If you’re a foodie you’ll love this novel by Ruth Reichl, Gourmet’s editor-in-chief and former restaurant critic for the New York Times. I thought I loved food, but this book pushed the limits of my culinary imagination. (At one point a small bird is eaten whole and I just couldn’t…) But, while there’s a focus on the gift of cooking, tasting, and intuitively understanding food, the heart of the book is about relationships. And it takes place in one of my favorite cities—Paris.

The protagonist, Stella, is a narrowly focused literary assistant living in New York when her life is interrupted by her estranged mother’s death and will. She’s forced to go to Paris (the horror!), where she happens upon a mysterious Dior dress that—the vintage shop owner promises—will change her life.

An adventure steeped with fabulous food, interesting people, art, and transformation follows. You’ll find yourself wishing someone would force you out of your routine and require you to travel to Paris to do so. It’s a book about understanding who we really are at our core, taking chances, and growing up.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the advance review copy.

oof. Unfortunately, I had to DNF this book. There is child abuse very early on, and that was an immediate turn off for me. I tried to stick with it, but I could not.

A delightful, sensuous tale! I have read and loved Ruth Reichl’s many memoirs and her Gourmet columns for their candid accounts of her life and travels - and, yes, her delectable descriptions of food. The Paris Novel may be fiction, but it is in the same vein as her nonfiction in finding its strength in its gorgeous prose illuminating scrumptious meal after meal and in serving as something of a love letter to a locale, in this instance primarily Paris. The plot and pacing are not quite as compelling, but I found I really didn’t mind that at all. Rather, I enjoyed the gift of Reichl once again regaling us with a story of sights, sounds, smells and tastes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and to Random House for the privilege of a complimentary ARC. Opinions are my own.

I loved Ruth Reichel’s previous books so maybe my expectations for this were too high. I

Liked: Paris setting, character development, plot about the painting, the food!!!, the brief love story

Disliked: felt like the story dragged on during parts, the part about the painting just went away and I wanted more of that

I've enjoyed other books by this author but ultimately found that this book just couldn't hold my attention. It didn't make me care enough to finish it.

I think I'll stick to Reichl's food writing and nonfiction work. This was too fluffy and the sexual molestation scene really made me want to quit reading all together.

Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for this digital advance copy in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published on April 23, 2024.

Some of my favorite memoirs are by members of the culinary world, so I’m a fan of Ruth Reichl’s work. I read her most recent memoir, Save Me the Plums, in 2023, and enjoyed it. For me, one of the most memorable parts of that book was her story about finding a mysterious dress while visiting Paris. When I read the description of this novel (her second work of fiction), I figured she had drawn on personal experience. “Write what you know,” right?

Reichl’s gift for descriptive writing is obvious. If you love vivid depictions of food and atmosphere, you’ll enjoy this. The plot, however, left me unsatisfied. To expand on my thoughts, I’ll start with the good stuff.

WHAT I LIKED:

The masterful food writing: Reichl is a former food critic, so this is unsurprising. My advice is to keep snacks nearby. You’ll need them.

The setting: it’s a tall task to make an iconic city seem even more alluring. Setting this in 1980s Paris was a refreshing take on historical fiction. In this case, you should judge the book exactly by its cover; it’s The Paris Novel through and through.

Shakespeare & Company sounds like a bibliophile’s fever dream.

WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME:

The pacing: for a 288-page book, the plot started to drag towards the middle, suffering from too many side quests and a lack of focus. What’s Stella’s main goal – to reconnect with her late mother? To identify her father? To uncover the truth about an artist’s muse? We never get the chance to fully dive into any of these. And the timeline is all over the place. We skip around from week to week, month to month, before flashing forward near the very end, with many ends left untied.

I enjoyed the first half more than the second half, and I felt the ending was so abrupt. Too many life events happen in the final 12 percent of the book.

Like the side plots, I felt that many of the side characters were underdeveloped, arbitrary, and difficult to keep track of. It was interesting to learn about the Tumbleweeds, but ultimately, they didn’t bring much to the table (so to speak).

ALSO: I think this would benefit from a trigger warning placed in the beginning of the book, so readers can take care before starting it. The second chapter includes a graphic description of child SA, and to be frank, I don’t think it was necessary to the plot. It was jarring.

Overall – I would recommend this to Francophiles who enjoy stunning descriptions of food. In terms of writing, though, I think nonfiction is more her bread and butter (pun intended). 3.5 stars.

From the very first page I was intrigued! “The Paris Novel” is great read. From new territory and memories of a broken past this book will keep you entranced and wondering what happened next. You won’t be bored reading “The Paris Novel”! There may be triggers if you don’t like forced touches.

Around the Year in 52 Books 2024: 5. A book set in one of the 25 most beautiful cities in the world
Spring 2024 Rainbow Cover Challenge: White

I've long been an admirer of Ruth Reichl. I love her memoirs, use her recipes, and think she's had an amazing life. As Gourmet's editor, she helped me learn to cook. The only thing I have not enjoyed that I have read by her is her first novel, which was a big disappointment for me. Because I hadn't loved her fiction as much as the rest of her writing, I approached this book with a bit of trepidation.

However, I relaxed as I kept reading. The clunkiness of the writing in her earlier book has disappeared. Instead of trying to do too much, this book was clear in its aim. This book is a fairy tale set in Paris. It's a literary sort of tourism both of the past and of the city which Reichl clearly adores.

As with most fairy tales, the main character is a girl with a mother who was terrifying in life but who sets her daughter a posthumous challenge that ends up being transformative. Stella's mother, Celia, was not maternal. Celia's priorities were rising in society and the perks that brought her. Stella, neglected by her mother, abused by one of the men her mother brought into her life, made safety and predictability her own priorities. Stella had made a life for herself in New York City that wasn't glamorous but was controlled. Upon her mother's death, though, she found that her inheritance was meant only for her to go to Paris and spend it.

Stella manages to get to Paris but can't break from keeping herself tightly to schedule, safe, practical, and mundane. It takes a magical dress and a sort of fairy godfather to rip her from her routine and begin to explore ways to make a way to explore life passionately instead of keeping resolutely to the narrow path of the practical.

Reichl uses the book to introduce Stella and the reader to some of the literary and culinary personalities of the Paris of her youth. Stella begins to learn more about herself and finds herself enthusiastically pursuing paintings of a female 19th century painter who was disdained and kept from art's inner circle by her male contemporaries. I liked the idea of Stella believing that there was more to this artist than met the eye and this subplot was a way to keep the book moving forward. It also gave Stella, who was generally a very passive character, something to do.

There are no huge surprises and there is a happily-ever-after. Although I wouldn't call this book world changing literature, it was an enjoyable place for me to go to escape into a world of food, art, fashion and travel, filled with kind characters. It's light and frothy despite dipping its toe into some difficult areas with Stella's past. It's a wonderful improvement as a second novel.

This story definitely inspired some wonderlust for me. I just felt that the glamour should have been more and there should have been more of a direction for the story to go.

1980's Paris with fashion, food and art - who could resist. I absolutely loved this novel and it's feast. Take a glass of wine, get comfortable and enjoy this delicious story.

Ruth has done it again! This is a feast for all the senses! What a delight this book is. It takes me straight to the streets of Paris and will definitely become another go to for all my Paris literature recommendations. I absolutely devoured and savored it. Will go back to it again and again- will revisit it and carry it with me like an old friend!

Stella St. Vincent is a young woman who is a shy, introverted book editor, very withdrawn into herself. Her estranged mother is outgoing, always surrounded by men, and the life of every party. When her mother dies, she leaves her a one-way ticket to Paris along with the note "go to Paris." Stella complies, takes a leave of absence from her job, ends up making quite a personal transformation, and finds herself, in spite of herself!

