April in Paris [Paperback]

Michael Wallner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 25, 2008

Michael Wallner's thrilling first novel, set in occupied France during World War II, movingly recounts the impossible love affair between a German soldier and a French resistance fighter.Roth, a young soldier in the SS and a fluent French translator, works as an interpreter during the interrogation of Resistance fighters. But while off-duty, he slips away from his fellow officers, changes into civilian clothes, and wanders aimlessly through Paris disguised as his alter ego "Antoine." One day he is drawn into an antiquarian bookshop and becomes enchanted with the bookseller's beautiful daughter, Chantal. The two begin to meet and fall in love before Roth has the courage to reveal his true identity, or the time to discover that Chantal is part of the Resistance. Written in an elegant and arresting style, April in Paris is an engrossing novel from a promising new talent.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wallner's harrowing debut, a love story of sorts though there's little romance, rings with authenticity. In 1943, Corporal Roth, a 22-year-old translator in the German occupation forces in France, is reassigned to SS headquarters in Paris, where his job is to translate the confessions of members of the resistance as they are being tortured. While strolling through the city, Roth encounters a beautiful young woman and is instantly smitten. Because he can speak French flawlessly, Roth takes the identity of "Antoine" and pursues the young lady, Chantal, with tragic results. Chantal is a member of the French resistance, and while Roth isn't a coldhearted Nazi, he is a German and his obsession leads him ever downward until he's accused of being a traitor. Many European imports these days read like pale imitations of genre novels by Americans, but this sterling period piece will strike readers as distinctively and refreshingly German in its concerns. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

It is 1943 in Paris. Corporal Roth, a 22-year-old German soldier, has the ability to speak unaccented French, so his superiors adjust his orders. He now works for the SS, serving as translator in the gestapo's interrogation room. He can't stomach their torture of Resistance fighters but doesn't question his role, though he longs for the ordinariness of daily life. While in disguise as a French civilian--a crime of high treason--he meets Chantal, an antiquarian bookseller's daughter, and falls in love. But the naive Roth doesn't realize the SS and the Resistance have feelers out everywhere, and nothing remains secret for long. This fast-paced thriller about a young man's unforeseen moral dilemma delivers suspense all the way through to its unexpected ending. Tragic love stories set in occupied France are hardly unique, yet Wallner rises above this overused plotline with his stylish, readable language (with just enough French to convey atmosphere); lovingly depicted Parisian setting; and well-done characterizations. Think Alan Furst with a different sort of hero, and a darker, more visceral edge. Sarah Johnson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (March 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0307277682
• ISBN-13: 978-0307277688
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,032,136 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sleepwalking in Paris, June 7, 2007

By 

Joan Stewart Smith (USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: April in Paris: A Novel (Hardcover)

Corporal Roth, a German soldier, is given marching orders to work in Paris as a translator in a Gestapo interrogation room. During his free time, he comes up with a verbotener plan to dress as a native Frenchman and wander through the streets of Paris. He names himself Antoine, whereupon he soon falls in love with Chantal, a book dealer's daughter and a member of the French Resistance.

At first glance, I grew restless with Corporal Roth because he seemed without the expected dimension of a character trapped in harrowing circumstances. However, it is impossible not be drawn into the story as our protagonist navigates his way through both contradictory worlds. I eventually came to understand that this seeming lack of depth might have been the intent of first-time novelist and scriptwriter Michael Wallner. He is, after all, writing about a shell-shocked young soldier looking for a way to cope with his situation.

Corporal Roth takes an incredible risk to escape reality. His assignment, which involves witnessing the torture of French suspects, is at great odds with his job of fluently speaking their language. As he follows the Seine, he is sleepwalking at the edge of the abyss and facing a great moral dilemma, but he is too numb to look down into its depths. We do not witness him struggle with ethical questions. As soldiers must do, he approaches the horror with only part of himself because he otherwise could not get the job done. It is only later that the character begins to unravel, as his courageous yet foolish retreat into illusion becomes all too real. If the stars align, this book has great potential as a film.

12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book, April 16, 2007

By 

Virginia S. Wolfe "caitlinsc" (DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: April in Paris: A Novel (Hardcover)

It's war. Our "hero" is German but all he wants to be is "normal".

There is no way I can describe this novel -- nor should I attempt to honestly do so. But as soon as I finished it, I came to Amazon to see what other books were available by this author (sadly...).

This is a book for readers who simply want to read VERY good books.

Buy it. Read it. I want to meet the author who can create such a complicated maze of personalities, meshing horror with innocent love. Amazing. Congratulations, Mr. Wallner.

Write me another one - please.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars German soldier is infatuated with all things French, May 8, 2007

By 

Bobby D. (Cerritos, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: April in Paris: A Novel (Hardcover)

This short novel has a very interesting premise which drives the narration with page turning interest. Told in the first person we meet Roth, a twenty one year old German soldier who speaks fluent French. He finds himself assigned to Gestapo HQ in 1943 occupied Paris. In part the book offers an interesting view of the divergent attitudes of the occupiers and the insurgent French Resistance. More over it is an infatuation story as Roth is at first infatuated with all things French and then specifically with a French girl he notices while walking the streets of Paris. And of course the young lady is a member of the French Resistance. Roth has taken to putting on civilian cloths and pretending he is French and this alone would get him into major trouble if he were caught by the SS. The novel is amazingly dense in plot and suspense as Wallner's style utilizes short, simple and basic sentences, paragraphs and chapters. Rather a Hemingway approach and style. The story does have a few to may coincidences for my taste and yet it is a fun ride and an above average thriller mainly because of it's well written with a unique premise and plot driven narrative. The book is more than just a "beach read" and I would recommend it as a well worthwhile entertainment. (Mr. Wallner is also a screenwriter and I see a screenplay and movie coming from this material. But I don't feel confident any movie would be believable or provide the book's first person narrator Roth any justice.)