I love historical fiction and I immensely enjoyed ‘Birdsong’ and ‘Charlotte Gray’ by Sebastian Faulks. Birdsong, set during the First World War, and Charlotte Gray, a story of a British agent working with the Resistance in Vichy France during the Second World War, were bestsellers that made Faulks a favorite of many. His latest work, ‘Paris Echo’, although set in present times, is steeped in history, too. And I liked it even though I wished the storytelling had been better.  

Personally, I prefer narratives that ricochet between two or more characters because that gives you a broader sense of the story as well as gets you looking at the same issue from different perspectives. It can be quite thrilling to live multiple lives that way. In Paris Echo, the narrative shifts between the two main characters, 19-year-old Tariq, a runaway from Morocco, and 31-year-old American researcher Hannah.

Tariq, who ends up lodging in Hannah’s small room, wants to find out more about his Algerian mother who died when he was 10. He was brought up in Paris, born to a French father. Hannah, on the other hand, is in Paris to study the testimonies of women who lived through the German occupation for her postdoc. Much of the book is also the stories Hannah spends her days listening to, which Tariq often helps translate. This forgotten history of wartime women that Hannah slowly uncovers is more interesting than the main characters’ stories.

The problem is that the main story can get quite confusing at times, and more so when Faulks brings in an aged puppeteer called Victor Hugo, who carries an ancient leather bag and has mayonnaise smeared on his beard. There is also a lot that feels wrong with the characterizations and thus you only connect with Tariq and Hannah on a superficial level, never really understanding or caring about what they are going through. Hannah especially infuriates you in the end when she feels “rescued” by a chivalrous Englishmen who makes her realize that she has been selfish and shallow her whole life. And Tariq’s pressing need to lose his virginity also gets a bit much after a while.

However, what’s evident and intriguing is Faulk’s deep connection with and affection for Paris and French language. He leaves no stone unturned to try and evoke a feel of the place. His fondness for quirky streets and corners of Paris jumps out in the narrative and transports you there often. France and its history have been so well brought to life in Paris Echo that had the story been a tad better crafted with a clearer connection between the past and the present, it could, no doubt, have been another masterpiece.

Fiction

Paris Echo

Sebastian Faulks

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2018

Language: English

Pages: 298, Paperback