One woman must make the hardest decision of her life in this unforgettably moving story of resistance and faith during one of the darkest times in history.Santa Cruz, 1953. Jean-Luc is a man on the run from his past. The scar on his face is a small price to pay for surviving the horrors of Nazi occupation in France. Now, he has a new life in California, a family. He never expected the past to … expected the past to come knocking on his door.
Paris, 1944. A young Jewish woman’s past is torn apart in a heartbeat. Herded onto a train bound for Auschwitz, in an act of desperation she entrusts her most precious possession to a stranger. All she has left now is hope.
On a darkened platform, two destinies become intertwined, and the choices each person makes will change the future in ways neither could have imagined.
Told from alternating perspectives, While Paris Slept reflects on the power of love, resilience, and courage when all seems lost. Exploring the strength of family ties, and what it really means to love someone unconditionally, this debut novel will capture your heart.
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I would like to thank Headline Review and Netgalley for allowing me to read this book.
In this book a woman will have to make a very difficult decision.
The story takes place in 1953 in Santa Cruz where we find Jean-Luc who decides to flee his past. He has a scar on his face that shows the horrors of the Nazi occupation. He lives in California now, except that the past catches up with him.
In Paris, in 1944, a young Jewish woman sees her past crumble in an instant, she is dragged on a train to Auschwitz, only hope she will have.
I was immediately hooked on the story, so gripping, moving at times, captivating, addictive, full of intrigue, suspense and twists with endearing characters. I love the author’s writing.
Excellent book. Tugs at your heart
I enjoyed this book, as I seem to read many books about this time period. Many parts of the book were similar to others that I have read, but still very enjoyable.
This was very thought-provoking and I really enjoyed it.
I loved this book! Well written, and I would like to recommend it to my book club.
Pensive, poignant, and insightful!
While Paris Slept is an affecting, heartwrenching tale set in both France during 1944, as well as California during 1953, that takes you into the lives of five people whose lives are unimaginably changed one day when Sarah Laffitte, a Jewish prisoner, hands her newborn child to a Drancy railway worker in order to save his life.
The prose is emotive and charged. The characters are brave, selfless, and compassionate. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine seamlessly into an alluring tale of life, loss, family, tragedy, desperation, secrets, friendship, war, parenthood, unconditional love, and the true meaning of family.
Overall, While Paris Slept is an atmospheric, intense, impactful novel by Druart that sweeps you away to another time and place and reminds you that survival of any form takes unimaginable sacrifice, courage, strength, and often moral and ethical dilemmas.
While Paris Slept by Ruth Druart is a powerful historical novel that will break your heart.
The action is mainly set in occupied Paris in 1944 and in Santa Cruz in 1953. The voices alternate within the chapters.
This is a novel about the great love for a child. It is a love that is self-sacrificing as needs are put aside to do whatever is best for the child.
Occupied Paris was a terrible place to be. Suspicion lurked around every corner. Trust was in short supply. Terror reigned. “It’s amazing how quickly people learn when taught with fear.”
There were extraordinary acts of great courage performed by ordinary men and women with everything to lose and nothing to personally gain. They acted because it was the right thing to do. In the face of great evil, personal safety was pushed aside.
Part of the story is seen through the eyes of French Jews. Their normal lives exploded when the Nazis marched in. “It [the yellow star of David] immediately changed who she was. People looked at the star, and then at her.” How horrendous to not see the person behind the symbol.
There were some very harrowing scenes set within Auschwitz. There were also tender scenes where people helped others in their fight to survive. Little things could offer great hope. It was to this hope that people clung on to.
America after World War II was seen in complete contrast. It was the land of the free and of opportunity where all men are treated equally – until one day everything changed and suspicion rose its ugly head again.
While Paris Slept consumed me. It was a novel about a deep love – a deep love that would break hearts, including mine. Love is a powerful force, especially when it is self-sacrificing.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
Save my child
In an emotionally charged moment on a train bound for Auschwitz a young mother makes a heart wrenching decision. She slips her two month old son into the arms of a railway worker with the words save my son. The young railway worker, Jean-Luc has to shoot a Nazi guard in the leg and steal his uniform to get away with the child. He runs to his girlfriend Charlotte because he doesn’t know what to do with the child. Now they are both on the run from the Nazi’s with the child. The parent’s David and Sarah are on their way to Auschwitz.
Eight years later Charlotte and Jean-Luc and their son Sam are living in California. Life is good and Sam is a happy healthy son. Then the police knock on their door. Sarah and David have been searching for their son and he has been found.
