A Paris Odyssey

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on BN.com Buy on Bookshop.org
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 01 Apr 2023 | Archive Date 25 Apr 2023

Talking about this book? Use #AParisOdyssey #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

"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.’ 

Join Grant as he discovers the Paris of the Romans, the Celts, and Medieval Paris, while descending into the catacombs and visiting holy places. This is another odyssey of growth and discovery. Funny, poignant, and magical, A Paris Odyssey is a compelling story of adventure, friendship, and love. 

A Paris Odyssey, the third book in the Odyssey series by Axel Forrester, has earned the Gold Award of Achievement from the International Review of Books. 

"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...


Advance Praise

"A Paris Odyssey has received The International Review of Books Gold badge of achievement.

* Review #1 *


Which line stood out from all the others in the book?

‘Vous ne parlez pas français?’ 

My brain turned around three times and then went to sleep!


General Summary for Context:

Grant has made his way to Paris thanks to a little occupational push from his boss. After getting robbed and tasked with getting a new passport, he basks in the delights of Paris: food, art, sight-seeing, and more food. He has fun and meets some interesting people along the way. 


Concise Review:

The writing style and entire story are a little unexpected, in a good way. It is humorous and makes you feel as if you really visited Paris. Axel Forrester also did not dedicate much of the character's time to the clichéd Eiffel Tower, which is a wise move.


General Thoughts on the Novel:

A Paris Odyssey is designed to be a light-hearted modern-day story, but the events that happen give it just the slightest touch of fantasy.



* Review #2 *

Which line stood out from all the others in the book?

She wanted me to “grow as an artist “ and was sure a month spent in Paris taking pictures of whatever interested me would do the trick. 


General Summary for Context:

A photographer travels to Paris for the opportunity of a lifetime—an all expense paid trip to not only experience Parisian life and its inhabitants but also take all the pictures he wants. Unfortunately, his trip starts off on a sour note as he discovers he has been pickpocketed and is now in a foreign country without identification, friends or funds. However, he is a resourceful chap and is able to overcome these obstacles and develop friendships with locals he meets along the way. 


Concise Review:

As a Francophile I love reading everything that is Paris related. This is a light-hearted novel describing one photographer’s adventures in his quest to take riveting and stunning photos of whatever pleases him.


General Thoughts on the Novel:

A journey through the streets and scenes of Paris. A sweet story about looking for adventure but also yearning to get home to what you’ve left behind. 

"A Paris Odyssey has received The International Review of Books Gold badge of achievement.

* Review #1 *


Which line stood out from all the others in the book?

‘Vous ne parlez pas français?’ 

My brain...


Available Editions

ISBN 9781739653996
PRICE $2.99 (USD)

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)
Send to Kindle (PDF)
Download (PDF)

Average rating from 15 members


Featured Reviews

This was an easy and enjoyable read. I am planning a trip to Paris and this book gave me ideas on sights that I must see. The characters of the book were pleasant. I could feel the anguish that the main character had when he arrived in Paris and suffered the fate of being a victim of being pick pocketed, Losing his keys. Money , credit cards and passport. Thankfully that was resolved without much fan fare.

A Paris Odyssey was indeed an appropriate title. It was long and eventful or adventurous journey or experience that was had.

Was this review helpful?

Another winner in the Odyssey series, it does everything that I was expecting. I enjoyed the way Axel Forrester wrote this and was hooked from the first entry in this series. Grant was a great main character and I enjoyed going on this journey with him. I enjoyed getting to go through the locations and watching Grant grow. I can't wait to read more from the author and glad I've read this.

"One foot in front of the other, I marched on. I took the steps down to the path to the stonewall, directly beside the river. Trees offered shade, standing in orderly rows, springing up from little openings in the grey dirt. The furious noise of the road – the taxis, the trucks, the bikes, reached me from above. Only the river was my companion and the sound of my own footsteps."

Was this review helpful?

A big thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is part of a series but reads well as a stand alone. The character says the same but the local changes. These books are about joy, trials and freedom. Exploring new places. I enjoyed this book. 4 stars

Was this review helpful?

Many thanks to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the opportunity to read A Paris Odyssey by Axel Forrester. The protag, Grant Decker, is delightful; refreshingly exuberant and curious. He had what were, to me, honest reactions to his experiences in Paris. I remember having some of those very same reactions to similar experiences during my first visit. The realization that i was truly, finally, in Paris, having a cup of coffee and a croissant. It is no small thing to experience that rush of joy., just as Grant Decker did.
And his openness to adventure helps him meet wonderfully eccentric and interesting people. Very enjoyable read, and a gorgeous cover. I adored reading this lovely, funny, sweet book.

Was this review helpful?

Grant Decker, an American photographer living in Cornwall, arrives in Paris to find he has been pick-pocketed and has no wallet, passport or keys.

Grant doesn’t speak French, despite his wife, Katie, having tried to teach him a few words and he is fortunate to discover very quickly that Paris is a city of colourful characters, one of whom, a man who appears homeless, takes pity on him and buys him a coffee.

Whilst I absolutely loved this book, set in one of my favourite cities in the world, with the opportunity to see it afresh, through the eyes of a photographer, I did feel the initial part of the story, where Grant discovers he has been robbed, added little to the story, other than to portray him as naive and almost child-like, which I didn’t find him to be as the book progressed. I was also not convinced that a homeless man would buy a traveller a coffee nor that a cafe would give him a crepe on the house the following day, simply because he didn’t have the correct change.

