This was a bit historical fiction, a bit mystery, and art focused. I found this pretty interesting although it didn’t hold my attention as I hoped but I think it could be because it was historical fiction which isn’t my go to genre. I enjoyed the mystery piece and the premise was very interesting. The narrator was pleasant but the chapters were very long so it felt more like a slow burn than anything. The ending was also a bit abrupt and uneventful.

I loved Reichl's memoirs. This is obviously different, but it had the same feeling. If that makes sense. I'd like to go to Paris now.

Is a vacation out of reach this summer? Then read The Paris Novel, and you'll feel like you have enjoyed a visit to the City of Lights!

Ruth Reichl weaves a story about Stella. Her mother doesn't really want her and her childhood is unhappy. When her mother dies, she leaves Stella money with the condition that she must use it to go to Paris. Stella takes leave from her job as a copywriter and goes, and when her six weeks are almost done and it's time to go back home, suddenly everything changes. A beautiful vintage dress grabs her attention, and Stella agrees to the shopkeeper's (rather unusual!) offer to wear the dress for 24 hours, and return it if she doesn't want it. After meeting an older gentleman in a restaurant, magic ensues, and not of the romantic kind.

This novel is about Stella's awakening as she learns to savor life around her and to trust those people who care for her. Yes, it is unrealistic in how wonderful things shower down on her and her gentleman friend is able to open a new world to her. But that's part of the escape and magic. I loved it and found the story charming. And Reichl's description of food is wonderful. I am very interested in the sensual ways that food, wine, and scents can be described, and the pleasure they bring to those that partake. Reichl's description of Stella eating the bird in the first restaurant were both horrifying and exquisite!

Some reviewers have mentioned their alarm at reading about the abuse Stella received from her mother's boyfriend, which shapes her future encounters with her older friend in Paris. I'll admit, the couple of chapters of Stella's childhood were not my favorite, as they were so unhappy, but they did have a part in setting up the future story and her trust issues. However if this is triggering, perhaps avoid.

I truly enjoyed this romp through Paris, and would rate it 4.5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and Random House Publishing for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a copy of The Paris Novel.

The Paris Novel was at its core a story of self-discovery. I really enjoyed how there were several interwoven plot lines that created Stella’s journey throughout the book.

I quickly was intrigued in the first several chapters of the book. However, I found the middle of the book dragged on quite a bit and at times felt distracting to the overall story. As we neared the end, the pace definitely picked back up and I was delighted to read the ending.

Overall I think this book is a 3.5 stars.

This novel is a dessert. A rich one. Sweet and dark. A moving story about Stella’s search for herself and a greater understanding of her mother in the shops and out of the way cafes and eateries of Paris. Delightful mentions of Shakespeare and Co. and the Tumbleweeds. A nod to fashion and the power of just the right dress. An intriguing art mystery to pull you along through the lighted streets and the gorgeous estates and musees and ohh the gorgeous mouthwatering food descriptions, the power that food has over Stella, the reunion she finds in every plate. A wonderful journey of a book, introspective and enlightening. One to own.

Thanks, Random House, for the early review copy via NetGalley, and @PRHAudio, for the #gifted audiobook. #PRHAudioPartner #sponsored

Stella’s estranged and excentric mother dies, leaving her $8,000 and a simple order: “Go to Paris.” There, she impulsively buys a vintage Christian Dior gown, which leads to a domino effect of experiences and encounters with fascinating people and exquisite food.

I adore the author’s memoirs, especially her descriptions of dining experiences. As expected, the food in her novel was extraordinary, which is what you’d expect from Reichl. Just the descriptions of various preparations of fois gras had me checking flight prices to France.

However, I want to employ the eight-line edit (as described by @annebogel) about the unexpected and shocking child molestation from Stella’s backstory in Chapter Two. While not graphic, it was slightly more information than I needed to understand Stella’s trust issues and life choices.

Bogel once explained (about a different book, but it applies here), “The author was showing you something important about the character, something dramatic, something disturbing. I was supposed to be shocked.” But still, I was nonplussed. Reichl yanked the rug out from under me early on, and I took a while to relax into the story.

In addition, the audiobook didn’t work for me; though the narrator’s French seemed impeccable (I’m no expert), the dialog felt stilted. At 50%, I moved to the e-book, and after that, I was entranced.

5 stars for The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl

The Paris Novel is about Stella, and the journey she will take to discover herself when she unexpectedly lands in Paris.

A true coming of age story, this novel is like a warm hug or a really good meal. It is comforting and easy to read, the story is taking us through various cities in France, different Michelin stars restaurants, a lot of Museums and bookstores.

