Ruth Druart

After seeing the beautiful cover of this novel and reading a review from a colleague and friend, I knew I HAD to read "The Last Hours in Paris", and what a touching read it was.

Like so many historical novels, this one had two timelines but I thought the author did a better job than most handling them. The 1963 timeline was at the start and the end of the book, while most of the story took place in 1944 just before liberation when Paris was under Nazi occupation. The author captured the atmosphere of that time well; the anger, the sense of hopelessness, the desperation and the fear that the Parisian people felt as they struggled to survive was palpable. There were also acts of bravery as ordinary people risked their lives to help those most in danger.

I adored Sebastian and Elise, the two main protagonists who should not have met and fallen in love. Their bond was unbreakable. My heart bled for Sebastian who, as a young boy was forced to join Hitler's Youth despite not agreeing to the dictator's ideologies. Now, a German translator, he is judged because of his uniform, even though he only wants to be free. His love for Elise is all-consuming, but the novel's end broke my heart, even though it demonstrated that love can face all adversities.

Elise was a strong character and I could feel and understand her rage and impotence at what was happening to her home, and how she was treated after the liberation of Paris was disgusting. However, my favourite character was Monsieur Le Bolzec who owned the local bookshop. He was such a wise and compassionate man and treated both Elise and Sebastian with kindness.

Well-written and highly emotional, "The Last Hours in Paris" was a compelling read about love, family and sacrifice. Thanks, Karen for giving me a copy of this novel to read. I loved it.… (mer)

While this story starts in World War II the meat of the book takes place in 1953. So, if you are tired of books set in World War Ii I would urge you to give this book a try. It involves a much different quandary than just surviving the war.

Jean-Luc and Charlotte Beauchamps have an idyllic life in Santa Cruz on the California coast. They grew up in Paris and experienced the Nazi occupation of that city but it is 8 years since the war was won by the Allies and that time is far from their thoughts. One morning, however, their calm life is shattered when two police officers pay Jean-Luc a call. They take him to their headquarters and question him about his activities during the war but then they release him. Back home, Charlotte nervously gets their son, Sam, ready for school and walks him to the school yard. Normally she would get together for coffee with the other ladies in the neighbourhood but she can't face them today. Although Jean-Luc is not charged this incident causes both of the Beauchamps to think about their life in Paris when they met in 1944. Jean-Luc worked for the railroad and he was sent to maintain the tracks near the prison camp of Drancy. He never saw the prisoners because the trains carrying them left at night but everyone knows that many Jews are being sent east. Jean-Luc can't imagine that they will be only put to work; he knows they are going to their death. In a courageous but foolhardy attempt to stop the trains he manages to injure himself. He is sent to the hospital where Charlotte works. Mostly Germans are treated in this hospital so it is a welcome change to have another French-speaking person under her care. They agree to meet after he is released from hospital and quickly they fall in love. Charlotte comes from a wealthy family whereas Jean-Luc is working class so Charlotte's family are not happy about their relationship. It is clear that something happened to the couple during the war so when the same police officers return for Jean-Luc it is not a huge surprise. It also didn't surprise me why, this time, he was arrested. During a prisoner rail transfer something went wrong with the train and the maintenance men were called to fix it. The prisoners on a car had to be off-loaded; one of them, new mother Sarah, hands Jean-Luc her infant son. Jean-Luc manages to get away from the train station and goes to Charlotte's home. Charlotte's mother takes charge of caring for the baby and, to Charlotte's amazement, has a plan for Jean-Luc to get away from France. Charlotte convinces her mother that the plan will work better if she goes with Jean-Luc and the baby. In California Jean-Luc learns that Sarah and her husband, David, survived the death camps and have been searching for their son ever since the end of the war. Jean-Luc is extradited to France where he is convicted of kidnapping and sentenced to two years in prison. The court also determines that Sam must be returned to his birth parents. Sam has just learned the circumstances of his birth and has no desire to even meet, let alone live with, his birth parents. He doesn't even speak French because Jean-Luc thought it was best for all of them to embrace the American way of life. Can Sam learn to care for these strangers and adapt to a new language, school and faith? For Sarah and David it was the thought of their son that gave them the will to survive Auschwitz. They will do anything to have him back but Samuel is no longer a baby and he refuses to acknowledge them as his parents. What is the best thing for Sam because, surely, that has to be the paramount consideration.

I think the author did a great job of portraying all the main characters. I empathized with all of them but especially with Sam/Samuel. Of course, this is fiction and there is no indication that this is based on any real experience.I would like to think that courts would have been wiser than to send a young boy to a country and people that he didn't know away from the people who he considered his parents. But, in the 1950s and 1960s, quite a few children were removed from their homes and sent to live with people they had no connection with. One only has to think of the Indian residential schools and the 60s sweep to see that in real life.… (mer)

This is a believable, strong story of some of the trials and tribulations which impacted the lives of almost all citizens during World War Two. I took a long while to read this book, partly because I did not wish to face the truth of what the story would reveal as I read on. Eventually I finished the last 200 pages in one day, and I have to say I had tears rolling down my cheeks for some of the time. Heartfelt and heart-wrenching are not loose words, the story is powerful, and at the heart of it, the young child who is the central character of the novel.… (mer)