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Paris Echo

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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

In the depths of the archive, Hannah dances with the ghosts of Vichy France, lost in testimony and a desire to hear the voices of the past. Back in her apartment, Moroccan teenager Tariq crashes on her sofa, consumed by his search for the mother he barely knew. Their excavations will unearth rich histories that will teach them both just how much the future is worth fighting for.

Paris Echo is a propulsive and haunting novel of empire and identity, told with biting wit and tenderness, which exposes the shadows of the city of lights.

'Superb' OBSERVER
'Cunningly crafted' FINANCIAL TIMES
'Faulks is doing what he does best’ SUNDAY TIMES

© Sebastian Faulks 2018 (P) Penguin Audio 2018

 Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature

Critic reviews

Superb... weaves winningly between the present and the second world war, between Tangiers and Paris. (Alex Preston)
‘[Paris Echo is] brimming with Faulks’s deep affection for Paris. His outsider’s interest in quirky street names and quaint corners transports his readers there too. And in the end, the book is powered by his ambition to evoke that place, its ghostliness, those spectres of history, lurking around every beautiful avenue
A brilliantly plotted and occasionally hallucinatory novel, in which the author's genius for literary ventriloquism is shown off to startling effect.
Paris Echo doesn’t disappoint… Faulks is doing what he does best, marrying careful historical research with a good ear for dialogue (Melissa Katsoulis)
[An] exquisite book... a deeply affecting, wholly unsolemn treatment of some of the 20th century's darkest moments.
The prowess of his storytelling makes him a graceful guide through "the great world of the past"... Cunningly crafted, Faulks's fictional bridge between the French past and present has its sentimental side.
There is humour and humanity in this bold, perceptive novel.
Both thoughtful and thought-provoking with memorable characters and a profound sense of the past in the present (Hannah Beckerman)
Here is Paris in all its beauty and squalor, its blood-stained history and its ability to instil in its lover a sense of the true sweetness of life. So this intelligent, moving, often disturbing novel is also really a love letter to Paris and indeed to France.
There is much to learn from Paris Echo about the city’s complex identity, and about the way we view the past.
All stars
Most relevant
The author's voice jars with the inexplicable pronunciation of the readers. Seems like the text was sent to two random people along with a dictaphone and no other instructions than to send it back the results asap. The rendering of the archived recordings reminded me of Allo Allo! I kept asking myself if I was missing some obvious rationale for this approach. The subject matter includes a re wash of the dirty laundry previously done in Charlotte Gray with a few of France's more recently soiled garments chucked in to make up a full load!

Listen very carefully as I shall say zis only wuns

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Wonderful book. Pretty dreadful performances. Better if you read this one yourself. I'm sure that these two actors are otherwise good but they're hopelessly miscast in this messy production of mispronunciation and inconsistencies.

Paris Ech-oh dear

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This is by far the best Sebastian Faulkes book since Bird Song. Beautifully narrated, listening to the brilliant narrators let me picture events so much better than reading the text. Thoroughly recommend this book

Ordinary lives, beautifully told.

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I had high hopes for this book and it started well - beautifully described Paris and the reality of an illegal immigrant

Half way through it went very odd - not sure if it was trying to be too clever linking past and present - result for me was confusion.

Narrators are great - the story just not great

Started well then loses way - interesting parts of french history and description of Paris

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As the final chapter approached I realised that there would not be a satisfactory ending and it was hugely disappointing. The characters meet and you get a snapshot of their ‘moment in time’ but don’t expect a story. You can imagine their future or let them go. Not my cup of tea but nicely written just felt a little self indulgent.

A snapshot in time rather than a story

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