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April in Paris: A Novel Audiobook
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(3.00) - 618 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
A suspenseful and dramatic story of impossible love between a German soldier and a French Resistance fighter in World War Two Paris. In 1943, Michel Roth is a young soldier working in the German army’s back offices in occupied Paris. But his fluency in French gets Roth a new task when the Gestapo find themselves in need of a translator for the confessions of interrogated French resisters. After work Roth chooses another path – he slips out of his hotel carrying a bag of civilian clothes and steals into an alley where he changes personas, becoming Monsieur Antoine, a young Frenchman. He strolls the streets of Paris, where one day he meets Chantal, daughter of an antiquarian bookseller. They fall in love, and when Chantal warns him away from the notorious café Turachevsky, favoured nightspot for German officers and the French women who entertain them, Michel believes it is out of jealousy. Too late he discovers that she is a member of the Resistance, and his naiveté leaves Michel on the other side of the SS interrogation machine. What follows is a tale of desperate cat and mouse through Paris, and into the devastated French countryside at the end of the war, when neighbours are quick to betray neighbours, and even to take revenge into their own hands.
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"I felt the story was well constructed, I was able to experience the brutality of war in ways not usually spelled out. The young Germans anguish in coming to terms with his position was carefully executed."
— Kathleen (4 out of 5 stars)
April in Paris Listener Reviews
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" audiobook. great reader. interesting perspective. "
— Teddy, 2/2/2014 -
" Quick read. Not bad. Loved the French and descriptions of Paris but not the story so much "
— Barbara, 1/19/2014 -
" OK book, if you're interested in war history. "
— Kristin, 1/13/2014 -
" Misogynist crap. Shouldn't have been published. "
— Jenna, 1/6/2014 -
" It was good, but was a little different than I thought it would be. It has a German soldier sent to France because he can speak French without a german accent. He turns into a Frenchman when he isn't working, and falls in love with a girl. But this girl is really tricking him, because she knows he is a german soldier, and she is part of the resistance. He gets injured a lot and he travels across france to get to the girl, but she ended up dying before he got there. It is interesting being in his mind during interrogations and when he is acting like a frenchman, it shows worry and guilt and being ashamed and how he does everything he can to avoid actually going into the war. He also shows how he would do anything for this girl, even though she is against him most of the book. "
— Courtney, 12/24/2013 -
" This is an excellent book because it is never what you expect. The characters are an atypical match for a WWII love story and that is what makes it worth reading. "
— Caitlin, 12/22/2013 -
" This was a quick read set in WW II Paris. I felt that the characters should have been more well developed. While I was interested in the outcome of the plot, I did not really feel for the main character or his love. "
— Michelle, 12/8/2013 -
" Good story, and one that makes you think about how an ordinary, non-Nazi German soldier deals with the war. I wanted to know more about him, though, and I didn't get that. Perhaps there will be a sequel to this as the ends are not neatly tied up with this one. "
— Melissa, 12/6/2013 -
" I contemplated 4 stars...but it really didn't even approach the extraodinary. I was interested enough to read it all in one afternoon...but it didn't wow me. "
— Allison, 11/23/2013 -
" Paris 1943. Young German soldier becomes a French-interpreter for the Third Reich and falls in love with a French girl during the last years of WWII. He sits in on brutal interviews/tortures with people who are her friends. He gets too close to Germany's enemies. War is Hell. "
— Mom, 9/28/2013 -
" Interesting storyline from a different perspective. "
— Michael, 9/4/2013 -
" the narrator avoids the front line of the war by working as a translator. When he is sent to Paris he falls in love with a Parisian so by night he tries to pass himself off as a Parisian. Not a love story with a happy ending but a good quick read and more insight into the realities of wartime. "
— Nova, 4/19/2013 -
" Good reader but I started losing interest half way through. Maybe it was just me, I guess I really prefer non fiction in the car. "
— Joyce, 6/8/2012 -
" An SS officer and a French Resistance fighter fall in love. What to do? "
— Tom, 11/15/2011 -
" Very good read. Interesting love story set in Paris during World War II occupation. Incredibly an interesting look inside what it was to be a Nazi soldier/interrogation in Paris. "
— Shelly, 9/22/2011 -
" Not a "great novel of the great war" but I was sucked in pretty quick. Graphic descriptions of torture were a turn off, but were necessary to draw the conflict facing the protagonist. "
— Julie, 8/8/2011 -
" Just another in a long list of the horrors of Nazi Paris...what a nightmare! "
— Julia, 6/14/2011 -
" Not a "great novel of the great war" but I was sucked in pretty quick. Graphic descriptions of torture were a turn off, but were necessary to draw the conflict facing the protagonist. "
— Julie, 4/17/2011 -
" Misogynist crap. Shouldn't have been published. "
— Jenna, 11/4/2010 -
" This book was loaned to me so I was not sure about it but I found it a great story, A true love story and so sad "
— Doreen, 9/23/2010 -
" I finally finished listening to this book and am sorry to say that I cannot recommend it. The concept of a German soldier falling in love with a member of the French resistance had lots of promise, but the author fell short, especially in his creation of his main character. "
— Addie, 8/15/2010 -
" Saw the ending coming, not much suspense there. "
— DeeW, 7/15/2010 -
" If you liked 'The Reader,' and be honest - you did, this is a wonderful follow-up. You have to hand it to the author, the sense of time and place created through his historical accuracy is the gold standard for period-story writing. "
— Matt, 7/7/2010 -
" OK book, if you're interested in war history. "
— Kristin, 4/20/2010 -
" A quick read, some suspense, interesting take on occupied Paris during WW2, but overall rather forgettable. The Romance part was pretty unconvincing. This book tried to move me but fell far short "
— Craig, 3/9/2010
About Paul Michael
Paul Michael, winner of several Earphones Awards, has also won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. He has acted on stage, radio, television, and in feature films in Canada, Great Britain, and the United States. He has had leading roles in series and made-for-television movies and has guest starred in such series as VIP and Alias. He has been nominated for a Canadian Emmy and has recorded over 150 audiobooks, including the international bestseller The Da Vinci Code.