Paris Echo

Brought to you by Penguin. In the depths of the archive, Hannah dances with the ghosts of Vichy France, lost in testimony and a desire to hear the voices of the past. Back in her apartment, Moroccan teenager Tariq crashes on her sofa, consumed by his search for the mother he barely knew. Their excavations will unearth rich histories that will teach them both just how much the future is worth fighting for. Paris Echo is a propulsive and haunting novel of empire and identity, told with biting wit and tenderness, which exposes the shadows of the city of lights. 'Superb' OBSERVER 'Cunningly crafted' FINANCIAL TIMES 'Faulks is doing what he does best’ SUNDAY TIMES © Sebastian Faulks 2018 (P) Penguin Audio 2018

About the Author :
Sebastian Faulks has written nineteen books, of which A Week in December and The Fatal Englishman were number one in the Sunday Times bestseller lists. He is best known for Birdsong, part of his French trilogy, and Human Traces, the first in an ongoing Austrian trilogy. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked as a journalist on national papers. He has also written screenplays and has appeared in small roles on stage. He lives in London.

Review :
Superb... weaves winningly between the present and the second world war, between Tangiers and Paris. ‘[Paris Echo is] brimming with Faulks’s deep affection for Paris. His outsider’s interest in quirky street names and quaint corners transports his readers there too. And in the end, the book is powered by his ambition to evoke that place, its ghostliness, those spectres of history, lurking around every beautiful avenue A brilliantly plotted and occasionally hallucinatory novel, in which the author's genius for literary ventriloquism is shown off to startling effect. Paris Echo doesn’t disappoint… Faulks is doing what he does best, marrying careful historical research with a good ear for dialogue [An] exquisite book... a deeply affecting, wholly unsolemn treatment of some of the 20th century's darkest moments. The prowess of his storytelling makes him a graceful guide through "the great world of the past"... Cunningly crafted, Faulks's fictional bridge between the French past and present has its sentimental side. There is humour and humanity in this bold, perceptive novel. Both thoughtful and thought-provoking with memorable characters and a profound sense of the past in the present Here is Paris in all its beauty and squalor, its blood-stained history and its ability to instil in its lover a sense of the true sweetness of life. So this intelligent, moving, often disturbing novel is also really a love letter to Paris and indeed to France. There is much to learn from Paris Echo about the city’s complex identity, and about the way we view the past.