When her estranged mother dies, Stella is left with an unusual inheritance: a one-way plane ticket and a note reading Go to Paris. But Stella is hardly cut out for adventure; a childhood trauma has kept her confined to the strict routines of her comfort zone. When her boss encourages her to take time off, Stella resigns herself to honoring her mother’s last wishes.

What follows is delightful story of a girl who finds herself while immersed in a totally new life in Paris. I found this story absolutely enchanting, with beautiful writing that transported me straight to Paris, which has always been a bucket list place for me. The food descriptions were so mouth watering and interesting too. I loved the characters that Stella meets along the way, forming a group of found family. Jules was so great and I really loved watching he and Stella grow closer. I also liked how several of the characters were based on real life people as well. The author's note at the end really explains a lot of this, don't miss reading it for sure. This was my first read by the author, but definitely won't be my last.

Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review. Be sure to get your pre-orders in for the April 23 release. A truly entertaining book that left me smiling.

Ruth Reichl is my favorite food memoirist. With he experience as a food critic, she describes food in a way that makes the reader almost taste it. While her fiction writing is not as soaring, I enjoyed this story of friendship in Paris.

I'm a huge fan of Ruth Reichl's work, Paris, old bookstores, and fashion, so I was well primed to love this and I'm pleased to say it didn't disappoint! Ruth creates such an amazing atmosphere with her words and, as expected from her, the descriptions of food were so evocative. and delicious This would be the perfect book for the spring and summer. Definitely one to pack in your holiday suitcase. TW for child abuse scene.
Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Ruth Reichl is one of my favorite food writers and memoirists. I have read all of her books. Although The Paris Novel is fiction it transported me to Paris in the 1980's. In this book she incorporates the most important artists, writers and culinary figures of the time, their characters spring to life. I loved feeling like I was in the famous Paris bookstore Shakespeare and Company. I was charmed.
The book begins with Stella and her lackluster life in New York. Her self absorbed single mother has died and left a conditional will that sends Stella to Paris. I have only one complaint, very close to the beginning of Stella's backstory is a description of her experience of child molestation, an incident that was overlooked by Stella's mother. I am not sure why this was included, it didn't seem relevant, but if this is a trigger it is disturbing. In spite of this issue I grew to love this book and Stella's adventure.

I just love Ruth Reichl. I didn’t even look to see what the book was about before I started to read it so imagine my surprise when it was fiction! Every time I was not reading this book, all I could think was, “I can’t wait to go back to Paris.” If you’re looking for a wonderful story with Ms. Reichl’s immersive food imagery, you’ve found it. Following Stella through Paris was a delight.

When her estranged mother dies, Stella is left with an unusual inheritance: a one-way plane ticket and a note reading “Go to Paris.” Stella is hardly cut out for adventure; a traumatic childhood has kept her confined to the strict routines of her comfort zone. Nonetheless, Stella resigns herself to honoring her mother’s last wishes. Alone in a foreign city, Stella falls into old habits, living cautiously and frugally. Then she stumbles across a vintage store, where she tries on a fabulous Dior dress. The shopkeeper insists that this dress was meant for Stella and for the first time in her life Stella does something impulsive. She buys the dress—and embarks on an adventure. Her first stop: the iconic brasserie Les Deux Magots, where Stella tastes her first oysters and then meets an octogenarian art collector who decides to take her under his wing. As Jules introduces Stella to a veritable who’s who of the Paris literary, art, and culinary worlds, she begins to understand what it might mean to live a larger life.

Thank you to @netgalley for the ARC! I enjoyed this cute story so much. Was it unrealistic? Of course (hot take: French people are not as nice as they were in this book), but that didn’t make it any less charming or heartwarming. I really loved how Stella was able to come into her own and start enjoying her life as she spent more time and made more friends in Paris. I also really enjoyed Stella‘s quest to find out more about what happened to Victorine and her lost art. And the descriptions of food made my mouth water! My only complaint is that there is a scene of child SA early on in the book that came almost out of no where and was quite upsetting. It played a part in Stella’s development and growth in the book, but it was a bit more graphic than I think was necessary, and I did not see any trigger warnings for it so it completely took me by surprise. I think that could’ve been handled and written about in a better way. Otherwise this was an enjoyable and heartwarming read.

I love Ruth Reichl, I really do, but this book started with child abuse and I immediately needed to DNF. I love her food books and will stick to those. This book needs a trigger warning. Thanks for the opportunity to review.

Sometimes, I just want to be charmed because life is heavy enough. I want to read a novel that intersects food, fashion, and Paris and I want to be charmed. The Paris Novel does just that (minus the beginning, which seems the author felt she needed in order to explain why our protagonist has gone through life seemingly alone with great rigidity but that further lead to her appreciation of art).

This novel is the equivalent of a cosy, warm blanket. It's a reminder that you can come of age at any time in your life and that we are constantly becoming new versions of ourselves. The author is a chef and food writer so it's not surprising the portions of this book dedicated to food are crafted lovingly and with great thought.

Are some moments utterly predictable? Absolutely. However, if you'd like to be taken out of your life for a few hours and planted into a nook at Shakespeare & Co, a market in Paris, or the kitchen of a Parisian restaurant, check it out with a cup of tea in hand. It's enjoyable.

There were some things I really liked about The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl. The settings were extremely well written. The details of the French food were so thorough that I felt I could see and taste the meals. The characters felt authentic and interesting.
However, for most of the story it felt like nothing really happened. This did not deter me from reading, as I love reading about Paris.
Overall, I did enjoy reading The Paris Novel. I give it 3 out of 5 stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I was initially intrigued by the cover and description of this novel. Throughout it I found our main character to be intriguing, but actually believed the other characters to have more depth. My primary love of this novel was that I found myself to be transported into Paris. Every paragraph had a rich depiction of French scenery to the point that it felt as though the story was more focused on the setting than the characters/plot. I am unsure of whether or not the author did this purposefully, but found it to be a very novel way of story telling and would love to see more books written in this fashion. Unfortunately, I did find there to be a pacing issue in that at times the book came to a standstill at the overwhelming descriptions. I would love to read another book by this author, preferably one with a faster pacing.

I love Ruth Reich's food and memoir writing and enjoyed this fictional novel about the adventures of an American woman in Paris. She ends up going there after her mother left her money in her will to go have an adventure. She had a difficult relationship with her mother and a terrible childhood, not knowing who her biological father was. The writing is part fairy tale and a love letter to Paris. Her writing touches on all of our senses - her descriptions about taste, sight, smell, touch and sounds really stand out in her writing and makes this an enjoyable read. There are many threads to the story but she does end up wrapping them all up in the end which makes it an enjoyable romantic read. Jimmy Baldwin makes an appearance among others, which were interesting touches. She also describes dishes at famous restaurants and on my next visit to Paris, I plan to visit. Also really interesting is her visit to a famous restaurant Les Troisgros, which is the subject of a recent documentary by Frederick Wiseman called "Menus-Plaisirs - Les Troisgros." An enjoyable read (once you get past the beginning and her traumatic childhood!).

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC and I voluntarily left this review.

Started off a bit slow but ended on such a high note. The descriptions of clothing/food/art made you feel as though you were in Paris. The complexities of the relationships in the book and the main character feeling lonely, are relatable. Overall an excellent book.

Stella has lived a very sheltered, quiet, regimented life. When her difficult mother dies, she is bequethed a small amount of money with the stipulation that she must travel to Paris. Stella's world is opened up as she finally discovers what she was meant to do.
Trigger warning for abuse

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.