While food is the center theme, the author does such an marvelous job of weaving different elements like painting and fashion in the story.

I found myself rooting for the characters and their developments. I love this book so much I will return to it for sure. I find that all the fiction Reichl writes is really strong and heartwarming.

I would recommend to anybody who wants a journey through Paris, likes food, fashion and art.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

Stella needs to begin living.
Her mother’s estate provides her the finances but also the impetus to restart her life in the city of all cities—-Paris.
It was fun to peer over Stella’s shoulders as she experiences the nuances of Paris and the people she encounters.
She also learns about her mother’s past and discovers who her father is.
It’s a good read about finding oneself, fashion, and of course, Paris.

I loved this book. Gosh, when do I get to leave for Paris? The book was so detailed and vivid, I could see myself in Paris with our FMC, Stella. The story holds your hand through each scene and street of Paris, and tempts you with every single food encounter. The prose was stunning, as well.
Stella was relatable and her inner-demons are similar, if not exact, to ones that haunt women in today’s world.
Add famous bookstores, fashion and art and this novel is a reader’s delight.
I highly recommend for lovers of Paris, high fashion and a woman’s journey to self-discovery. *swoon*

Thank you Netgalley + Penguin Random House for my eArc in exchange for an honest review!

I was a little bit nervous starting Ruth Reichl’s latest novel. You see, I’ve noticed something about books with the word “Paris” in the title. They tend to use the word to trick readers like me into thinking “Oh, it’s set in Paris! It will be magical,” when the experience is anything but that. This has been true so many times that I’ve just started skipping boldly Parisian books. The title just seems to be overcompensating for a lackluster story and subpar writing. (In Paris With You, you are the worst offender.)

I was right to trust Reichl—to an extent. Now, let me be clear, this wasn’t a five-star read for me; it was close to a four. (But that’s basically like rating it a five amongst its Paris-in-the-title-brethren.)

The story centers on Stella. She has never been close to her mother. In fact, the sexual abuse Stella endured from one of her mother’s boyfriends is a direct result of the mother’s self-centeredness. (Sensitive readers be warned: that early chapter is rough. Had this not been a @Netgalley ARC, I may have stopped reading.) When her mother dies, she leaves Stella a bit of money. But there’s a caveat: that money must be used to travel to Paris. What follows involves three mysteries (about a dress, an artist, and the identity of Stella’s father), a number of deliciously described meals, and visits to a number of Parisian landmarks, most notably Shakespeare and Company.

Overall, I think this was good—but uneven. While I was invested in the storyline involving the artist, I do know that this is not Reichl’s best work. That honor belongs to one of her memoirs. I don’t even think this is her best novel. The lighthearted Delicious! is the winner there. I do think this could have been stronger had it narrowed down the number of mysteries it tackled and actually established a reason for including the sexual abuse described at the beginning. If you’re going to wreck my sleep with such a horror, I need to see that horror play out in the life of the adult we follow through the rest of the book. Otherwise, I’m not sure what the point was.

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Available now.

Overall I liked this book, but parts of it were unrealistic. The main character is a somewhat reclusive book editor, who is suddenly gifted a trip to Paris. This character at beginning is described as "uninterested" in food. But suddenly she is in Paris, living an exciting new adventure, and is a gourmet foodie using words and descriptions, she could not possibly have incorporated into her vocabulary from her former life.. Other than this criticism, I found the book very entertaining and a good story. I would recommend.

Paris 1983

Stella has just arrived in Paris. Her mother, Celia, was a beautiful woman and her boyfriend was Mortimer Morris, a wealthy man involved in major cultural institutions. He squired Celia to elegant and expensive places. Mortimer wanted Sella to come alone to his home to paint. But there, he abused her.

Celia was born Constanza Vincente but changed her name to Celia St. Vincent when she was 15. She soon became a personal shopper for wealthy women. She also wrote a column for the New York Herald Tribune under the name Charlotte Knickerbocker. Although Celia and Stella did not have a close relationship, when Celia died, she left her daughter some money with the instruction to go to Paris. Celia who worked for a publishing company was encouraged by her boss to take some time off and go to Paris. Her mother’s instruction was to stay in Paris until she had spent all of the money she had left her.

For the first part of the time in Paris, Celia chose to stay in an inexpensive hotel and eat meagerly to hold onto her money while she enjoyed seeing the sights. But, one day she meets an older man named Jules who introduces her to the delights of Paris, including delicious and expensive food. From there, she meets more people at Shakespeare and Company bookstore in her quest to find the paintings of a female artist who had been a subject in a risqué but famous painting.

