Paris

Rutherfurd's newest saga entwines seven centuries of families and a multitude of events that helped to shape the magnificent city of Paris. The noble de Cynge clan sustains a multigenerational blood feud against the Le Sourds, the bourgeois Blanchards founded and continue to run a high-fashion retail dynasty, and the laboring Gascons include a riveter who toiled for Eiffel. Narrator Jean Gilpin's mostly straightforward reading gives consistency to the somewhat ragged narrative, which jumps back and forth through time and families so much that the listener may wonder if the audio player is skipping. Most notable are Gilpin's subtle portrayal of the distinctive designer Coco Chanel and her graceful characterizations of the Jacobs, a Jewish family that specializes in private art collections. Gilpin's steady interpretation makes PARIS a worthwhile listen. N.M.C. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

May 27, 2013
This massive novel traces the evolution of the City of Light over eight centuries, lacing together the fates of a handful of families in operatic style over the decades as class, religion, and commerce are buffeted by great historical forces. From the construction of Notre Dame and the Belle Epoque to the Nazi occupation, Rutherfurd (New York), a specialist in fictionalizing great sweeps of history through a single place, weaves the family ties of a bourgeois merchant clan, a minor aristocratic lineage, and a working-class family of patriots and criminals. Augmented by a credible cast of several dozen other characters, the author spins tales of multiple of emotions over many eras. Rutherfurd dispatches these rich historical periods with grace, bringing different epochs to life through the family sagas that cleave through the sweep of time, from an era of great cathedrals to the rise of the Eiffel Tower. Though his characters are too often pressed into service as talking history textbooks, he shows great authority as to what makes Paris exciting, lively, and timeless in its appeal. Agent: Rogers, Coleridge & White (U.K.).