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Ruth Reichl has written nine books including ‘The Paris Novel’ and edited many others like ‘History in a Glass’ and ‘Endless Feasts’. Most of her books revolve around food and culture that celebrate food. The cover of The Paris Novel has Nigella Lawson, English food writer and television cook, calling it ‘nothing less than absolute enchantment’.

I was surprised I had never come across Reichl’s works or even heard of her. I read the blurb of The Paris Novel and the first few pages at the bookshop and decided to buy it. It seemed like a simple story filled with mentions of food, books, and life in Paris. It’s also not a thick book so I thought I would breeze through it in a couple of days.

Stella St. Vincent is a copy editor at a publishing house and she likes her structured life. Then she receives a mysterious note from her late mother telling her to go to Paris. Her mother, who Stella never had a loving relationship with, has instructed her attorney, and perhaps her lover at one point, to buy a one way plane ticket to Paris for Stella and convert the remaining money in her account to traveller’s checks.

When Stella’s boss finds her asleep at the office she tells her to take an extended leave. She promises Stella that her job will be waiting for her when she gets back. Left with no choice, Stella finds herself alone in Paris. She doesn’t have friends there and is a little lost and overwhelmed. Then she meets Jules, an octogenarian who collects art and sees something in Stella that makes him take her under his wing. He introduces her to a side of Paris (and life) that she has never seen before.

The Paris Novel is rich in imagery and full of Parisian vibes. The plot is predictable and cliched. Stella, initially a shy and insecure American woman, turns into a confident go-getter with a flamboyant attitude by the end of the book and you see it coming the moment she lands in Paris. The book could also remind you of the many coming-of-age novels you have read. But be warned, there’s a familiarity to it that might bore you. It’s like a fictional version of Elizabeth Gilbert’s ‘Eat, Pray, Love’—which is basically one woman’s quest of finding herself.

The writing, with all the references to French culture and cuisine, can also confuse you. It’s a novel that never picks up. Unlike what I initially thought, I couldn’t finish the book in a day or two. I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way. I had to take it slow as I was unfamiliar to the French lifestyle beyond what I’ve seen on the popular show ‘Emily in Paris’ on Netflix.

Whether or not you enjoy the novel depends on what kind of a read you are looking for. If you want an all vibes not much plot book, then this is for you. But if you are looking to follow a storyline, there isn’t much here. A friend who has read Reichl’s other works as well as The Paris Novel says the latter isn’t her best work and that I shouldn’t judge her based on it. She has recommended ‘Cheer Me Up with Apples’ and ‘Tender at the Bone’. Despite not being great, The Paris Novel, with its lush descriptions of food and wine, has whetted my appetite for more and I’m actually willing to give her another chance. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195430688-the-paris-novel 

The Paris Novel

Ruth Reichl

Published: 2024

Publisher: Magpie Books

Pages: 272, Paperback

Having read two out of three of Bollywood Actor Twinkle Khanna’s books—‘Mrs Funnybones’ and ‘Pyjamas are Forgiving’ and not having liked them very much, I was hesitant to read ‘Welcome to Paradise’, a collection of short stories published in 2023. I hadn’t read the one which came before that which was ‘The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad’ as I was convinced it wouldn’t be a good read.

Truth be told, I picked up Welcome to Paradise because it was on discount. The book was available at half price at Bookverse in Civil Mall, Kathmandu. “Why not? It’s a book of short stories and I can read one or two and give it to someone else to read if I don’t like it,” I thought to myself. But the first story ‘The Man from the Garage’ about a family who can’t decide if they want to cremate or bury their matriarch was highly nuanced and insightful. The characters felt like people I would bump into on the streets or at the temple. I was surprised by the fact that Khanna’s writing also seems to have improved a lot.

So, I kept reading. The stories that followed, and there are four more, were all snippets of lives that felt very real and addressed complex issues in a light-hearted manner. All the stories have women protagonists and are about middle-class life in Mumbai, India. The stories prove that Khanna is deeply observant as she has picked up a lot of tiny details that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. The stories are about loneliness, grief, and heartbreak and validate many of your emotions.

‘Let’s Pretend’, the second story in the collection, had me rooting for Amita as she pretends to be her aunt while corresponding with a man over email. ‘Jelly Sweets’, the story that comes at the very end, made me teary-eyed. It’s about how a mother copes with the loss of her son. The titular story ‘Welcome to Paradise’ was one that felt most real. What happens in Garima’s life could happen in anyone’s life. The story made me realize that sometimes experiences lend perspectives that don’t come from hearing or seeing other people’s stories and lives.

But my favorite one is ‘Nearly Departed’ about a woman named Madhura Desai, an 86-year-old retired teacher who wants to be able to end her life on her terms. She writes to the chief justice to seek permission for euthanasia as she suffers from Parkinson’s and doesn’t want to be dependent on anyone later in life. Her appeal goes viral and she gets a lot of media attention and requests for interviews, etc. I laughed, I got all choked up, and I reread it when I was done. I even asked a few friends to read this one, if not the rest of the stories in the collection, and they all loved it. They thought it was a fresh take on aging and how we all wish to be in control of our lives.