This book shows the awakening of a young woman who had led a fairly unhappy and quiet life until she moved to Paris. There, she met new friends and opened her mind and heart to the wonderful pleasures of French food and the people of France. The book is filled with delicious food only found in France. I feel I can say this with a bit of authority as I lived in Paris for six years and can honestly say that the food and the love of creating it that the French throw into their cooking is the ultimate. The characters here are created with such thoughtfulness and attention to detail as to make the reader feel like they are in a roomful of good friends. Enjoy!

Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Although she was originally a chef and restaurant owner, Ruth Reichl is especially known for being a food writer: she spent almost ten years with the Los Angeles Times as the restaurant editor and food critic, then six years as the restaurant critic for the New York Times, and then was the editor of Gourmet magazine for ten years.⁠
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She's written some great food books--I've especially enjoyed the ones where she goes into detail about life as a food critic (Garlic and Sapphires and Comfort Me with Apples).⁠
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I was excited to see this new foray into fiction (it's not her first, but it is the first I've read).⁠
⁠
The Paris Novel takes us to, well, Paris in the 1980s. Stella had a difficult relationship with her mother, but when her mother dies, she still feels a bit lost and she heads to Paris as her mother wanted her to.⁠
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She discovers a whole new world: delicious food, beautiful clothes, a bookstore where people actually sleep, and a whole collection of interesting people.⁠
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The descriptions of 1980s Paris will transport you and the descriptions of the food (the food!) will definitely make you want to jump on a plane...the rest of it, though? Ehh. I got a little lost. I didn't care too much about the characters and the story was just kind of weird. I loved the references to real life (James Baldwin? Learning about the real Shakespeare and Company? So fun.), but that just wasn't enough to carry the book for me.⁠
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I'll still return for her nonfiction books, for sure--this one just felt a bit rushed and forced.

Transports you to the streets and aromas of Paris!

Thanks NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC!

I read Ruth Reichl’s memoir #ComfortMeWithApples back in October last year and became a fan of her writing, her effervescent personality and passion for food. I just had to read her latest fiction, set in the 80s, when I saw it on #NetGalley!

Synopsis -

Stella's estranged mother’s last wish was for her to go to Paris on a one way ticket. Affected by her childhood trauma of neglect and indifference, she’s not the one to go on a solo trip all the way across the world. But when her boss encourages her to take a break, she takes the plunge. In Paris, Stella finds herself making impulsive decisions and buys an expensive dress from Dior. Her destiny is now altered and thanks to the chance meeting with Jules, the renowned octogenarian art connoisseur, she goes on make a very different life for herself.

Review -

What a lovely read this was! It was a great idea to have a ‘hook’, a slight touch of magic in the form of a stunning Dior dress - that Stella falls in love with in a vintage store and ends up buying mindlessly for a fortune, which then changes the course of her Paris sojourn.

With Jules' excellent company and wisdom, we get to experience the glory of a Parisian life, as Stella truly begins living to the fullest extent in every sense. The art and culture scene of 1980s Paris, the culinary delights they enjoy in the finest of restaurants and the best part? The literary world, where Stella becomes a ‘tumbleweed’ with George Whitney at the Shakespeare and Company. (a real Paris bookstore!)

As Stella works hard to add purpose to her Paris adventure by finding out the mystery behind a 100 year old Manet painting, she rediscovers not only her own self, her passion for food and cooking skills, but also a piece of her own family and connection to her past. I loved the friendships she forms, the laughs with the tumbleweeds and cheered for her all the way!

This is a beautiful story about finding one’s place in the world, giving up our comfort zone and grabbing opportunities in life.

Recommend for women's fiction/travel/food related book lovers!

Now that I've finished the book, I can say that the cover art for The Paris Novel is so perfect! That moment truly changed everything in the book.

We get so many layers about Stella throughout the novel. The start was very heavy, but luckily it only got lighter as the book continued. From her very sad childhood, to her lack of belonging as an adult, her strained relationship with her mother and old men, not knowing her father, etc -- I had no idea how this would end. There were so many ways to get her happy ending, but this author also didn't promise one, so I was hoping for the best with each new thing we learned.

I loved all the minutes I spent reading this book. As someone who's never been to Paris, this was a fun way to travel by book. I can't comment on how authentic it is/was to the Paris experience, but that's not the point either. The Paris landmark references gave me something to Google and the food was so unique with things that I've ever heard of. We have typical Paris mentions like eating snails, but the food was so much more complex than that and a HUGE part of the story.

