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A beautiful story, told in a spare style

by 'Nathan Burgoine

• Author
• Coles Employee

8 months ago

I read 'The End of the Alphabet' a couple of years ago and quite liked the odd little book and the very sparse style of prose that Richardson used, so when I saw 'The Emperor of Paris' had been released, I nabbed it right up. I just read it in a single day, and the book is just so incredibly beautiful. For anyone who can say their favourite part of a romantic story is the meeting of the two characters, this tale is absolutely perfect. For everyone else who enjoys the unfolding of a tale where a cast of diverse characters slowly begin to orbit and weave into each other, this is also a great fit. The core of the story is set in Paris during WWI and WWII (and shortly after), and concerns a baker who cannot read, and a restorer of art who has been scarred in an accident. This oversimplifies the story's arc, but it is around those two characters, and the baker's parents and the art restorer's co-worker and family, that this lovely story unfolds. Richardson's sparse style might turn a few away within the first few pages (when everything seems quite disconnected and you're not entirely sure why all these characters are being introduced) but stay with it and you'll be immersed. Wonderful.