Reviewed by Emma Crowley
Paris 1944. To save her people, she served the enemy.
In enemy-occupied Paris, as the locals go to bed starving and defeated by the war, music and laughter spills through the door of a little restaurant, crowded with German soldiers. The owner Marianne moves on weary feet between its packed tables, carrying plates of steaming, wholesome food for the enemy officers. Her smile is bright and sparkling, her welcome cordial. Nobody would guess the hatred she hides in her heart.
That night, the restaurant closes its doors for the final time. In the morning, the windows are scratched with the words ‘traitor and murderer’. And Marianne has disappeared without a trace…
Years later, Marianne’s granddaughter Sabine stands under the faded green awning, a heavy brass key in her hand, staring at the restaurant left to her by the grandmother she never met. Sabine has so many questions about herself. Perhaps here she can find answers, but she knows she isn’t welcome. Marianne was hated by the locals and when Sabine discovers they blamed her for the terrible tragedy that haunts the pretty restaurant, she is ready to abandon her dark legacy.
But when she finds a passport in a hidden compartment in the water-stained walls, with a picture of a woman who looks like her grandmother but has a different name, she knows there must be more to Marianne’s story. As she digs into the past, she starts to wonder: was her grandmother a heroine, not a traitor? What happened to her after the tragic night when she fled from her restaurant? And will the answer change her own life forever?
Many thanks to Bookouture via NetGalley for my copy of The Last Restaurant in Paris to review and to Sharon for having my review on the blog.
On a quiet street in Paris stands an abandoned restaurant. Is it cursed or haunted? For the effects of what occurred there during the German occupation of the city are still being felt today. What caused the owner Marianne to serve German soldiers during the war? Surely that was an act of betrayal. The legacy of a certain event that happened there has left a deep and indominable mark on those that were present at the time. The words murderer and traitor are scratched on the windows. Monsieur Geroux, the owner of the antiquarian bookshop, can still remember that time very well. Each time he looks at the restaurant it casts a shadow over him for it was there that he lost his brother Henri. But now as the closest relative to Marianne has been discovered 40 years after the war a story of secrets, lies, deception, revenge, betrayal, justice and sacrifice comes to the fore. Now it is 1987 and Sabine, who turns out to be Marianne’s granddaughter (although she never knew this until a lawyer contacted her) stands before the restaurant with a key which will unlock an incredible and enthralling story that is heart-breaking and gripping in equal measure.
The opening to Lily Graham’s new book, The Last Restaurant in Paris, was very much a teaser for what was to come. The reader is sucked in instantly as information was provided that has you asking lots of questions and of course wanting the answers immediately but one must be patient and wait until the time is right for all the strands to come together and yes the wait was definitely worth it in this case. Admittedly, I found the first quarter of the story slow going and I thought there was too much focus on Gilbert and his recollections of the war and the restaurant. It was like we were observing Marianne’s story from afar and I kept thinking when will we hear from her? It very much felt like the reader was disconnected from her when she was meant to be the main character in the book.
It was like things were very much one sided and I found myself taking everything at face value because we were hearing from Gilbert’s viewpoint too much. I found there was slightly too much repetition in part one but then things slowly started to make sense and motives became clearer. In general, I needn’t have worried because Lily Graham knew exactly what she was doing and it’s only when I reached part two and then went on to finish the entire book that I truly appreciated this. The slow start was needed to set up the overall story and once we get to hear from Marianne things took off at a great pace and a thrilling and emotional story unfolded.
The dual timeline worked well throughout the book and Sabine certainly did become caught up in the arms of the past as she sought to discover the truth behind what her grandmother did and what became of her? Is she as bad as people made her out to be? Why did she commit such an act? Were the personal sacrifices worth it? Was she a woman filled with courage, loyalty, devotion and strength which all helped serve justice or had she just gone totally mad? Gilbert, opened up his heart and soul to Sabine and although he didn’t have all the answers he set Sabine on the right path to seeking the ultimate truth.
The main question that is threaded throughout the book is, what made Marianne change from a kind and brave woman into someone who opened a restaurant in Paris at a time when people were scared and starving and then subsequently went on to serve German officers and soldiers and ultimately then a horrific event occurred? To discover the answers the author took us right back to the childhood of Marianne and it was completely gripping and helped me really understand where she came from and what motivated and drove her on to the actions that transpired in that restaurant in Paris on that fateful night.
Part Two is where things really picked up, although as it began I felt things were regressing a bit as we venture back to Marianne’s childhood. I thought we’re going backwards instead of moving forwards and at one point it felt like I was reading a different story from what I initially thought the book would be about. But again, I was completely wrong and the further I progressed through the latter half of the book, I realised that every element and every bit of backstory was essential to the overall plot development. Gaining such a deep insight into Marianne’s childhood and then subsequently following her as she grew up and faced many challenges and developed into a woman was fascinating. To say much more about this time for her would give far too much away. But suffice to say her experiences shaped and motivated her and I found her story completely riveting and engrossing.
Marianne was a complex and very clever woman whose love and loyalty shone through time and time again. People may have felt she was mad awful for her betrayal but was well able to play a carefully executed game and with every step that she took she knew it brought her that little bit closer to that end goal. Marianne, was a character who should not be judged on first impressions for to do so would be too write her off far too early. Allow yourself to become completely immersed in the story and you will be richly rewarded for Lily Graham has written a terrific, dramatic story full of raw emotion, hidden secrets, vendettas with love, faithfulness and devotion at its centre. The Last Restaurant in Paris is a story that I won’t forget that easily and without doubt it’s the best book that Lily Graham has so far written.
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