There's a really cool bookstore and I loved the scenes here. I love bookstores in books. :)

There was also a healthy amount of French language in the book. Anything that wasn't translated. was easily inferred or close enough to the word in English to understand. As someone who only speaks English and Spanish, this was so enjoyable to me and it inspired me to learn some French. I can only imagine how it would be to read this book as someone who understands French and can code switch!

In summary, this was a multifaceted adventure that I really wanted to go on and cared about the outcome. I love the sense of found-community that was sprinkled throughout and I was rooting for Stella to find peace every single step of the way. I loved!

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Content warning: child abuse via SA.

I am a huge fan of Ruth Reichl's and still miss Gourmet magazine so anything she writes is a must-read for me. The Paris Novel reads like an escapist love letter to Paris. The story itself was light and on the simple side, but no one brings food to life on pages quite like Ruth Reichl. Pick this up if you love France and if you want to be transported through the description of the sights, smells, colors, and foods of Paris.

The author's note and the story behind the story is not to be missed.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for this ARC.

The Paris Novel successfully transports the reader to Paris through detailed descriptions of fashion, art, food, and the sounds and smells of Paris. I enjoyed reading about places such as Shakespeare and Company, its tumbleweeds, and felt as though I was reliving my last Paris adventure. Stella's sets out on many adventures to discover artwork and finds her father along the way. At first the relationship with Jules felt a little creepy, but as the novel progressed, the reader learned he considered Stella a daughter. The author incorporates real Parisians and Parisian-inspired characters in her novel. The Paris Novel is a great read for someone wanting to experience Paris through literature.

Sadly, I had two big issues with this novel. First, the second chapter of the book is about a child's sexual abuse and her mother's lack of response to it. Now that alone, I can live with in a story where it is important to the overall plot, but here is was not. Instead it simply felt gratuitous and sort of turned my stomach; definitely affected my feelings about the rest of the story. My second issue was that the rest of the book had a fairytale like quality to it, that made Stella's adventures in Paris to feel more like a YA novel than one for adults. (Making the sexual abuse chapter even more out of place.)

I've chosen not to publicly review this book, so am only hsaring my thoughts here.

The Paris Novel is a beautiful little gem of a book by Ruth Reichl, best known for her time as Editor-in-Chief of Gourmet Magazine and author of a series of engaging memoirs. It was the mention in one of her books of a little black dress she tried on while in Paris that inspired this book. I can’t help but think that much of what Reichl has written mirrors her own experiences, and the story is infused with her love for and knowledge of food. In fact, in the author notes, Reichl reveals that many of the famous people in her book she met in real life. It combines historical fiction (early 1980s), a bit of romance, a reluctant search for a missing father, and a mystery involving Victorine, the model for Edouard Manet’s Olympia, who eventually became a painter in her own right and then faded into obscurity thanks to jealous men.

After a horrendous childhood being raised by a cold, neglectful, narcissistic mother who looked the other way when she was being molested by one of her boyfriends, Stella has led a colorless, boring, but safe existence in NYC. After her mother dies and leaves her a small inheritance with the condition that she go to Paris, her boss forces her to take an extended vacation. Shortly after arriving, she wanders into a shop where the proprietress says she’s been waiting for her, the woman meant for a little black dress designed by Yves Saint Laurent. The dress begins a personal transformation and leads Stella to Jules, a grandfatherly figure who introduces her to the gastronomic delights of Paris and the dawning comprehension that she has a talent for cooking and a passion for food and wine that brings much-needed color to her life.

Her transformation is further aided by the comforting chaos of the Shakespeare and Co. bookstore where Stella finds a home away from home and a colorful cast of characters led by the grouchy but kind real-life George Whitman, who welcomed what he called his Tumbleweeds to use the store as a temporary home on three conditions: help in the store as needed, read a book a day, and write a one-page autobiography before you leave. One of the recurring responsibilities for Stella is to watch his 7-year-old (fictional) daughter Lucie, who is a great help in solving the mystery of Victorine. I couldn’t help but pause my reading many times to look up the people, places, paintings, and events that populate the book. Rather than pulling me away from the narrative, the light research enhanced it.

The entire book is a feast for the senses: the aromas of fine food, the scent of the flowers, the beauty of the landscape and architecture, and the fine art in the museums. Even the revolting description of eating the ortolans is something I won’t soon forget. Highly recommended!

Really enjoyed the setting - great descriptions of the sights, smells and memorable food of Paris. I enjoyed the storyline of Stella finding herself and learning more about her mother. The ending felt a little rushed, but overall a great, feel good story.