While Paris Slept, Ruth Druart
While Paris Slept, Ruth Druart
7 Rating(s)
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While Paris Slept
A Novel

Author: Ruth Druart

Narrator: Luke Thompson, Frazer Hadfield, Jane Collingwood, Heather Long

Unabridged: 12 hr 23 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 02/23/2021

Synopsis

One woman must make the hardest decision of her life in this unforgettably moving story of resistance and faith during one of the darkest times in history.

Santa Cruz, 1953. Jean-Luc is a man on the run from his past. The scar on his face is a small price to pay for surviving the horrors of Nazi occupation in France. Now, he has a new life in California, a family. He never expected the past to come knocking on his door.

Paris, 1944. A young Jewish woman's past is torn apart in a heartbeat. Herded onto a train bound for Auschwitz, in an act of desperation she entrusts her most precious possession to a stranger. All she has left now is hope.

On a darkened platform, two destinies become intertwined, and the choices each person makes will change the future in ways neither could have imagined.

Told from alternating perspectives, While Paris Slept reflects on the power of love, resilience, and courage when all seems lost. Exploring the strength of family ties, and what it really means to love someone unconditionally, this debut novel will capture your heart.

About Ruth Druart

Ruth Druart grew up on the Isle of Wight, moving away at the age of eighteen to study psychology at Leicester University. She has lived in Paris since 1993, where she has followed a career in teaching. She has recently taken a sabbatical, so that she can follow her dream of writing full-time.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Will on January 05, 2022

One had a duty to survive, for all the others who couldn’t.--------------------------------------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 year......more

Goodreads review by Ceecee on February 24, 2021

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 du......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader on May 20, 2021

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 sid......more

Goodreads review by Karen on September 24, 2023

Catching Up… I remember when I saw the movie Sophie’s Choice, and I sat there watching Meryl Streep making the most critical decision of her life during that pivotal scene. It was as if I stopped breathing because time stopped during that moment – in my mind. I think the whole theatre was in silence......more

Goodreads review by Brooke - One Woman's Brief Book Reviews on November 04, 2021

*www.onewomansbbr.wordpress.com *www.facebook.com/onewomansbbr **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 stran......more

Quotes

"As writers, some stories keep us up at night with the need to get them down on paper. Ruth Druart has one such tale. We met in 2006, and I read pages of her story then. She never let go and never gave up. Thanks to this tenacity, her heartbreaking debut will be published in several languages. It will appeal to fans of The Light Between Oceans as well as to readers fascinated by novels set in World War II. While Paris Slept delves into eternal questions: how far will we go to protect our child? Is love holding tightly or letting go? The characters -- and readers -- must choose between what is right and what is best in this mediation on love and sacrifice."—Janet Skeslien Charles, Author of The Paris Library and Moonlight in Odessa

"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."
—Natasha Lester, Author of The Paris Secret

"What a book . . . emotional and heartrending . . . absolutely phenomenal. I was on tenterhooks throughout. A wonderful achievement."—Jill Mansell, New York Times bestselling author of And Now You're Back

"While Paris Slept is a powerful and poignant debut from a brilliant and bold new novelist. Expertly weaving together multiple storylines, author Ruth Druart fills each page with thrilling suspense, uncommon emotional depth, and fascinating characters. Fans of historical fiction should not miss this one."—Imogen Kealey, Author of Liberation

"Both epic and intimate, this unexpected story of two couples' sacrifices in war-torn France had me completely and utterly enraptured. You'll have your heart in your mouth and tears on your cheeks as it reaches its rich, life-affirming conclusion."—Louise Candlish, Author of Our House

"Good people coping with an impossible situation are at the heart of Druart’s [debut] . . . The author succeeds in keeping things moving, particularly in the action-packed first half of the novel . . . Ethical questions raised by the narrative suggest this may do well with book clubs."—Publishers Weekly

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