“Paris”

Edward Rutherfurd

I’ve read several of Rutherfurd’s place-based epic historical novels. They follow the Michener pattern: interlocked stories of fictional characters that take place in one location over hundreds or thousands of years. The model works; I’ve enjoyed them all.

“Paris” — which I had the good fortune to read in Paris — is a little different in that there are fewer time lines. His main focus is on the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a result the characters in this book are more fully developed — and a more interesting — than the ones in his previous books.

This was my favorite book of his that I’ve read so far.