The Paris Novel

The Paris Novel written by Ruth Reichl is a little different many of her other publications.  The other books I have read by Reichl have been memoirs about her life, her career and her love of food. Check out the list at the bottom of this review to see all the amazing things Reichl has accomplished leading up to this novel.

In this novel we meet Stella who from childhood has always had a difficult relationship with her mother.  Now she has moved on, living in a small New York City apartment, working as an editor for a small publishing company.  When her mother dies, Stella is surprised by how upset she is.  Then she is given her only inheritance, a one way plane ticket to Paris.  This gift will take her completely out of the comfort zone she has built for herself.  But encouraged by her boss she leaves for Paris.  At the beginning she keeps a very low profile, eating in small unknown restaurants and visiting museums.  Then one day she sees a dress int he window of a second hand shop.  The owner convinces her to try it on and then follow a series of activities wearing the dress. The shopkeeper tells her something fabulous will happen while she is wearing the vintage Dior couture dress.  

That is when the real story begins, Stella meets a handsome elderly gentleman, Jules,  who opens Paris up for her.  She begins to enjoy herself and also to try and discover why her mother wanted her to travel to Paris.

As she eats in the Paris restaurants that Jules introduces her to, she realizes how much she really enjoys eating.  She finds that she can distinguish all the ingredients in a dish, she can imagine them in colors in her mind.  This is where Reichl brings in her expertise with recipes, foods and menus.  You can see that this Reichl's strongest writing skill, she brings the foods to life and you can almost taste and smell what Stella is eating in each of the restaurants.  The recipes hinted at.  

To add just a little more to make this such an entertaining novel Reichl adds some historical significance about the Dior dress, also a story about famed bookstore Shakespeare & Company, and the plot twist where Stella uncovers a hundred-year-old mystery in a Manet painting.

Such a fun entertaining novel.  Enjoy the read.

Ruth Reichl, is an American chef, food writer and editor. In addition to two decades as a food critic, mainly spent at the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times, Reichl has also written cookbooks, memoirs and a novel, and been co-producer of PBS's Gourmet's Diary of a Foodie, culinary editor for the Modern Library, host of PBS's Gourmet's Adventures With Ruth, and editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine