“Paris” by Edward Rutherfurd – Experiencing the City of Light

Paris is one of those cities pretty much everyone has heard of; one of the global capitals of the world, it has a very long, rich and turbulent history behind it. Walking through its streets is like setting foot in a time machine, with practically every square inch of the city having some kind of story to tell. 

However, many of us will never have the time to settle in the city and explore all it has to offer, which is the goal of Paris, an epic novel by Edward Rutherfurd which covers over seven hundred years of the city’s history, starting with the building of Notre-Dame in 1261 and going all the way to the riots of 1968.

There are many things that make this book a truly special one in the world of literature, starting with the main character, the city itself. Indeed, the main player here is Paris, and the author does a great job of depicting it is a beast that lives and breathes rather than a collection people, wood and stone. Naturally, we do follow the events of certain characters and families, but no matter how likeable they may be, in the end, they are expendable and get lost in time.

This is a book that not only teaches you about Paris, its history and the way of life, but that allows you to experience it. It shows that Rutherford took care to do all of the necessary research, for every story is depicted with a fascinating amount of detail from the perspective of the people who lived during that time. 

In other words, you actually get to walk through, hear, smell and feel the Paris of the past rather than simply read about it. While the stories themselves are interesting, the true beauty lies in the City of Light itself.

Naturally, this isn’t the kind of novel everyone will appreciate; if you prefer fast-paced stories that will keep you on the edge of your seat, then I recommend you skip over this. However, if you don’t mind reading a slower-paced story, turn your imagination dial to 11 and experience what can perhaps be described as a surrealistic world, one we will probably never see again, then I highly recommend you have a look through this masterpiece.

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Edward Rutherfurd (Francis Edward Wintle) Personal site Edward Rutherfurd is a pen name used by Francis Edward Wintle. Francis Edward Wintle is an English novelist whose most popular works consist of epic historical novels, as was proficiently demonstrated in his acclaimed debut novel, Sarum, which set the stage for a story arc spanning ten thousand years. His novels are titled after cities and countries, and some of the other more popular ones include Russka, London, and New York.