Note that I listened to this book as an audiobook, but I'm reviewing it as a paperback. The paperback is the cheapest way to get this book. It is 464 pages, 12 hours and 23 minutes as an audiobook. It's rating 4.5 stars as a paperback and 4.7 as an audiobook on Audible, where I got it.

This book, while selling in all media formats, is especially trending as an audiobook at the moment with it being #3 in Jewish Literature through Audible Originals, #5 in Jewish Literature (not considering only Audible Originals), #7 in World War II Historical Fiction through Audible Originals. It's also ranked #170 in Jewish Literature in the Kindle Store.

This book follows several people as they are the parents of a single child--both the birth parents and those who informally adopted him. The story goes back and forth between Nazi occupied France in 1944 and post-war both France and America in 1953.

A Jewish mother forces her newborn child into the arms of a stranger with a scar, deformed hand, and kind eyes, as she's being loaded into a cattle car, presumably to her death. She and her husband hold onto the belief that their only son will live and be reunited with them after the war. It's all that keeps them alive their horror in the death camp, Auschwitz.

A railway worker, horrified at the scene of prisoners being beaten and shot if they refuse to enter the train's cattle car, never intended to hold humans, is surprised by a woman thrusting her infant into his arms before she disappears into the crowd. He's shocked and scared, but he knows he must hide this baby to save it's life. He and his girlfriend decide to escape France to go to Spain with their precious cargo. Over the years, they become a real family, never imaging that their son's birth parents survived and are looking for him.

This story has twists and turns, some of which I've already mentioned, but there are more I'll leave you to discover as you read or listen to this story.

People who enjoy historical fiction, stories with plot twists, and information about the Jewish experience under Nazi rule.

Listening to how life was like in France both under the Nazis and afterward. It's interesting that in the 1950's apparently they didn't drink coffee out of cups, but out of bowls instead. Also, they didn't use a lot of plates, but rather just put their bread on the table and after meals cleaned up the crumbs.

I was really curious about how the author was going to give us a satisfying ending with so many people in turmoil and heartbreak. But she managed to do it. Was it the perfect ending, maybe not, but I wasn't left sad for certain characters by the end, so that's good enough for me. Life isn't perfect, so why should all books have a perfect ending.

Find out more about life in the war outside of the camps since they are what is so commonly written about. I also wanted to find out more about life after the war.

Curious, sad, and uneasy about decisions people make with good intentions, but bad consequences.

Did a great job of painting pictures of life in 1944 and 1953. I really enjoyed it and learning about what the characters were going through.

It's an interesting book that doesn't leave one frustrated in the end. You learn, you smile, and you may even get a bit teary.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of While Paris Slept: The beautiful, heartrending story of a mother in wartime Paris   from Amazon.Com!

Created Apr 19, 2022 at 3:12pm • Submit your own review...