Paris Never Leaves You

Ellen Feldman

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN:
  9781760855901
• eBook ISBN:
  9781760855918
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literature General
• Index: Literature

A young mother struggling to survive Nazi-occupied Paris makes a desperate choice to save her child — a secret so devastating it follows her across continents and into a new life in 1950s New York. But no matter how far Charlotte runs, the past refuses to let her go.

Paris, 1944. In the shadow of Nazi occupation, Charlotte Foret clings to survival with her infant daughter, Vivi, working in a tiny bookshop where every day feels like borrowed time. But when Vivi falls dangerously ill, Charlotte is forced to make a desperate choice — accepting help from a man she never imagined she could trust, a decision that will haunt her for the rest of her life.

Years later, far from war-torn France, Charlotte has built a new life amid the glittering world of 1950s New York publishing. Elegant, composed, and fiercely protective of the daughter she sacrificed everything to save, she is determined to bury the secrets of Paris forever. But the past has a way of refusing to stay hidden.

Because Charlotte is not simply a victim of war — she is a survivor who made impossible choices in order to live. Choices that could destroy everything if the truth ever comes to light.

Sweeping, emotional, and unforgettable, Paris Never Leaves You is a deeply moving story of love, survival, motherhood, and the devastating cost of keeping the past buried.

‘Masterful, magnificent. A passionate story of survival. This story will stay with me for a long time.’ Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz

‘Amid the glut of World War II fiction, Ellen Feldman’s nuanced romance stands out, its shifting sands of perception and reality set against a backdrop of Nazi-occupied Paris.’ Australian Women’s Weekly

‘A thrilling achievement ... I was thoroughly drawn into a deep, rich, vivid world of engrossing characters and emotional and moral crises ... a great piece of writing in every way.' Forbes

‘This beautiful novel tells the bittersweet story of a young mother's strength and survival during WWII, effortlessly capturing the terror, immediacy, and inextinguishable human spirit.’ Noelle Salazar, author of The Flight Girls

'With more twists and turns than the back streets of Paris, the story is as propulsively readable as a spy novel, and as rich and psychologically rewarding as only the finest literature can be.’ Liza Gyllenhaal, author of Bleeding Heart

‘An exquisite novel that gives us what we’re hungry for: an intelligent, complex female character who challenges our ideas of right and wrong, morality and immorality. Feldman achieves all of this with admirable precision and wit; she takes aim and does not miss.’ Elizabeth J Church, author of All the Beautiful Girls

'Completely compelling. I tore through it. This novel pivots on how we manage to survive surviving ... Charlotte's visceral story will stay with me.’ Naomi Wood, author of Mrs Hemingway

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Prologue
• Chapter One
• Chapter Two
• Chapter Three
• Chapter Four
• Chapter Five
• Chapter Six
• Chapter Seven
• Chapter Eight
• Chapter Nine
• Chapter Ten
• Chapter Eleven
• Chapter Twelve
• Chapter Thirteen
• Chapter Fourteen
• Chapter Fifteen
• Chapter Sixteen
• Chapter Seventeen
• Chapter Eighteen
• A Note on Sources and Acknowledgments
• Reading Group Guide
• ‘Return to Berlin’ Teaser
• About the Author
• Copyright