User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
One had a duty to survive, for all the others who couldn’t.
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Years of hunger, fear, deprivation--these things can change a good person into a bad person.
Occupied Paris, March 1944. Jean-Luc, 21, is a railway worker, who had dropped out of school six years ago. He is posted at the Bobigny rail station in suburban Paris. It is adjacent to Drancy, a German transit camp. Jews are being transported to concentration camps, but that is something that locals
believe, without being
totally certain, as the trains depart overnight, and Jean-Luc has not actually seen any of them leave. (thus,
While Paris Slept) Still, he had promised his father, who had been conscripted to forced labor in Germany two years before, that he would take care of the family, so does not feel free to just take off and join the Maquis. Things found on the platforms and rails support the rumors of dark Nazi deeds, motivating him to act. While trying to sabotage a rail line, hoping to at least interfere with the transport of Drancy prisoners to points east, Jean-Luc suffers a broken leg.
He meets Charlotte de la Villy, a young French woman, in the German hospital to which he is taken. She is a volunteer nurse there. Charlotte (Charlie) would also like to find some way to resist. They become involved in short order.
Ruth Druart - her Twitter profile pic
Sarah and David are desperate. Jews are being rounded up. Sarah gives birth at home to Samuel. Soon after, she is arrested and taken to Drancy, with her baby. David has been taken too. When the train on which she is to be shipped to Auschwitz has to be temporarily unloaded because of a mechanical problem, she sees her chance. Making the most difficult decision of her life, she dashes to Jean-Luc, who is working on the track, thrusts her baby at him and begs him to look after Samuel.
Druart, born on the Isle of Wight and educated in Leicester, moved to Paris in 1993, where she remains a teacher. The many memorials to those lost during World War II piqued her interest. Sparked on by one outside a school noting that 260 students had been taken by the Nazis, none returned, Druart started looking into what had gone on in Paris during the German occupation. She had been working on the novel for some years when she took a sabbatical to complete it.
The accommodation block at Drancy with French gendarme on guard - image from Wikipedia
The story is told in (mostly) two places and time periods, Spring 1944, during the German occupation of Paris, and 1953 in the USA and in France.
In 1953 Jean-Luc and Charlotte are living, with Sam, in Santa Cruz, California, thrilled to be in America. Until a knock at the door turns their lives upside down. I can’t really say why without spoiling things. Suffice it to say that their heroic deed was flawed, and an error in judgment comes back to haunt them.
This novel is not just about a heart-breaking sundering of family. What counts as parenthood? What crimes might you commit in the best interests of your child? What are you willing to sacrifice to be able to offer your child the best chance at a good life? What makes a child
your child? It also looks at wider social, political, and moral issues. What can one do to interfere with the actions of evil? And what if those actions might be ineffective, or maybe risk getting you and your family killed? Druart shows how many Parisians struggled with this:
How many times had we stood by while our neighbors and friends were deported to God knows where? We all felt complicit in some way, though we never voiced it. After all, what could we do?
Where is the line between collaboration and survival?
“We’re just civilians, and we’re doing our best to survive—raising families, carrying on—because…because we have to. That’s what we do. We’re not soldiers.”
These are not concerns of purely historical interest. Across the world people are being oppressed by fascistic regimes, and many must decide how to cope. Is it better to lay low and hope it passes, take up armed resistance, engage in some form of passive resistance, or something else? Even in places where the forces of darkness have yet to seize control, many are faced with difficult decisions. Here in the USA, for example, white supremacists, neo-nazis, and information-free fascists of various sorts attempted to install a dictator in their attack on the US Capitol building on Desecration Day, January 6, 2021. What if one of them is your son or daughter, your father or mother, a more distant relation, your mate, a co-worker, a classmate, a friend, a neighbor? Do you let the authorities know? If you don’t and the next assault on democracy is more successful, how responsible will
you be if you say nothing now?
The railway wagon used to carry internees to Auschwitz and now displayed at Drancy - image from Wikipedia
I have a couple of gripes. It may be from my lack of exposure to such dire circumstances, and not knowing how those might alter a normal timeline for such things, but it seemed that Jean-Luc and Charlotte went from meeting in the hospital (in early April) to fleeing together with a newborn in pretty short order. (early June). Also, the police sorts who question Jean-Luc in Santa Cruz seemed like comic book cops, no rounded edges, characters that would have been just as familiar in Nazi attire. Maybe that was by design, but it felt
off. And there was one item that is less of a gripe and more of a question. Unfortunately, it might be spoilerish, so I am tucking it under this (view spoiler)
[Even though this is under spoiler protection, I will still try to keep this as unspoilerish as possible. There is a moment in the book when a newborn is given the name of a living Jewish relation. This news is received as a signal honor. For an Ashkenazi Jew, which I presumed the target individual involved to be, this would not have been seen as the honor it was intended to be. The population of Sephardic Jews in France increased in the latter half of the 20th century. For Sephardim, it would have been accepted as a beautiful gesture. (hide spoiler)] tag. Don’t look if you have not already read the book.
