Features

Ruth Reichl, author of The Paris Novel

When her estranged mother dies, Stella is left with an unusual inheritance: a one-way plane ticket and a note reading “Go to Paris.” When her boss encourages her to take time off, Stella resigns herself to honoring her mother’s last wishes. Alone in a foreign city, Stella falls into old habits, living cautiously and frugally. Then she stumbles across a vintage store, where she tries on a fabulous Dior dress. The shopkeeper insists that this dress was meant for Stella, and for the first time in her life Stella does something impulsive. She buys the dress --- and embarks on an adventure. As weeks --- and many decadent meals --- go by, Stella ends up living as a “tumbleweed” at the famed bookstore Shakespeare & Company, uncovers a hundred-year-old mystery in a Manet painting, and discovers a passion for food that may be connected to her past.

Read more »

The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl

May 2024

I do love armchair travel, especially when it is delivered to me by someone who clearly has fabulous taste, a keen eye and a seasoned palate. Ruth Reichl is the perfect guide for this --- and she weaves a terrific story around it in THE PARIS NOVEL.

Stella has had a very tough childhood, with a mother who ignores her more than she favors her. Along the way, she is abused as a child and walks away from her childhood home as soon as she can to build her own life. She finds joy working with an editor at Vintage Books; she is very happy and comfortable at her job there. But when her mother passes away, she finds herself with a rather interesting inheritance --- a one-way plane ticket and a note reading “Go to Paris.” Stella is like a little church mouse with absolutely no idea what to do for an adventure. Her boss says, “Go!” And with that kick in the right direction, she is on a plane.

Read more »