—Book Review—
Title: Jacqueline in Paris
Author: Ann Mah
Publisher: Mariner
Genre: Historical Fiction
@bookfriendsbookclub October Book #1. We did an impromptu zoom last night and it was so much fun!!!
Jacqueline in Paris is book I’m so torn about. For me, it was very much a love letter to Paris and that with author’s Ann Mah’s beautiful lyrical writing, I enjoyed. But, otherwise I found it kinda slow and I made the mistake as a reader so focused on learning more about “Jackie O” when I had to remind myself that this was a book about Jacqueline Bouvier; from the fall from 1949 to the summer of 1950 when she spent one glorious year abroad before she would have to give into her families social pressures. Do you think there is something to timing of books? It’s October and I want faster paced books. If this book was released in the summer I could visualize myself sitting poolside or just in the sunshine with a glass of rose’ (or champagne like Jacqueline!) and taking my time with this read. Not a care in the world. Not at all thinking it’s slow…
“And yet I felt something stirring within me, an indefinable hunger to do more. Paris was awakening me, giving me an energy I hadn’t felt before, challenging me to commit to something larger than myself. But what?”
Jacqueline has a love interest throughout most of the book, but what I found most fascinating was learning about France post war. They were still rationing, still weary of people with nest of spies filled with suspicion & deception. The host family Jacqueline stayed with was part of the French Resistance just a few years before! Jacqueline gets a front seat watching the rise of communism. There is so much tucked into this quiet book!
“But I cherished the moments I spent alone, lost in a book, or, more often, my dreams and imagination.”
Rating: 3.5-4 ⭐️’s Like I said, I’m torn. I did, also really connect to Jacqueline’s character. She was a booknerd, loved to travel, loved history, and was ceasing the moment. She was her own person. She didn’t need other people to like her; She needed to like herself. I will also give this author a try again!
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