Overall, though, this is a wonderful novel. We get to know the main characters well enough to care about how things will turn out for them. The familial struggles that take place are extreme and heart-wrenching. You will definitely need some tissues at the ready by the time you reach the end. Druart offers, in addition, a thoughtful, sensitive, and moving look at the challenges people face when confronted by evil, and by impossible choices. It asks the question, “So, what would
you do?”
Wasn’t that collaboration? Pretending nothing had happened.
Review posted – 2/26/21
Publication dates
----------2/23/21 (USA) hardcover
----------3/4/21 (UK) - hardcover
----------1/4/2022 - (USA) - trade paperback
I received an ARE of this book from Grand Central Publishing in return for an honest review.
Special thanks to MC (You know who you are) for informing me about this one.
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EXTRA STUFFLinks to the author’s FB, Instagram, and Twitter pages
Item of Interest by the author-----The Nerd Daily - Just Write It Down on her journey writing
While Paris Slept -----Marymount Learning Leadership - “Where do I belong?”: Third Culture Kids
Items of Interest-----Wiki on Drancy Internment Camp
-----United States Holocaust Memorial Museum - Drancy
-----Wiki on the Vel' d'Hiv Roundup of Jews in Paris in 1942
-----Bellingcat.com - Woman Accused of Stealing Nancy Pelosi’s Laptop Appears in Video Making Nazi Salute - They’re back, lest you think these sorts slid back under their wet rocks after WW II
Rating: really liked it
This is a well written historical novel partly set in America in the early 1950’s and the Second World War years in Paris. The central premise is that of love and sacrifice and so it is very moving at times. Jean Luc Beauchamp, his wife Charlotte and son Sam now live in Santa Cruz, California but during the war Jean Luc worked on railway maintenance at Bobigny, where from Drancy Station French Jews were transported to Auschwitz. In 1953 he is taken in for questioning about his wartime role. The story is told from several points of view including Jean Luc, Charlotte and a Jewish woman, Sarah in the two timelines.
This is a fascinating book which although fictional is firmly grounded in fact and it’s clear Ruth Druart has researched well. I like how during the war Jean Luc reluctantly follows orders, he’s not willing working for the Third Reich and you feel his despair at ‘survival collaborating’ and the impact this has on his health and personality. It’s extremely poignant at times as Jean Luc sees abandoned personal items on the railway tracks. Life under Nazi rule is clearly depicted especially the atmosphere in Paris with periods of tension and danger. When the truth of what Jean Luc does to help Sarah becomes apparent its a shock as you recognise his resolve and bravery, the danger he has placed himself and Charlotte in and at times the tension is palpable. As the storyline progresses you find yourself torn between Jean Luc and Sarah and the terrible dilemma that confronts them. Her perspective reveals suffering, pain, loss and much anguish and this is the one that resonates the most and is the strongest of all the points of view. The fact that she survives Auschwitz is a miracle. Her resolve is admirable as she becomes aware of the sacrifice she must make and this is heartbreaking. The second half of the book is the most intense and very emotional. The ending tears you in two and I defy anyone to have a dry eye.
Overall, this novel has so many elements to it that it makes for compelling reading. Recommended for fans of historical fiction.
With thanks to NetGalley and Headline:Headline Review for the arc for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
Told in two different timelines, the 1940s and 50s, While Paris Slept is a unique story of courage and love during the most horrific of times. There are some deep secrets to this story that I can’t bear to reveal, even if they are alluded to in the synopsis, so I’ll keep this review on the brief side.
While Paris Slept is a book I highly recommend for fans of historical fiction who enjoy more in depth stories that take their time to unfold in a way you can truly bite into and savor. The characters are lovable and resilient, and the storyline is one you’ll never forget. All for the love of a child. A beautiful book!
I received a gifted copy.
Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog: www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram: www.instagram.com/tarheelreader
Rating: really liked it
It was 1944 in Paris and Jean-Luc Beauchamp had been working with the French Railway Department since he left school at fifteen. Now the Germans had taken it over, and working at Bobigny right next to the camp, Drancy, was becoming too much for Jean-Luc and his fellow workers to bear. They knew the trains would be filled with the Jews who were being moved to special camps, but that’s all Jean-Luc would let his mind dwell on. Until the morning that a young woman prisoner broke away and thrust something in Jean-Luc’s hands. She begged him to keep him safe – the baby was only a month old. What was Jean-Luc going to do with a baby?
Santa Cruz, California, had been home to Jean-Luc, his wife Charlotte and their son Sam, for the past nine years. Their memories of Paris and the war would never leave them, but their lives in California were happy and safe. They had settled in well, learned English and had made friends. But the day two officers from the UN Commission on War Crimes knocked on their front door and took Jean-Luc in for questioning, was the day everything that haunted them, came back with a vengeance. What did they want? They had done nothing wrong…
While Paris Slept is the debut novel by Ruth Druart and I’m astounded that it’s the author first book! A wonderful, heartbreaking story told in two timeframes and in varying voices, the power of love stands out strongly. Also, the strength of a mother’s love for her child and what she would do for that child is outstanding.
While Paris Slept is one I’ll remember for a long time to come. Highly recommended.
With thanks to Hachette AU for my ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
Quite a debut!
Jean Luc gets a baby put into his hands by a Jewish woman on her way to the camps. After the war the woman goes looking for them.
There were some decisions in the book that I didn't think very feasible and there was too much information crammed in, it could have done with a bit less. But it was written with warmth and respect.
Rating: really liked it
While Paris slept is a beautifully written, moving story set in Paris in 1944 and 1950’s America.
Jean-Luc Beauchamp’s is a railway worker and is sent to work in Bobigny, doing maintenance work near the transit camp Drancy. When he meets Sarah, who has been taken by the Nazi and she is on her way to the camp. She fears for her life not only for herself, but for her baby Samuel. She meets Jean-Luc and decides he is a caring man and persuades him to take her baby. Jean-Luc is apprehensive at first but agrees. This action takes him in all sorts of danger crossing the Pyrenees mountains with Charlotte who decides to go with him.
Nine years later Jean- Luc lives with Charlotte in in Santa Cruz California with now Nine-year-old Sam. He is now typical American boy, unaware of his origin. When there is a knock on the door. It’s the Police and they want to arrest Jean-Luc for the kidnapping of Sam or his real name Samuel. His real parents are alive and have been looking for him for all these years.
Thank you Headline and NetGalley for a copy of While Paris slept by Ruth Druart. Wow what can I say this is book for a debut novel it is an amazing book of love, determination, and self-sacrifice. and how far will we go for our children. This is a very emotional story which I adored. I can’t wait to see what the author has in store next. 5 stars from me.
Rating: really liked it
While Paris Slept made me think and cry and rage and smile at mankind’s capacity for both beautiful, selfless love and terrible, heartbreaking cruelty. It is at once a story of wartime courage and desperation, and of the many ways in which war reverberates through people’s lives for years after the fact. Prepare to question yourself and the characters in the novel, to wonder what you might have done in their place; in short, prepare to be thoroughly engrossed in this compelling book in which four adults and one child grapple with the true meaning of love and family.
Rating: really liked it
A young couple flee Paris in 1944 during the occupation to save a babies life.
Nine years later they are found in America and their new life is in jeopardy.
A story of hope, sacrifice, love and survival that tugs at your heartstrings.
Thank you to NetGalley and Headline for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
Rating: really liked it
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**4.5 stars**
While Paris Slept by Ruth Druart. (2021).
Paris, 1944. A young woman's future is torn away in a heartbeat. Herded on to a train bound for Auschwitz, in an act of desperation she entrusts her most precious possession to a stranger. All she has left is hope.
Santa Cruz, 1953. Jean-Luc thought he had left it all behind, with a scar on his face a small price for surviving the Nazi occupation. He never expected the past to come knocking on his door in his new American life.
On a darkened platform, two destinies became entangled. Their choice will change the future in ways neither could have imagined.
I've said it before, I'm always a bit hesitant with WW2 fiction because there's so many novels out there and they all seem to be published at the same time in waves so it's hard to not compare. However, I can happily report this novel is one of the standouts that has an original storyline. It's hard to believe this was a debut novel because it's extraordinary well-written and absorbing. It's hard to go into detail with no spoilers for this particular book. However I can say that it is an emotional read at times, with the characters facing truly horrible situations. Even though your heart break will at points, the love characters have for one another shines through and is quite beautiful.
