Loved this book! Sebastien Faulks is one of those authors who - for me at l;east - varies so much; I either love or hate the books. This was a hit. The characters captured me right from the start and their very different stories had me gripped. Definitely one to recommend.

I found the reading of "Paris Echo" something of an odd experience. I can't think of another occasion where I've enjoyed a book without particularly liking (or caring about) either of the main characters. I found it enlightening regarding aspects of World War 2 in German occupied France, French colonialism and the Algerian war. I loved how the sub-stories unfolded through the voices of the working class women who had been there. I'm also intrigued to learn more about Andree Borrel. Faulks does an excellent job of conjuring Paris and Morocco through his writing and I think that was the most enjoyable aspect of the book for me.

Hannah is an American historian working at a university. She has moved to Paris to do some research after having spent some time there as a student 10 years previously. Tariq is a young man freshly arrived from Morocco seeking adventure and perhaps some of the history of his family on his french mother's side. They strike a somewhat unlikely friendship as Tariq needs somewhere to stay and Hannah has a spare bedroom. The book is not really about their relationship however, it's about how we connect with our past and who this influences who we are in the present. I liked the historical detail which was nicely told from their two different points of view - Tariq as someone finding out for the first time, and Hannah's pedagogical thoughts and research. It's a fairly slow moving book, and very french in its style of two disparate lives connected in a small but deep way. I enjoyed it very much and the writing style is engaging. I think some of the meaning may have got lost to me but I don't think it mattered.

A fabulous book - in all senses of the word - where the past and present intermingle and inform each other. Desperately sad and moving yet filled with dark humour and a zest for life.

In some books with two main characters it can be a case of loving one and not being so keen on the other but not here. Both Hannah and Tariq are wonderful human creations who learn and grow while staying true to themselves.

The supporting cast is varied and colourful and come to life immediately they hit the page. They have depth of character and backstories that you sense could fill a novel in their own right.

This is a highly informative novel where something new or only half guessed at frequently makes one pause and think, yet it is never dry, never dull, never preachy. It asks how much we should allow the past to affect the present - how much should we remember and how much are we able to forget.

I am slightly disappointed with this latest Sebastian Faulks. I didn't warm to any of the characters, especially Hannah. Tariq was ok in his naivety and innocence but the rest didn't engage me at all. The basis of the story was interesting as I knew nothing about the French/Algerian history and will be looking to read more about that in future. I was also disappointed with the ending, the tying together of ends could have been done in a different, and more satisfactory for me, way.