as Grant was in the company of a motley crew of street impersonators whom he spent most of his time with during his three to four week stay in Paris.

The people he decided to hang out with on the streets of Paris - the impersonators - seemed to be not only bizarre, but almost homeless, and Grant had to feed them most of the time. They seemed unreal yet authentic at the same time, and I wonder how much of what the author wrote in this novel is close to the truth of the streets of Paris, away from the tourist spots.

An enjoyable read, nevertheless, so much so I've decided to read Forrester's previous novel, A Chinese Odyssey.

Paris in July, 2023 Reading Challenge: Sunday Salon

 Words and Peace is hosting the Paris in July 2023 Reading Challenge. ##parisinjuly2023parisinjuly2023

Paris in July 2023
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During this month,
our goal is to embrace and honor our French encounters
by immersing ourselves in various activities
like reading, watching, listening, observing, cooking,
and indulging in all things French

The books I've chosen for the challenge and the descriptions from NetGalley/publishers

A Bakery in Paris

Historical novel set in nineteenth-century and post–World War II Paris follows two fierce women of the same family, generations apart, who find that their futures lie in the four walls of a simple bakery in a tiny corner of Montmartre. (publication August 30, 2023)

The Paris Assignment

A courageous wife, mother, and resister confronts the devastation of World War II in a heartbreaking and hopeful novel by the bestselling author of The Venice Sketchbook and The Tuscan Child. (publication August 2023)

The Paris Mystery

Intrepid reporter Charlotte "Charlie" James arrives in Paris in 1938 eager to make a fresh start, but little does she know the trouble that awaits her...

On the summer solstice eve, the Circus Ball is in full swing, with the Parisian elites entranced by burlesque dancers, tightrope walkers, a jazz band . . . and a horrific murder. A wealthy but unscrupulous investor is dead, and the list of suspects is a veritable who's who of le haut monde. As Charlie tries to determine who the murderer is, she finds herself drawn into the magical parties, couture houses, and bohemian wine bars of the City of Lights. ( publication September 2023)

A Paris Odyssey

Genre: novel, travel, France

American Grant Decker is in Paris on a photography assignment.

When he arrives at Gare du Nord train station, he discovers just how unprepared he is to navigate this new world where the language is both vaguely familiar and baffling. ‘”Vous ne parlez pas français?” My brain turned around three times and then went to sleep!’

Determined to get his bearings, Grant explores the length and breadth of the city on the metro. But it is when he makes new friends among some street performers that he discovers a different Paris. These off-beat characters help him sharpen his eye and open his heart to the many love stories that weave through ‘the city of light.’  (published April 2023)

The War Begins in Paris

A provocative and stylish literary noir about two female war correspondents whose fates intertwine in Europe.

Paris, 1938. Mielle, a shy pacifist and shunned Mennonite who struggles to fit in with the elite cohort of foreign correspondents stationed around the city; the other, Jane, a brash, legendary American journalist, who is soon to become a fascist propagandist. (publication November 2023)

My book choices: These are ARCs that are on my TBR list. Some have yet to be published. The Paris Odyssey was published in April and is the only nonfiction, and not set during the war. 

I will be trying to read some but maybe not all of the books for the challenge. #p#parisinjuly2023arisinjuly2023

What's on your reading schedule this week and/or the rest of the month?#parisinjuly2023

#parisinjuly2023

Memes: The Sunday Post hosted by The Caffeinated Bookreviewer. Also,  It's Monday: What Are You Reading, and Sunday Salon, Stacking the Shelves, Mailbox Monday. Paris in July 2023