Overall: I highly recommend this fantastic novel for anyone that enjoys historical fiction.
Rating: really liked it
Exceptional!
Rating: really liked it
I was extremely disappointed in this book. I received it through Goodreads First Reads and I was so excited. I was really drawn into the story by the engaging and complex characters of Jean Luc and Charlotte. Throughout I had wished Sarah and David would be depicted as richly but I understood not every backstory could be told. Then throughout the book my anticipation was building. There are four adults who love this little boy Sam and I couldn't wait to see how they would accommodate his new reality. It comes to a close where the author decides she can't write anymore and the Sarah and David just give up their child. It's ridiculously inaccurate from a historical context and highly offensive. Imagine writing a book about any sort of traumatic event involving children. For example, of this book was about children coming over the border in the US and taken in by ICE. The tragedy for children separated from their parents is horrible. But imagine one woman was able to get her child to be fostered while she was detained. And when she was released she went to find that he child was happy with the foster parents so she decide it's ok, I'll leave him there. She's consoled by having other children. How ridiculous does that sound? Yet this author glazes over the trauma of Sara and David in the Holocaust, doesn't give their characters asuch dimension as Jean Luc and Charlotte so readers will feel comfortable with this solution? That they survived Auschwitz and death marches with the hopes of seeing their son, only to give him up. And the justification is that if you truly move your son you'll do what's best for him. If Jean Luc and Charlotte truly loved Sam, they would have moved back to Paris to help him adjust. (Aside from the flaw of of they truly loved him they would have looked for his parents or relatives after the war.) So much for research and talking to Holocaust survivors. I wonder if the author ran the ending by the woman she spoke to and asked how many parents would give up and send their child away. Probably none. Overall I was disappointed by the build up throughout the book to what felt like a cop out in the last chapter and the epilogue.
Rating: really liked it
For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
This was an emotive, historical read. Not only does it focus on the war and endurance, but surviving afterwards. The love that a parent can hold for their child is truly explored in Druart’s narrative and I found myself quickly absorbed in this story.
For my full review, visit me at https://mrsbrownsbooks.wordpress.com/...
Rating: really liked it
This emotional book starts in 1953, Santa Cruz, California. Jean-Luc Beauchamp and his wife Charlotte live a nice life with their nine year old son Sam. The family escaped Paris toward the end of World War II and managed to put that life behind them. But Jean-Luc is confronted by two men who arrive at their home asking him about circumstances that occurred back in France which threatens their happy life.
The story, told through multiple perspectives, shifts back to 1944 when Jean-Luc is a railroad worker. He is assigned work near the Drancy internment camp where Jewish families are ultimately sent to the concentration camps. After suffering an injury, he meets Charlotte in the hospital. They have their freedom but gain greater awareness of what is taking place around them. The day Jean-Luc meets a young Jewish mother being sent to Auschwitz changes the course of his life.
Author Ruth Druart has written a heartbreaking story about family, love and sacrifice. While the book describes the horrors that took place during the Holocaust, it focuses more on the aftermath of the war and how lives were changed based on decisions that needed to be made to survive.
While Paris Slept is an impressive debut that was hard to put down. Perfect book club read as it raises many questions with no easy answers.
Review posted on MicheleReader.com.
Rating: really liked it
I wish I could give this wonderful book more stars!! It had me gripped from the first page and I got through this big book quickly as I wanted to know how it ends. Another one set during WW2 which I love. This book had all the elements mystery excitement and sadness. I throughly recommend this one.
Rating: really liked it
Pensive, poignant, and insightful!
While Paris Slept is an affecting, heartwrenching tale set in both France during 1944, as well as California during 1953, that takes you into the lives of five people whose lives are unimaginably changed one day when Sarah Laffitte, a Jewish prisoner, hands her newborn child to a Drancy railway worker in order to save his life.
The prose is emotive and charged. The characters are brave, selfless, and compassionate. And the plot, including all the subplots, unravel and intertwine seamlessly into an alluring tale of life, loss, family, tragedy, desperation, secrets, friendship, war, parenthood, unconditional love, and the true meaning of family.
Overall, While Paris Slept is an atmospheric, intense, impactful novel by Druart that sweeps you away to another time and place and reminds you that survival of any form takes unimaginable sacrifice, courage, strength, and often moral and ethical dilemmas.
Thank you to Grand Central Publishing for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
