This novel was not what I expected. It turns out that it is really about the struggles of two women, one in the present time and one in the past. One struggles to save her marriage and the other struggles to find a way to survive in the early twentieth century Paris. Basically a romance novel and unfortunately not much of a mystery. The best part was the Sotheby's auction at the end ... some tension there with the sale of the apartment's antique furniture and the Boldini painting. But if you are looking for a mystery I'm afraid this will disappoint. Mostly good debut novel In the movie "Julie and Julia," a young woman named Julie who attempts over 500 of Julia Child's recipes. The movie flips between the present day and Julia Child's history. That structure came to mind when I read this book, especially when I felt the past was a lot more compelling than the present day story. April Vogt is an appraiser and she been contracted to assess furniture and the like in a Paris apartment (get it??). What's the big deal? The apartment has been unopened and unoccupied for 70+ years. The rent had always been paid, but the owner left it untouched. Why? What's in it? What's the story? Told through a series of journal entries, we meet Marthe, a young woman trying to make it on her own. She has a rivalry/hatred of Jeanne Hugo, granddaughter of celebrated author Victor. Why? And what is Marthe going to do, as an orphan with no name and no fortunes to make it? Meanwhile, April has come to Paris and has to deal with a multitude of issues. Her distant father and unavailable mother (this is revealed throughout the book), her rocky marriage, and a handsome French solicitor. Honestly, April's story tended to become less and less compelling as the book went on. I really didn't care about her marital troubles and while I was somewhat surprised to see how her story ended, it wasn't really enough to make me care too much. The book's strengths are really about Marthe, although towards the end I felt it was weakly tied together with April's story. This book is arguably a work of historical fiction, because in 2010 there really was an apartment found in Paris, and many of the people in Marthe's writings really existed. The two men April works with (aside from the solicitor) apparently really do exist and their names were in the articles about the actual apartment. However, there is an air of mystery, since the real identity of the owner is currently unknown due to privacy laws in France, and I wonder exactly where exactly did the author begin taking liberties. Still, I was pleased with this overall. For some reason I mixed this up with "An Unexpected Guest." (I thought this book was "Guest's" story). Sadly I was wrong with the former, but glad I decided to go ahead and read this anyway. Probably a good airplane or long car ride read.
What do You think about The Paris Apartment (2014)?
Едва я дочетох! Препускайки по страниците!
—Demetrixs
Maybe 2.5 stars. Great concept, but disjointed and uneven.
—valerieh320
