A Paris Apartment: A Novel Paperback – June 30, 2015

From the moment I picked up this book, I constantly thought about what it would be like to be in Paris - both in the present day and the late 1800s when Marthe found herself as a barmaid at the Folies Bergere. What was running through her mind? Thanks to Marthe's detailed diary, we learned a lot - and then some! - about a single woman upholding the etiquette and standards of the time transposed with the turmoil April undergoes as a married woman living apart from her husband. The research and details in Marthe's life sometimes make it hard to believe her persona. I found myself saying aloud (more than once!) REALLY? At times it was Sex and the City without the shoes and endless sexcapades as she recanted her encounters with wealthy men. At the same time, I was left to wonder, just who is this woman's heir? She didn't seem to sleep around but her love for one person ran deep. Her belief that she had been scorned led her to make a choice she later regretted but for which she received understanding, if not forgiveness.I wondered whether April would apply this to her life. The prose is wonderful but I did find April irritating at times. Luc seemed to be a "stereotypical" Frenchman in that he came off as a jerk and then became too charming to ignore. April's see-saw life was mostly trying to second guess what the men around her were thinking and how they would act - the mirror image of Marthe's.With all my daydreaming I'd be lying if I didn't admit to imagining how this would playout on the big screen or even on stage. It could happen.

Entertaining story. However, I have to say that while I did basically enjoy the story, I find that I do have to agree with some of the other reviewers. I did not honestly find April that annoying, but she employed that old double standard: it was not ok for her husband to have an affair, but it was perfectly ok for her. She had a hard time forgiving and understanding other's reasons for their actions and it took her a long time to finally understand and come to terms with her family and her own marriage. I also felt that she laughed at inappropriate moments. As far as Luc was concerned, I simply did not understand all that smirking. There were many references to his being handsome, and yet, April herself mentions the mop-top hairdo and the crooked teeth. Marthe de Florian, around whom the story revolves, was nothing more than a courtesan who thought that when she was starving, would go out and simply find another "sugar daddy" to support her and her daughter. The story does make some allowance for what she did on poor health but it did not excuse some of the shenanigans that she pulled.I thought that it would be more about that period of history in Paris which would have been extremely interesting. It centered a little too much on April's problems and her "provenance." The book was light and entertaining, had a good premise, but could have been a little bit more developed and without all of the smirking.

SynopsisApril Vogt, a Sotheby’s Furniture specialist is struggling to cope with her husband’s confession about his onetime infidelity and is trying to figure out how it will affect their marriage. When her boss sends her to Paris to catalogue an apartment that has been locked up for seventy years and is full of antiques, she does not care about the dust and cobwebs she finds. Instead she sees it as an opportunity to escape, to get away from her life in New York.Once in France she discovers there is more to the apartment than treasures and valuable antiques. She gets intrigued by the Boldini painting of Marthe de Florian, the latter being the original owner of the apartment. When Marthe de Florian’s diaries are found April finds herself fascinated with this enigmatic woman and has a sudden urge to discover her story. As April digs deeper into Marthe’s life, she is compelled to take a closer look at issues in her own.ReviewThe plot is made up out of two timelines. One is set in the past which tells the story of Marthe de Florian through April’s reading of the diaries. The other set in the present and follows April’s life.The plot telling the colourful story of Marthe is the strong part of the book and is fascinating. The characters are interesting and well described. You can understand what motivates them and they show real emotions such as anger, despair, love, vulnerability and jealousy.The part of the story telling April’s life is not as captivating. In fact it was hard to understand what really motivated her. You see that April is fascinated by Marthe’s apartment and her diaries but you don’t really feel it; at least not in the beginning. As the story develops the characters grow and start to become more complex and you realise they are more damaged by events in their past than at first thought.Towards the end it’s easier to relate to the characters, April in particular. They become a little less arrogant and self interested than they were in the beginning. The book has a strong ending. The two storylines are nicely concluded together.Overall this is an interesting read. Anybody looking for a good historical fiction, with strong characters and a bit of intrigue or a one nicely set in Paris, will enjoy this book. I give it 3.8 stars.