Name: The Emperor of Paris
ISBN: 9780385670906

C. S. Richardson

An illiterate Parisian baker and a deformed reclusive woman form an unlikely romance.

The Emperor of Paris

Erin 

3.5 stars. Do not get me wrong; this is a beautiful book. I don't know if I've ever read a novel that has captured Paris and its essence so perfectly as The Emperor of Paris did. While at first I was irritated it was taking me so long to get through, I realised that a book such as this one is meant to be cherished; read little by little, making its magic last as long as possible. This is by far the best way to enjoy this book.

That being said, while reading it I am reminded of the Latin term "non sequitur", which means "it does not follow." There are so many stories that interlace in this book that it often feels a new chapter has nothing to do with the previous one, or in fact, nothing to do with the theme set up at all. In particular, it feels like this book jumps through time, visiting different generations at different points in their lives, with no real explanation as to which part of the life of which character you are currently in. Not only that, but there is not a single quotation mark in the entire book. That is not to say that there is no dialogue - there is plenty of it, poetically written - but there is not a single quotation mark. This makes it very hard to read without giving your fullest, utmost attention, which I almost never do. Couple that with the jumping timelines, and this book is very capable of leaving the reader confused for a good majority of it.

The story is about a baker and his son, neither of whom can read. It is also about a disfigured girl who restores paintings in the basement of the Louvre. The summary suggests that they are meant to embark on a life together as one, but wouldn't it frustrate you to know that they do not meet until the very last page? I'm talking "last 2 minutes of Sleepless in Seattle at the Empire State Building" kind of last minute. There are plenty of quirky extra characters that help their journey along (which, mind you, only really starts about halfway through the book after a very long build-up), including a charming bookseller (my personal favourite) and a struggling artist who sketches the girl's portrait. It is this portrait, in fact, which the baker's son buys from the bookseller, that unites the two of them after a long journey, which is completely adorable of course and I would love to see that in a film. I just wish it didn't take quite so long to get there.

But the thing is, despite the fact that I did have to push myself to finish this and I often got frustrated with not being able to follow along with the many interlocking stories, I find this book to be strangely charming. The writing is beautiful, and the way certain timelines were written (when they were in order and made sense, that is) made the story flow poetically. I especially enjoyed the sequence about the baker going off to war. What could have been a dreadful chapter about violence and loss blended seamlessly into this love letter of a story. The book isn't about WWI at all, but you cannot have a story take place in early 20th century Paris without mentioning it, and it was mentioned wonderfully. In a long winded explanation, despite the fact that I cannot tell you what happens in this book from beginning to end, I finish it with not only joy, but also sorrow that the story is over. I hope that one day, someone will look at this Canadian book and make a charming French romance film, because it could showcase only in the best way, the beauty of Paris and the impossibility of not falling in love while within it.

The Emperor of Paris

Reviews

Highlights