Life...The Vivere

ARTFUL READERS REVIEW 

"THE PARIS ARCHITECT" by Charles Belfoure 

September 23, 2016 

Hello Dear Ones,

I've been so negligent in keeping up my blog entries...I've missed the time to create some art for different challenges, but I DO keep reading. Building a new house takes lots of time, meetings and decisions but we're nearing the end...or should I say, a new beginning? I'm hoping you're all OK.

What an interesting and fast-moving book this is... Lucien is a young architect in 1942 Paris, France. He's struggling, along with so many others, during his city's Nazi occupation. His marriage is childless and crumbling, when into his life walks a wealthy French industrialist (who's sympathetic to the plight of the Jews.) He's got a profitable offer for this out-of-work architect who's anxious to advance his career. He commissions Lucien to build huge, important factories to help France with its war effort...(and help the German army as a byproduct!) Driven by his need to make a living as well as to prove himself a clever architect and gain a successful reputation, he additionally agrees to help the industrialist by designing expertly concealed hiding places in apartments for persecuted Jews... behind a painting in a wall, within a support column, inside a drainpipe, under some enclosed stairs...places invisible to the average eye. Some of these Jews are friends of the industrialist, some are not. Taking life-threatening risks, at first it was to challenge his design imagination and outwit the unrelenting Nazis. But after one of his hiding places fails, he becomes personally involved in the effort to do all he can to help these suffering, hunted people.

"THE PARIS ARCHITECT " is a powerful portrayal of a people under occupation. Many of the French people struggled to save themselves while others added saving the hunted to their personal struggle. There's much darkness in this book as in any book written about this horror-filled period of history, but Belfoure balances it with a sense of hope and salvation. If you're a fan of historical fiction, this book presents an unusual twist on a familiar WWII theme. Highly recommended!!

Wishing you the best days and a peaceful, happy heart...

Big Hugs,

abbyj