A tragic heartbreaking story of forbidden love and final redemption interwoven with the guilt and sorrow, There were so many horrific tragedies of war, but one must go on to live and try to forget.

Paris Never Leaves You
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The story has a dual timeframe, 1940’s Paris under German occupation and 1950’s New York City. The main protagonist, Charlotte works at a book shop in Paris and takes care of her young daughter Vivi. Times are hard, the city is under German control, food and medicine is scarce and every day is a struggle to survive. A German officer becomes a frequent visitor to the bookstore and eventually provides food, medicine for Charlotte and Vivi and companionship to Charlotte, who feels very guilty about her relationship with the enemy.
1950’s New York City. Charlotte and Vivi have been sponsored after the war by a friend of Charlotte father and they try to make a living in America. Vivi is now 14 years old an she is starting to ask questions about her father, her background and the war years. Charlotte had kept many secrets and is not easy for her to open up.
The novel is a definite page turner, especially the first two third. The last third to me felt rushed and fell apart, that’s one reason of taking away star. I found some of the back and forth between timeframes a little disjointed and e en some of the transitions within chapters were confusing. This might be fixed with the final edit. Some of the storylines are not followed through, such as Simone’s story.
Overall 3. 5 stars, rounded up.
Thanks NetGalley, St Martin’s Press and the author for the advanced copy.

Paris Never Leaves You by Ellen Feldman is a different look at people who survived the Nazi occupation of Paris. Charlotte’s husband died early in the war. She and her daughter Vivi are trying to survive during the occupation. Charlotte works in a small bookstore. A German doctor notices Vivi is not thriving & begins to bring them extra food. A relationship develops. He helps them escape by taking them to an internment camp just a few days before Paris is liberated. Charlotte ends up in New York working for a man her dad knew before the war . She suffers from guilt for what she did to survive. How all of this plays out shows the aftermath of war on civilians.

There is survival, then there is guilt, but when one feels guilty for surviving it could tear you apart. Many a holocaust survivor suffer from that guilt....why did they stay alive and others did not...why did their family members all die and why didn't they?
This story is set in occupied France during WWII and in America in the 1950's. Charlotte and her daughter Vivi have settled in New York having been sponsored by Horace and Hannah Field with Charlotte working for Horace in his publishing company reading manuscripts. Yet Paris is never far from her thoughts, the memories of the war years haunting her. Vivi, her 14 year old daughter has questions...questions about her father, about her relatives about her religion and its traditions. These questions, for Charlotte, are difficult to answer...the guilt of not only surviving the war, but how she survived. Will she tell Vivi about the German soldier, Julian, who with his compassion, was part of their survival? There are secrets she wishes to keep buried, but cannot as they are tearing her apart. Does her daughter have the right to know those secrets, to know the truth without judging her mother? Yet there is more as the subtlety of anti-semitism rears its ugly head here in America, a place where Charlotte sought refuge, a place where she never expected it.

This story, so emotionally heartbreaking, so wonderfully written, gives you a new perspective of man's inhumanity to man not only through the war years, but after. While there were those during that time who rose above the "fray" for the survivors there was guilt. This novel was unusual in the telling of a story that affected so many. I would have to say I'd call them the "walking wounded" because of the psychological impact it had on those that came out on the other side, the ones that remained alive but were forever "branded" mentally.

Bravo to the author, Ellen Feldman, for stepping into and writing a novel that few would undertake, that few might understand how it feels to be in Charlotte's shoes. For myself, while I have finished reading this novel, it will resonate within me for a long time.

Paris Never Leaves You is a somber read. Feldman showcases Charlotte who escaped France with her daughter and now is a book editor in New York City. Her daughter begins asking questions that Charlotte is uncomfortable asking. The narrative flips back to the war and the many reasons why she hides truths from her daughter, such as their identity and a clandestine relationship she had during the war. It was an Interesting read and written from a perspective that hasn't been often explored

Feldman (Terrible Virtue) moves seamlessly from World War II Paris to 1950s New York as one woman faces guilt for survival during the Nazi occupation of Paris. Charlotte works at a New York publishing house during the 1950s after immigrating to the U.S. from Paris with her young daughter Vivi. When she receives mail from South America, she is reminded of a man she knew in Paris.

After the death of her husband, Charlotte was barely surviving with her infant Vivi, working in her family’s bookstore when she met German officer Dr. Julian Bauer. Though Charlotte felt disdain towards Julian, she could not help being thankful for his compassion and the extra food he provided to her and her daughter. Though Julian claimed to be a doctor first and did not embrace his role as a Wehrmacht officer, Charlotte feared that any association with him would earn the hatred of her fellow Parisians and leave her with a sense of betrayal. But Charlotte could not help being drawn to Julian and the kindness he had exhibited towards her and Vivi, especially when he disclosed a secret that could threaten his life if revealed.

As Charlotte recalls her stolen moments with Julian, she must come to terms with her quest to survive the unrest in Paris and her subsequent travel to New York. When Vivi starts asking questions about her Jewish heritage, Charlotte unburdens herself by revealing to Vivi and friend and publisher Horace details about her past.

Feldman’s latest is a lyrical narrative, rich with emotion and resonating characters. She enlivens the occupation of Paris during World War II, staying true to the historical details while highlighting the moral and ethical choices that intertwined with the quest for survival.