The last hours in Paris (Ruth Druart)

After her novel “While Paris Slept”, Ruth Druart comes back with another amazing story.

We are in Paris in 1944-1945. A chance encounter brings together Élise, a French employee in a bank, and Sebastian, a German translator in the army occupying Paris. Although everything seems to separate them, they ally to challenge the system they have to live in and they realise their deep connection and feelings for each other. But when Paris is liberated, they are torn apart, and in the chaos of these times, they both believe the other has died. In 1963, Élise’s daughter discoveries unveil the truth, bring back the raw pain of the past, and opens the path for atonement, forgiveness and peace.

I found this book extremely moving and emotionally challenging. The characters, especially Élise, Sebastian and Soisick are strong and admirable but they suffer greatly and they have to go through unimaginable hardships, like so many people in occupied France. The author has researched these years so well, and spoken to so many people, that her description of life in Paris in those days is very vivid and I felt totally immersed in the story and atmosphere. Some themes run through the various parts of the story and the perspectives of the characters: making the wrong choices for the right reasons, keeping the truth from others, struggling to be someone they don’t want to be, burying their feelings to block the pain, and the sadness of all the wrongs that cannot be undone.

It is a heavy story, and it will bring tears to your eyes, but it is also a beautiful story of redemption and of people’s ability to get through even the harshest times. An amazing book.