From the #1 "New York Times" bestselling author of "Me Before You" and "After You," a sensational collection featuring the title novella and eight other stories. Quintessential Jojo Moyes, "Paris for One and Other Stories" is an irresistibly romantic collection filled with humor and heart.
Nell is twenty-six and has never been to Paris. She's never even been on a romantic weekend away to anywhere before. Everyone knows travelling abroad isn't really her thing. But when Nell's boyfriend fails to show up for their romantic mini-vacation, she has the opportunity to prove everyone including herself wrong. Alone and in Paris, Nell uncovers a version of herself she never knew existed: independent and intrepid. Could this turn out to be the most adventurous weekend of her life? Funny, charming, and irresistible, "Paris for One"is vintage Moyes as are the other stories that round out the collection."
Paris for One
Between the Tweets
Love in the Afternoon
A Bird in the Hand
Crocodile Shoes
Holdups
Last Year's Coat
Thirteen Days with John C.
The Christmas List
Flo's Review
I love to travel. So I was absolutely delighted by the idea of a weekend jaunt to Paris. (Oh, to live in Europe and be able to do that!! But I digress...) As always happens when I read about Paris, I fell in love a little more with the city as I read about it. Moyes descriptions feel alive: Paris is living, breathing, feeling. In a Q&A at the end of the book, JoJo Moyes talks about living there and visiting every few months, and her knowledge of the area shines through in her prose.
Nell was a hard character to relate to at first because she is so timid, structured, and reserved. But it was a delight seeing her come out of her shell as she experienced everything. Her personality made the situations seem all the more risyk and adventurous, which read more powerfully. It was fun rooting for her at the end of the story, as you hoped she would do what you wanted her do, and as everything transpired.
I really enjoyed the Q&A at the end, because it gave me some insight into the short story process for Moyes. She explained how each one took her about a month and how each one had some kind of twist. Also, Moyes talked about how writing short stories is harder for her than novels because you have less time to convey a lot of information; thus, every word counts especially. And though the stories all had similar themes, that wasn't planned. Finally, Moyes said this about travel:
"...it's the one thing that allows you step outside your own life. I have the clearest view of may own life when I'm thousands of miles away from it. In certain circumstances, people can always be someone else, too, freed from the constraints of what everyone around you already knows about you."
The short stories were nice, because I could read one really quickly here and there. The aforementioned general theme around the collection was women who had been married awhile and were dissatisfied in their relationships. While I understand that this is inevitable, this was not the best collection of stories for me to read as a newlywed. It was story after story of women who were unhappy with what their lives had become. I'm still in "just married" bliss and want to foolishly believe as long as I can that my entire life will be one "happily ever after." This is saying nothing negative about the stories, but is a reason I tend to fantasy, dsytopian, sci-fi, etc. stories as much as I do: they are more escape than reality.
The twists in all the stories were very creative. The end of Between the Tweets had me going, "Oh my gosh!" Last Year's Coat had a reference to "a resurrected boy band last popular fifteen years ago," which, as a hardcore New Kids on the Block fan, I loved. In Holdups, the main character says, "I realized pretty quickly I couldn't marry a man without a bookshelf," which is my #truth.
My favorite of the short stories was Crocodile Shoes. It reminded me of a song I love, "Red High Heels" by Kellie Pickler. The feeling of putting on a pair of shoes that make you feel more powerful is one I can definitely relate to.
I had fun with Paris for One & Other Stories, and I think that you will as well.
Thank you to Penguin Books for sending me a copy in exchange for my honest review.
No comments :
Post a Comment