Key elements of this book:
Paris setting
1980s time period
James Baldwin
Finding oneself
Eden has dreamt of going to Paris for most of her life. Even as she works in the basement of a former plantation, she dreams of the freedom of Paris, and to walk the same streets as her literary hero James Baldwin. She imagines herself living there, finally going after her dream of being a writer. She will meet James Baldwin and he will take her under his wing.
The year is 1986, and Paris has been under assault for weeks before Eden arrives. Bombs are going off at an alarming frequency, and no one knows where the next will be. It's a time when "Terrorism was so popular that there were full-page ads in the International Herald Tribune offering hijacking insurance to frequent flyers" (5). But she is here. Eden is finally in Paris, and she only has a moment to think about panicking when she meets the first of many friends who help her through the troubled and lonesome times that lay ahead.
Youngblood paints Paris as a city with two sides. It's beautiful and full of art and music and poetry, but it's also a city with darkness, danger, and hate. The reader sees Eden's longing to embrace this new life of hers, this freedom she escaped to Paris for, but we also see her afraid to reach for it; to take that final step into her new self.
There is so much in this story. So much nuance. It's almost like a dream. Vignettes told out of order with no concept of time. The narrative never fully allows the reader to get their bearings, something that turns out to be one of the best parts about the book. It's only in the end, when Eden goes to the South of France (a place where she hopes to finally meet Baldwin) that we can get a grasp on time.
Things I like about the book:
Paris (bien sur!)
Historical facts sprinkled throughout the story. Bombings in Paris, student protests, mass deportations by the French government.
Eden's relationships.
This is a short, understated book, but lovers of literary fiction or stories that take place in France will enjoy being transported to 1980s Paris as experienced by a young, Black woman willing to take a huge chance to follow her dreams.
*Content Warnings: Police brutality against minorities and talk of child sexual abuse (not graphic).
In 2021 when my husband and I moved from Central North Carolina to Central Arkansas, I donated hundreds of books. These were paperbacks and hardbacks I'd been collecting for YEARS! All gone because we were moving into a small house that wouldn't accommodate the two dozen boxes of books I had.
I made a promise to myself then that I wouldn't collect books anymore. I would buy them, read them, and sell or donate 95% of them. After all, I was still taking almost a dozen boxes of books with me.
Flash forward to 2025 when we purchased our first home and were packing our rental. Once more, I was looking at two dozen boxes of books. Instead of donating a ton of them, I decided I would (at some point) start reading them.
That point has come quickly, friends. With the rising costs of books, the decision as to when I would begin reading them has been made. With paperbacks ranging from $18 - $22, and hardbacks bumping up to $30, I have realized my days of book buying are over. Unless it's secondhand or from a bargain store like Dollar Tree or Ollie's, that is.
What better reason to start reading down my TBR!?
So, this year I'll be concentrating on my endless stacks and utilizing my library even more for those 2026 "must read" publications.
I'll be getting back to my reviews, but wanted to give fair warning that there will be some blasts from the past.
A friend reminded me the other day that many books never really die. They're always on someone's shelf just waiting to be discovered. I'm looking forward to see what can be discovered this year!
Happy reading!
Total transparency: this is not a great book. The story is shallow, there's no character development, the use of ly-adverbs is overwhelming, and I couldn't care about anyone (even Eve) because there was very little story inside this book.
That being said, it is a tremendous achievement for someone who had major brain surgery to remove a malignant tumor only a year before. This book isn't just another example that publishers will sell anything from their big-name authors just to make a buck. It is a testament to the extreme effort Sophie Kinsella has put into piecing her life back together since having a glioblastoma tumor removed from her brain in 2022. Much like her main character, Eve, Sophie had to learn how to do everything again, even write.
So, I've decided not to rate this book. Because, as far as the story goes, it would get a low rating from me. But Sophie Kinsella's story gets five stars. I wish the author all the best and hope she continues to flourish despite the incurable cancer she's living with.