The story is about the earlier times with the baby Samuel, but mostly it is about after Samuel is returned to his Jewish parents Sarah and David. How do they reconnect with their sad homesick son that wants to be with Charlotte and Jean-Luc? What are they willing to do to make him happy?
This is a story of two couples loving one child with all their hearts. Both want the best for Sam but only one set of parents can be his parents. It is a heartbreaking story and will cause you tears for everyone. So many families were torn apart, children separated from parents. This is a story of the War, but it is a story of the aftermath of the war that is caused but one such separation.
I enjoyed reading this story, it was exciting and heartbreaking. I would recommend it.
Thanks to Ruth Druart, Headline, and NetGalley for allowing me to read a copy for an honest review.
This was another WWII heart jerker! Jean-Luc is thrust into an impossible situation one morning when he is supposed to be fixing the tracks for the train to leave. He has heard the rumors, but he has never seen for his own eyes, and now it is right in front of him Cattle trains packed with people. He cannot believe what he sees and knows this is the last straw, he can no longer do nothing. As he is figuring out his next move, a woman trusts an infant into his hands, and then melts back into the crowd.
What the heck is he supposed to do with a baby? Why did she target him, and now what. He can’t be seen with an infant. He makes a split second decision and heads to the house of a nurse and the woman he has started a budding romance with. She will help him. Her mother cannot believe Jean-Luc has come here and put them all at risk, what was he thinking taking this infant? Charlotte knows if they do not care for this child, it will surely die. They make a hasty decision, going against her mothers wishes.
Almost a decade later, and life is good. They are safe in America with their son and have no thought of war or what they dealt with in their past. Some officers show up one day wanting to talk to Jean-Luc, they are researching some things and need him to answer some questions. Their worst fear has come to reality and they never thought they’d have to make a harder decision then escaping to America all those years ago.
I can’t give too much away, as this novel was SO good, you need to read it! Another one to add to the WWII list. Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for the free book, I had my eye on this one was soon as I saw it being advertised.
While Paris Slept by Ruth Druart was an interesting WWII era historical fiction novel that was about: family, connections, love, loss, sacrifices all amongst the atrocities of the war.
This book is more about family, what constitutes a family, connections, separations, and what a person is willing to do to keep their loved ones safe.
There was a lot less about the war itself and more emotion, drama, and the human spirit.
I enjoyed the novel, however there were quite a few very sad moments. Interesting nevertheless.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for this copy and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.
I am posting this review to my GR, Bookbub, Amazon, and B&N accounts immediately. Publication date 2/23/21.
While Paris Slept is set in 1944 in Paris and 1953 in California. It is a thought-provoking, emotive read that made me think about the lengths people go to in order to save those they love the most and how far you would put aside your feelings for someone if you loved them.
Jean-Luc works repairing railways, he hates having to obey the Nazis and is desperate to find a way to fight back. One day a desperate Jewish woman being transported to Auschwitz hands him a tiny baby, tells him the child’s name is Samuel, and begs Jean-Luc to take him and save his life. Not knowing what to do, Jean-Luc races to his girlfriend, Charlotte’s home and pleads for help.
Nine years later in 1953, Jean-Luc and Charlotte are enjoying a comfortable life in America. They are happy and their son, oblivious to his true parentage, enjoys all that America offers. They have kept their past a secret from friends and don’t speak French. Then there’s a knock on the door. Samuel’s parents have been looking for their son, now they’ve found him and want him back to live with them in Paris.
It took me a while to become completely enthralled by their story, but I certainly did so, especially towards the end. I was desperate to know what would happen to Jean-Luc and Charlotte, as well as Sam’s birth parents, David and Sarah. Both couples loved the boy, and both wanted him living with them. I thought their anguish and struggles with their emotions about their dreadful situation was beautifully depicted, and the horrific experiences that David and Sarah had to face in the labour camps shocking. The ending was both heart-breaking and heart-warming, and ultimately what I had hoped would happen for Sam.
While Paris Slept made me think and cry and rage and smile at mankind’s capacity for both beautiful, selfless love and terrible, heartbreaking cruelty. It is at once a story of wartime courage and desperation, and of the many ways in which war reverberates through people’s lives for years after the fact. Prepare to question yourself and the characters in the novel, to wonder what you might have done in their place; in short, prepare to be thoroughly engrossed in this compelling book in which four adults and one child grapple with the true meaning of love and family.