When Paris Was Her Lover
Heidi Harrison
- When
- Paris
- Was
- Her
- Lover
- juxtaposes
- the
- lives
- of
- two
- women
- from
- two
- continents.
- In
- the
- Prologue
- we
- meet
- Marlene.
- It
- is
- the
- year
- 2000.
- She
- is
- ensconced
- under
- the
- Eiffel
- Tower,
- reminiscent
- and
- dreamy
- as
- she
- recalls
- that
- once
- upon
- a
- time,
- Paris
- was
- her
- lover.
- We
- then
- move
- backward
- to
- the
- year
- 1985.
- We
- are
- in
- San
- Francisco,
- where
- she
- lives
- and
- works
- as
- a
- preschool
- teacher.
- She
- is
- lost
- and
- friendless.
- On
- a
- whim,
- she
- decides
- to
- go
- to
- Paris.
- Once
- she
- gets
- there,
- she
- becomes
- enamored
- not
- only
- of
- the
- city
- but
- also
- of
- a
- woman
- she
- meets
- at
- a
- concert
- she
- attends
- at
- Versailles.
- She
- is
- shy,
- does
- not
- speak
- a
- word
- of
- French,
- and
- when
- the
- opportunity
- arises
- to
- communicate
- with
- Thérèse,
- she
- walks
- away
- sheepishly
- as
- Thérèse,
- herself
- smitten
- by
- Marlene,
- slips
- into
- another
- car
- on
- the
- train,
- wishing
- for
- the
- dream
- that
- did
- not
- happen
- that
- night.
- After
- this
- missed
- opportunity,
- each
- woman
- forges
- a
- path
- toward
- another
- destiny.
- Marlene
- adopts
- a
- Romanian
- girl
- who
- is
- the
- product
- of
- the
- brutal
- era
- of
- the
- Ceausescu
- dictatorship.
- Thérèse
- searches
- for
- looted
- violins
- and
- other
- stringed
- instruments
- that
- were
- originally
- owned
- by
- Jewish
- individuals
- who
- perished
- in
- the
- gas
- chambers.
- While
- Marlene
- and
- Thérèse
- follow
- these
- very
- divergent
- paths
- in
- their
- lives,
- there
- is
- an
- undercurrent
- of
- an
- undying
- passion
- between
- these
- two
- women.
- Often
- in
- discreet
- moments,
- each
- one
- brings
- to
- light
- the
- memory
- of
- the
- other,
- and
- in
- doing
- so,
- they
- not
- only
- create
- a
- parallel
- process
- but
- also
- repetitively
- ignite
- their
- incessant
- longings
- for
- the
- other.
- An
- ever-present
- theme
- of
- survival
- punctuates
- each
- section
- of
- this
- work.
- While
- on
- the
- outside
- this
- piece
- of
- fiction
- appears
- to
- be
- seamless,
- a
- tapestry
- woven
- with
- beauty
- and
- humor
- and
- a
- magical
- sense
- of
- wonder,
- underneath
- there
- is
- the
- reminder
- of
- the
- horrors
- of
- war
- and
- the
- ramifications
- therein.
- The
- music
- that
- resonates
- with
- each
- passage
- of
- the
- book
- lends
- itself
- to
- a
- transcendence
- from
- the
- pathos
- of
- the
- human
- existence
- to
- that
- of
- the
- sublime,
- survival
- in
- its
- quintessential realm.
pro-mbooks3 : libris
