Reviews

Paris Echo by Sebastian Faulks

maxjgraham's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

catzach's review against another edition

Maybe I would enjoy this book at another time, but not now.

pixette's review against another edition

1.0

I didn't like the central characters and wasn't invested in what happened to them. I also found the book to be somewhat racist.

carolyn0613's review against another edition

4.0

Hannah is an American historian working at a university. She has moved to Paris to do some research after having spent some time there as a student 10 years previously. Tariq is a young man freshly arrived from Morocco seeking adventure and perhaps some of the history of his family on his french mother's side. They strike a somewhat unlikely friendship as Tariq needs somewhere to stay and Hannah has a spare bedroom. The book is not really about their relationship however, it's about how we connect with our past and who this influences who we are in the present. I liked the historical detail which was nicely told from their two different points of view - Tariq as someone finding out for the first time, and Hannah's pedagogical thoughts and research. It's a fairly slow moving book, and very french in its style of two disparate lives connected in a small but deep way. I enjoyed it very much and the writing style is engaging. I think some of the meaning may have got lost to me but I don't think it mattered.

kaytealouise's review against another edition

informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

This book read like an ode to the metro while one of the main characters has an erection every other chapter on his quest for sex. I was bored the entire way through and found myself nearly DNFing constantly but it's such a short book that I decided to power through in case it got better. It didn't and I was so happy when it ended. Sorry, not for me at all. 

kategolledge's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

alimpat's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

It is slow in parts

paulsnelling's review against another edition

3.0

So many ideas. Too many.

greybeard49's review against another edition

4.0

I have read most of Faulk's books and really enjoyed them all. The style of the novel took some getting used to but it delivered in spades in the end.
He evokes the atmosphere of Paris really well and at the same time paints it through the eyes of two off beat heroes - a young male illegal Algerian immigrant and an older female American scholar/writer. Throw in an exploration of French behaviour during the Algerian uprising and during the German Occupation and you have a book which truly holds your attention. Faulks pulls few punches in deftly examining both topics through the minds and actions of his characters.

A book that adds to an already celebrated list of quality titles.

taminarauf's review against another edition

emotional inspiring tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0