The setting was Paris in the 1980's. We encounter food, restaurants, chefs, art, fashion, the Shakespeare & Company bookstore, books, and reading. All the things I absolutely love in a book. She meets people along the way who befriend her and help her out. She has a wonderful way of expressing herself, whether it's eating an oyster, viewing a beautiful painting, wearing couture fashion, or looking at Parisian street life.

The author has such a way of transporting the reader to the locale, in this case - Paris! I have read several other books by Ruth Reichl and find this to be true of all of her writings. I really love reading her books and would highly recommend this new novel, her second. It is due to be published April 23, 2024. Run, don't walk, to your local library or bookstore, grab it and read it --you won't be disappointed. While you are at it, check out her first novel, Delicious, published in 2014, along with all of her non-fiction books. Be aware of content warnings for this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for this advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/.

Ruth Reichl has written a lovely, nostalgic book about difficult family relationships, books, art, food, Paris, love, passion, and searches. All bundled together, this makes for an engaging and delightful story. There is a seemingly unnecessary section involving child abuse that is difficult to digest which kept me from marking this otherwise excellent book with five stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this ARC.

If you’ve read and enjoyed this author’s food writing, then you are in for a treat. A novel set in Paris, full of lush descriptions of the people, and of course, the food. Stella, a cautious young woman who suffers from social anxiety, receives the unexpected gift of a ticket to Paris from the mother who abandoned her when she was a child. Deciding to embrace the adventure laid at her door, we readers get to enjoy all her charming encounters and decadent meals. A sweet and sincere story in great company!

I loved Stella's adventures in Paris. I love that her mom forced her to go (the only way to get her inheritance). The people she meets along the way are wonderful. On the other side of it, I was sad for Stella and the life she could. have had when her mom was alive! I understand her character and how she was portrayed but I really felt for her and why she was who she was (the complete opposite of her mother).
There was also a scene at the very beginning that caught me off guard and didn't have a trigger warning. It didn't match with the rest of the book (thankfully) and there wasn't too much detail.
Overall I will take away the descriptions of Paris and the food and it made me smile because I had a great trip to Paris and felt like I was exploring it with Stella! Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for this sweet book! The whimsical cover is a great compliment to the story inside.

Charming, joyous, light and exciting. Reading this book was a brief respite from the oft-times negative world we can find ourselves in today.
Ruth Reichl's writing sets all the senses ablaze with her descriptive flair as so few writers can.

I'd like to thank Netgalley for an ARC of this book. In exchange, here is my honest review.

Ruth Reichl has a gift for transporting her readers to different locales through her descriptions. She is excellent at conveying Stella's life in France and at creating a cast of remarkable characters. I felt like I was in Paris in the 80s, living the rich life of a young woman on an adventure, discovering herself and what the world has to offer.

I loved the descriptions of the food, which is something that Reichl always does well.

However, I had a hard time with the pacing. I felt that a good portion of the book was devoted Stella's search for works by a female artist and her growing accustomed to life in Paris. And yet, in the final 15-20% of the book, she has multiple major life events happen, and we never get to spend enough time with her in these moments.

I also found Stella a bit flat. She was surrounded by so many dynamic characters that she felt pretty empty. Regardless, I enjoyed the book. If goodreads allowed a 3.5, I would have gone for that.

Although I ended up loving the book, I would have greatly appreciated a trigger warning. It would be highly inappropriate if the author to have included such a detailed traumatic event without having experienced it herself, but I’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. I enjoyed the arc of the plot, even though it is predictable. The way Reichl describes food is fun!

I’m so sorry, but I had to DNF. There is child abuse about 10% in and that’s an absolute hard pass for me. I wish there had been a warning in the beginning as I’ve seen other books do. I’ve heard amazing things about this author and wish her success, but this is not for me.