In the end, I didn’t give the book to anyone. It’s sitting on my bookshelf with story collections I have enjoyed in the past like ‘Her Body and Other Parties’ by Carmen Maria Machado and ‘The Lives of Strangers’ by Chitra Divakaruni among others. I have a feeling I might want to revisit the stories sometime in the future. And I will definitely be reading the next book Khanna writes and this time it won’t even need to be on discount. 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/200237485-welcome-to-paradise  

Welcome to Paradise

Twinkle Khanna

Published: 2023

Publisher: Juggernaut Books

Pages: 213, Paperback

Emma lives with her husband Leo and their daughter Ruby. She loves them and she’s happy. But everything her family knows about her is a lie. Even her name is fake. She can never tell them about her past. She knows she will lose them if she does as Leo won’t be able to deal with the betrayal, not after being betrayed by his parents. He’s never forgiven them for it.

But Leo is an obituary writer and Emma is a well-known marine biologist. When she is diagnosed with cancer, Leo tries to cope with it by reading and writing about her life. His editor also asks him to write a stock for Emma: Most papers write obituaries for famous people well in advance, and especially so if they are suffering from any illness. Leo agrees because he’s already started working on one and also because he thinks no one knows her like he does.

However, he stumbles upon some papers that don’t match with what she’s told him and it opens a can of worms. Leo starts questioning what he’s been told and Emma’s past and starts asking around as well. Soon, he finds out things that he doesn’t know about her, realizing that the woman he loves doesn’t really exist. Emma will need to prove to Leo that she is the woman he always thought she was but for that she has to come clean about her past.

‘The Love of My Life’ was unlike anything I had ever read. It’s not a typical thriller but it keeps you on the edge. It’s gripping and heartbreaking at the same time. Rosie Walsh’s first book, ‘The Man Who Didn’t Call’ was a romance, suspense novel that was an instant bestseller when it came out. The novel’s theme was grief and it explored it in a subtle way that made you think. In The Love of My Life the theme is relationships and its complexities and again Walsh has done a brilliant job in exploring its nuances.

The story, like in The Man Who Didn’t Call, is told from two different perspectives. It keeps the narrative interesting by building the suspense gradually. Also, seeing things from two different viewpoints keeps your brain ticking. The only issue I had with the book was that while the story is full of twists and turns, it reads like a slow-burn family drama at times and less like a thriller. But all in all, I absolutely loved the story. The plot, I thought, was ingenious. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for something different to read.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58492104-the-love-of-my-life  

The Love of My Life

Rosie Walsh

Published: 2022

Publisher: Pan Books

Pages: 358, Paperback

Are self-help books actually helpful? That’s debatable. It depends from person to person and on what someone is looking for at a particular point in their life. I know people who hate self-help. They find it preachy and pretentious. Then there are others who only read self-help, attracted to them as moths are to light. It gives them perspective and helps them make sense of things, they say. I fall somewhere in the middle. I don’t dislike the genre but I also don’t buy every new book that comes out making bold claims to change your life or transform the way you look and feel.

Occasionally I feel like I need a pep talk or some guidance and that’s when I pick up self-help. ‘The Happiness Project’ by Gretchen Rubin is one of my favorite books in the genre and I’m constantly re-reading that. But there are others too that have changed my ways of thinking and helped me bring some discipline into my life. I usually pick up self-help books that don’t have to be read in a single shot or in a linear pattern. I prefer those you can dip in and out of these books but you still find some nugget of wisdom to rewire your brain. Here are three such brilliant books that you can pick up as 2024 comes to an end to ensure you are ready to face 2025 with an open mind.

Living the Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron

I have heard a lot about ‘The Artist’s Way’ by Julia Cameron. It’s supposed to be a transformative book that teaches you how to, as cliché as it sounds, be the best version of yourself. The book was an instant bestseller when it was published in 1992. It teaches people techniques and exercises to become confident and creative. Cameron also ran The Artist’s Way online course on her website, with 12 weeks of videos to supplement the structure of the book. She is also called the ‘Queen of Change’.  In ‘Living the Artist’s Way’ published earlier this year, Cameron shows you how to seek and accept guidance to become more creative. The book teaches you how to connect with the intuitive power within yourself and trust the answers you receive.

The Pivot Year by Brianna Wiest

This is a really easy-to-read book. Though the book is a compilation of 365 daily meditations, you can randomly flip to a page and just read that. If you want to change your life in 2025, then this book can help you do that without overwhelming you. You will gradually learn how to do and see things differently and become a different person. The person you want to be is already within you, says Wiest. You just have to convince your mind to act consistently on what your heart already knows it wants to do. This book is for anyone standing at the crossroads of where you are and where you want to be. There are no studies quoted to back what is said so the book reads like an affirmation of sorts and that helps you simply complex ideas.

You’re a Badass by Jen Sincero

I have to confess that the bright yellow cover made me buy this book. I knew nothing about it. But I’m glad that I picked this one up. It’s basically a pep-talk in 200 something pages that you didn’t know you needed. There is nothing new here but everything Sincero says has been pushed to the back of your mind and you don’t know you need a refresher course until you get one. It’s a simple book that you will be able to breeze through unlike heavier self-help titles like ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear that you need to sit down with a notebook and pen by your side. The theme of the book is basically self-love and each chapter ends with a powerful reminder to be kinder to yourself. If I had to choose one book to help me prepare for 2025, it would definitely be this one.