Paris Never Leaves You

‘Masterful, magnificent. A passionate story of survival. This story will stay with me for a long time.’ — Heather Morris, author of The Tattooist of Auschwitz

The war is over, but the past is never past …

Paris, 1944. Charlotte Foret is working in a tiny bookstore in Nazi-occupied Paris, struggling to stay alive and keep her baby Vivi safe. Every day they live through is a miracle until Vivi becomes gravely ill. In desperation, Charlotte accepts help from an unlikely saviour – and her life is changed forever.

Charlotte is no victim. She is a survivor. But the truth of what happened in Paris is something she knows she can never share with anyone, including her daughter. Can she ever really leave Paris behind and embrace the next chapter of her life?

Seamlessly interweaving Charlotte’s past in wartime Paris and her present in the 1950s world of New York publishing, Paris Never Leaves You is a heartbreakingly moving and unforgettable story of resilience, love – and impossible choices.

‘Amid the glut of World War II fiction, Ellen Feldman’s nuanced romance stands out, its shifting sands of perception and reality set against a backdrop of Nazi-occupied Paris.’ Australian Women’s Weekly

‘A thrilling achievement ... I was thoroughly drawn into a deep, rich, vivid world of engrossing characters and emotional and moral crises ... a great piece of writing in every way.’ Forbes

‘This beautiful novel tells the bittersweet story of a young mother's strength and survival during WWII, effortlessly capturing the terror, immediacy, and inextinguishable human spirit.’ Noelle Salazar, author of The Flight Girls

‘With more twists and turns than the back streets of Paris, the story is as propulsively readable as a spy novel, and as rich and psychologically rewarding as only the finest literature can be.’ Liza Gyllenhaal, author of Bleeding Heart

‘An exquisite novel that gives us what we’re hungry for: an intelligent, complex female character who challenges our ideas of right and wrong, morality and immorality. Feldman achieves all of this with admirable precision and wit; she takes aim and does not miss.’ Elizabeth J Church, author of All the Beautiful Girls

‘Completely compelling. I tore through it. This novel pivots on how we manage to survive surviving ... Charlotte's visceral story will stay with me.’ Naomi Wood, author of Mrs Hemingway