Moving on from the initial part of the book though, I was captivated. The beautifully written descriptions of sights, sounds and smells, made me feel like I was right there in Paris, sharing in Grant’s journey as he discovers croissants and crepes that taste better than he could ever have imagined, beggars and buskers on the metro and his observance of the Parisians as they react to their quirky companions, and Centre Pompidou with it’s eclectic mix of street performers.

Grant befriends a group of street performers on their break and as they take him under their wing, he slowly discovers what makes them who they are, what has drawn this unlikely group together and how strong their loyalty is to each other.

“What drew me were the vagabonds, the crêpe makers, the performers. Just people, struggling to have a life in Paris. People with talents and troubles. Who were one thing on the outside and another on the inside. Like the rest of us.”

Grant sees “their” Paris, rather than the usual tourist traps and through them, he is able to find “his” Paris, and to find the depth he has been lacking in his photography and, as his boss in Cornwall had put it, to “grow as an artist”.

I was able to relate to Grant as he found the less obvious sights in Paris utterly captivating;
“I soon found myself before a strange and beautiful window. It was a store that sold paper. There were several huge picture windows each featuring a gorgeous display of thick, luxurious sheets. What it was used for, I didn’t have a clue, but was astounded to learn I could get excited about paper.”

Riding the metro, wandering the streets, cemeteries and islands, the reader is taken on a beautiful journey into the heart of Paris and it’s people.

4.5 stars, rounded to 5. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for giving me an ARC, in return for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

A Paris Odyssey is the third book in the Odyssey series by Axel Forrester.

When I found this one on Netgalley, I realised that I hadn't yet read the second story - A Chinese Odyssey. Fortunately they are all short stories and only takes an hour or two to read each, so I went and read the previous first; I definitely recommend reading them all in order!

In this instalment Grant heads to Paris (surprise, surprise!) for a few weeks to get inspired by Parisian life and develop his art - again his cameras are the main instruments.

Using his cameras and a lot of walking he explores mainly the non-touristy parts of Paris; all made even more interesting with the characterful people he gets to know and hangs out with.

As with Forrester's two previous stories, it is part autobiography, part fiction, written like a diary documenting life in Paris. What you see is what you get and a great way to explore a new place.

I wonder where Grant is heading next!

Was this review helpful?

Not a very long book, less than 200 pages. A photographer has the opportunity to live in his bosses apartment for a month and photograph Paris. What an amazing opportunity.

He is pickpocketed before exiting the train station. (Another reviewer commented that it is highly unlikely that someone on the train would have taken such pity on the man and purchased a coffee for him before sending him off in the right direction. Agreed.) His money, credit cards, everything but his cameras are gone .. and the address of where he is going.

This short story describes the cast of characters that the author meets in Paris; most of them being street performers.

It was a quick read. Most of the books I read don’t have a 40+ year old male as the central point of view (although I can think of a couple recent exceptions … Big Two-Hearted River: Centennial Edition by Ernest Hemingway and Bear Necessity by James Gould-Bourn which also – interestingly - included street performers). I really enjoyed this male perspective. Probably a case of just what I needed at the time; but I really enjoyed it. Evidently there are several other Odyssey books in the series; this is the first book that I’ve read by this author/Axel Forrester. I didn’t feel like I had missed anything by reading this book first.

Thank you to NetGalley for introducing me to (yet again) a “new to me” author Axel Forrester. Thank you to Axel Forrester and publisher BooksGoSocial for approving my request to review the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Debating between 4 and 5 stars; but deciding to round up. It was just the book I needed at the time. Not a lot of conflict, but a nice easy story.

Was this review helpful?

I enjoyed this story! This felt like I was watching a stream of consciousness type of move- not in the writing style, but in the way the story was portrayed. This book gave me travel- nostalgia, going back to my European adventure several years ago (pre-covid) and how exciting, terrifying, calming, and wonderful it was to explore new cities and people. I felt kinda pressured to see the main character, Grant, as some naïve, lost soul, and I just couldn't wrap my head around that-- he is a grown man with plenty of travel experience, I fully sympathized with him in the beginning when he is the victim of pickpocketing, but after that (and the constant references to Hemingway) I just didn't feel much for him as a character.
Overall, this is a quick and easy read showcasing the beauty of Paris and its people.
Thank you for the ARC!!!

Was this review helpful?

This is a very short book but I must say a quite enjoyable one as I started ready and finished before I even knew it. Although I now realise it is the third book in a series I didn't feel as if I had missed anything and I felt as if I was on a holiday right along with all the characters in the book.

The main character Grant Decker takes you on a ride, an adventure, a journey. So easy to read and yet a nice story. There is humour, magic, fun, adventure and life lessons to be learned from this book and I now look forward to reading what else this author has written.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Was this review helpful?

At first I thought this was a memoir, the details sounded to true and the narrator so authentic. Then I realized that the novel about a man, Grant the photographer on his first trip to Paris, was written by a woman! 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, so much so I've decided to read Forrester's previous novel, A Chinese Odyssey.

Was this review helpful?

How lucky is this photographer given the opportunity to photograph Paris? This short story describes the cast of characters that the author meets in the streets of Paris. This book is part of a series.

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: