What do readers think of Paris Echo by Sebastian Faulks? Write your own review.

I found this novel interesting on many levels, but also overall unsatisfying. The author follows the lives of two disparate characters that become connected by chance. Hannah is a 30ish historical researcher and Tariq is a 17 year old Morroccan run-a-way who moves to Paris. Faulks introduces the concept of these characters stepping outside of their bodies to observe themselves interacting in several situations. I found this concept fascinating and thought provoking. Faulks also incorporated voices from women in Nazi-occupied Paris to tell the story of the women's struggles during the years of the Occupation. This also was very effective in capturing interest. However, although there were many interesting passages and interesting characters, I found the novel didn't sustain my interest. I think this is because the novel was too didactic for my tastes.

As much as I wanted to become immersed, I was very disappointed in this wandering novel. The stories of the main characters were disjointed and filled with much too much detail about the city and not enough about their backstories. The parents of the American historian said in describing their daughter, Hannah, "She's too wordy." In my opinion, these words could be echoed for the author.

I've read almost all of Sebastian Faulks' books and I was so glad to receive Paris Echo for review. Unfortunately, it was a strange, disjointed story that wandered all over Paris. Having been to Paris I could appreciate the descriptions of the city. However, the characters were so one dimensional, the story was weak and I kept pushing myself to end it. There was nothing of substance that interested me. The two interviews with the old women regarding the Occupation was well done, but that was about it for me. I hope someone else enjoyed this. It didn't make the grade for me.

I have been to Paris several times and thought I would enjoy this book. I felt it was so disjointed. It hopped all over the place. The women's stories were just snippets of their lives. The chapter titles were worthless; they should have provided a map to make some sense of the streets. I guess I expected more from a seasoned author.The little pops of drugs and sex were gratuitous; the only satisfying part was the end.

This was one of those books that I wanted very much to like because of the subject matter. But, alas, it wasn't meant to be; which was very disappointing.

Paris Echo is mainly about two people who are each looking for a connection. One knows nothing about history and doesn't care. The other's whole life is history, to the exclusion of everything else.

There are several problems with this book. First and foremost, the characters are poorly developed. More time is spent describing Parisian streets and neighborhoods than delving into the characters. We know too little about them to really care.

Second, Faulks seems to think that all of his readers are language experts. I love Paris, but my knowlege of French is not very extensive. He uses French words and phrases too frequently and also throws in the occasional phonetically written Arabic word or phrase for good measure, lest we forget that Tariq is from Algeria.

And third, the book is not at all interesting; not the way it was written, at least. The author had a great idea; that history and the present are intertwined. And, he was telling the story of a young American woman who loved French history and an illegal Algerian teenager who expected Paris to be his savior. But the narrative got bogged down in too much extraneous nonsense that prevented the good story that could have been, from ever materializing. And that was a shame.