rrickman33's review against another edition
5.0
First and foremost, that's how it ends!? I wanted so much more but at the same time it didn't need any more. Beautiful characters with beautiful stories, the writing just puts you in a trance. Historical literary fiction at its best.
bookchew's review against another edition
2.0
This was a dud. The writing was distractingly florid and the plot felt contrived. I felt no connection with this book or its characters. And it failed to capture the spirit of Paris. Having lived in France for years, I was disappointed to feel no recognition of the flat and heavily cliched depiction of Paris here. It was all dull and inauthentic.
kristenmtan's review against another edition
4.0
4.5!!!!
WOAH. i don't know if i have much else to say. oh my goodness. beautiful novel (and a wonderful audiobook!!) just the right amount of sad and happy ending and SO MUCH DRAMATIC IRONY. i am in shock. this is so good.
WOAH. i don't know if i have much else to say. oh my goodness. beautiful novel (and a wonderful audiobook!!) just the right amount of sad and happy ending and SO MUCH DRAMATIC IRONY. i am in shock. this is so good.
rissaleighs's review against another edition
3.0
Ok, at first, this book blew my socks completely off.
The writing is SO evocative. I especially loved how vividly the author described Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Without mentioning the title, you knew exactly what it was after just a few words. All the mentions of music throughout are just gorgeous.
However, the characters and actual story left me underwhelmed. The story follows a day in the life of four ordinary Parisians with some flashbacks to WWI and their earlier lives. The four main characters also brush elbows with a lot of celebrities from that era -- Proust, Hemingway, Josephine Baker, Ravel, Gertrude Stein.... That was a fun element, but I found it kind of outshined or obscured the rest of it. Two of the four main characters blended together for me, and the four storylines were a bit to juggle. At each new chapter it took awhile to orient back to who and what and where we were. Their storylines eventually wove together in some intricate and interesting ways, but the ending ultimately didn't satisfy.
And then, purely a matter of taste, the graphic violence and sexual content wasn't really what I wanted out of this read either. (Or any read, but you know.)
As a portrait of Paris in the late 1920s, I'm sure this book is deliciously spot-on, so I'm sure plenty of readers will love it just for that. But ultimately, I don't think the story is going to be one that sticks with me.
Thanks to the publisher for a free ARC!
The writing is SO evocative. I especially loved how vividly the author described Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. Without mentioning the title, you knew exactly what it was after just a few words. All the mentions of music throughout are just gorgeous.
However, the characters and actual story left me underwhelmed. The story follows a day in the life of four ordinary Parisians with some flashbacks to WWI and their earlier lives. The four main characters also brush elbows with a lot of celebrities from that era -- Proust, Hemingway, Josephine Baker, Ravel, Gertrude Stein.... That was a fun element, but I found it kind of outshined or obscured the rest of it. Two of the four main characters blended together for me, and the four storylines were a bit to juggle. At each new chapter it took awhile to orient back to who and what and where we were. Their storylines eventually wove together in some intricate and interesting ways, but the ending ultimately didn't satisfy.
And then, purely a matter of taste, the graphic violence and sexual content wasn't really what I wanted out of this read either. (Or any read, but you know.)
As a portrait of Paris in the late 1920s, I'm sure this book is deliciously spot-on, so I'm sure plenty of readers will love it just for that. But ultimately, I don't think the story is going to be one that sticks with me.
Thanks to the publisher for a free ARC!
ceruleanseas's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
denisedup's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
binilovesbooks's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up. I struggled through the first half of the book in the beginning of each character’s story. But in the end, I enjoyed all the nuances of their individual stories and how they all came together at the end.
raeleechoins's review against another edition
5.0
I don’t remember the last time I read a novel in one day. The Paris Hours is fan-freaking-tastic. I LOVED that George wrote 1920s Paris without all the glitz and glamour. I fell in love with the main characters, their stories, their settings, their lives. I loved how he wrote Americans as obnoxious buttholes (except for Josephine Baker). If he were to write this as a series, I would binge it for sure. The ending was both sublime and frustrating, absolutely perfect.