Paris by the Book

Starred review from February 26, 2018
In the sublime third novel from Callanan (The Cloud Atlas), a Wisconsin woman travels to Paris in search of her missing husband. Leah Eady’s author husband, Robert, frequently disappears for a few days to write, and Leah is understanding, but lately, she feels like a single mother to their two daughters, Ellie and Daphne. When Robert fails to return one day, Leah doesn’t panic, but after she discovers that Robert purchased a ticket to Paris, she decides to take her girls there, hoping he’ll be there waiting for them. Once there, it’s not long before they’re living above—and eventually running—
a failing bookstore called the Late Edition for the eccentric Madame Brouillard. Leah’s wryly funny narration jumps between her early days as an aspiring filmmaker with the troubled Robert and her time in Paris, where she imagines seeing Robert everywhere and eventually makes a shocking discovery. Callanan has crafted a beautifully-drawn portrait of a woman interrupted set among the exquisite magic of Paris, where life frequently imitates art and the ghosts of the past linger just out of sight. The mystery of Robert’s fate keeps the pages turning, but the real story lies in Leah’s rediscovery of herself. Book lovers and Paris aficionados will be enthralled.

An intriguing opening immediately sparks curiosity and captures attention when main character Leah tells us, "Once a week, I chase men who are not my husband. . . ." Narrator Kim Bubbs provides an intense listening experience of Callanan's cleverly plotted novel. When her husband, Robert, an author, disappears after purchasing a ticket to Paris, Leah and her two daughters uproot their lives in Wisconsin and head to the City of Light. Bubbs is particularly effective in delivering Leah's wry observations as the little family finds itself, first, living above and, then, purchasing and operating a failing bookstore. Children's classics MADELINE and THE RED BALLOON, both set in Paris, work as metaphors for the differences between Leah and Robert as Bubbs keeps Callanan's plot twists and discoveries fresh and satisfying. S.J.H. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine