Friday Books: Paris Architect

The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure was a good read. If you want an exciting page-turner, this is it. The story has enough tension going on that you will want to keep reading to see what happens. It's the story of an architect who finds himself, reluctantly, designing hiding places for Jews in Paris apartments during the German occupation in WWII.

The characterization is strong; the reader will see human kindness in enemies and will also see how people's characters are tested during war - to turn in a neighbor to save oneself or to do what's right and put yourself and family at risk. They are tough questions.

A well done, well-told story written by an authentic architect who made his first foray into fiction with this book. As quoted on the back cover, it is "a fascinating picture of Paris during the Occupation, with all its contradictions -- the opulence and the fear."