"Paris: The Novel" by Edward Rutherfurd (Ballantine Books 2013)

I don't read a whole lot of fiction, but when I do, my favorite are the historical fiction novels by Edward Rutherfurd.  I always get really exited when a new one comes out and I think I have read all eight of them now.  I was particularly excited when I saw that his latest one was about Paris, my favorite city.  I think this might have been my favorite of them all!

If you aren't familiar with Rutherfurd's books, they all feature a particular city or region and follow a set of families over hundreds of years.  The families intermingle in varied ways -- some generations hate each other; some are best friends or marry each other.  The characters also interact with actual historical figures and events in a realistic way.  Some books start as early as prehistoric times while "Paris" goes back as far as 1261.  One thing that was different about this book was that instead of being written in a straight chronological order, the story jumps back and forth over time.  So, for example, Chapter One starts in 1875; Chapter Two skips ahead to 1883; and Chapter Three jumps back to 1261.  I thought at first this would be confusing but I ended up really liking this format.  Things would happen in a chapter you were reading and then a later chapter would reveal how it got to that point.  It was kind of an "aha" moment when what you read earlier became clear.  I enjoyed the discovery aspect of that.

Another reason I particularly enjoyed this book was because I know Paris pretty well, having been there five times at the time I read the book a couple of months ago -- I have since been back there one more time.  Consequently, I knew exactly where many the events in the book were taking place and could visualize everything that much better.  I really need to go back and read the books that are set in London and Dublin, having been to each of those cities a couple of times recently.  I imagine I would enjoy those books even better now for the same reason.

One thing that might scare some people from reading this book is the length, at 805 pages.  However, I read it more quickly than you might expect because it easily held my interest.  I had a number of periods where I read for several hours straight because I couldn't put the book down.

This and all the books by Edward Rutherfurd are ideal for lovers of history as well as those who tend to be bored by non-fiction books because you get to learn about the history of a location in an interesting yet non-academic way.   This would also be a great book to read before visiting Paris (or the setting of any of the other books).  I definitely recommend it.

Miss Mackenzie -- Anthony Trollope (1865, 1986)

In case you are unfamiliar with Anthony Trollope, let be begin with a brief introduction. Trollope is a mid-19th century fiction author from England. His books deal mostly with the class system of England at that time, usually with a sarcastic tone.

I discovered Trollope almost by accident. Melinda and I were at Barnes & Noble several years ago and there was a table by the registered with books on sale for 75% off. There were many of Trollope's books on the table for about $1 each. The themes of the books reminded me of Jane Austen, one of my favorite authors, so I thought I'd try a few. I bought four, and after reading a couple wished I had bought more. I have bought more since, although not at that price!

"Miss Mackenzie" is not among the best Trollope books I have read, but was still entertaining. Miss Mackenzie is a thirty-something woman who finds herself suddenly wealthy after her brother leaves her money in his will. She had been pennyless before this and therefore essentially unable to marry. Plus, she had spent the past years caring for her brother while he was ill, as she did her father before that. Not surprisingly, now that she has money, three men begin to pursue her. However, she is not sure she wants any of them. Eventually, questions arise regarding her entitlement to the inheritance and she becomes involved in a love triangle of sorts.

The first half of this book moves very quickly, with lots of dialogue. The second half of the book is more laborious to read because Trollope tends to get involved in detailed descriptions of people and places that to me seems unnecesary. So I frequently skimmed through pages until I got to areas of more extensinve dialogue. This is a part of Trollope's writing style that I have found to be the case with many of Trollope's books.

All in all, I thought this was a good book. However, I wouldn't recommend it to someone with no previous experience with Trollope. I would recommend that a Trollope newbie begin with "Can You Fogive Her?" or "The Warden" which are the first books of the Palliser Series and the Barchester Sseries, respectively. Both of these series have been made into BBC miniseries which I hope to have the chance to see at some point. They are both in my Netflix queue!

Rating: 3 stars out of 5.