Monday, August 24, 2015

Review: A Paris Apartment


the lowdown
Sotheby's Continental furniture specialist April Vogt is traveling to France after her boss tells her that they have discovered an apartment. This is her chance to escape from New York. April learns that the owner, Marthe de Florian, was once a renowned courtesan who had her portrait painted by Giovanni Boldini. Her story begins to unravel as April sorts through all the furniture and finds her diaries. Not only learning about Marthe's life and unmoving her past, April is also rediscovering herself and the life she left behind in New York before coming to Paris.

Michelle Gable wrote this beautiful novel and it made me want to visit Paris and get lost in its history. The story of Marthe is an interesting one that keeps April invested in the apartment. Its the same way that Gable kept the novel interesting. The two different women portrayed in the novel allowed them to grow and invest in rediscovering herself (April). I found myself never wanting the book to end and just wanted to reread it right after I finished. I liked how Gable is able to flip back to New York and Paris and she gave April that history that every character needs in order to grow throughout the novel.

the good
  • Gable is able to keep you interested in the novel and it is a page turner. You want to find out what else April found and if there is something new that happened in Marthe's life. Its a great way to see how the material items in a persons life can hold so much history without one knowing.
  • April and Marthe are both strong characters that each grow throughout the novel and show how each person can rediscover themselves if they take the time. These ladies are easy to relate to since they each have different characteristics. 

the bad
  • The story does flip flop a lot between the characters. One minute you're reading about April and the next its about Marthe. You have to keep up with who is who and its easy to differentiate but it can get a bit confusing if you aren't paying attention.

the quote
"Life moves on, the world moves on, the seeds we plant continue to grow."

skip it/borrow it/buy it
 I would recommend buying it because it is a good weekend read if you need an imaginative escape from reality.

overall score:8/10
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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