Written by contributor Khadijah Alam
I was so excited to get my hands on Paris Adrift since the plot was quite interesting and when I got the book, I read it within two days as it was a tale full of excitement, horror, action, and suspense all at the same time. At first glance, it may be not seem that interesting, but it is well worth the read. You get to know the same city throughout different time periods, and you learn the hardships that befall the same place over the years. Somehow, you find yourself falling in love with ancient Paris, but filled with dread at the future Paris.
It is not a short story in any sense of the word, but you feel that Hallie’s incredible journey through different time periods is cut too short. You find yourself craving more 1875 Paris, and you find yourself wanting Hallie to delve deeper into 2042. You wait for Hallie and Léon to meet again, and it is like you are there when they do.
You are there for the devastating truths that are revealed to you, you are there for the heartbreak and romance between two young people, you are there for the dread that creeps up on you while Léon is trapped in 2042 Paris with no way to get home. It is a surprisingly moving story in parts, especially the parts between the two protagonists who are separated through no fault of their own.
The budding romance between Hallie and Léon is a slow burn, but it grows on you, and you don’t notice how it has grown until you take a step back and examine the relationship in the storyline.
But like every story, there is an antagonist and a part that you wish would disappear. The anomaly isn’t a peaceful non-sentient object that gently encourages Hallie to come to it, instead it is forceful and it drags Hallie to it through sheer force of the addiction it presents. The chronometrist is a twisted person who forces them to do her bidding, and asserts her power over different, innocent people. It is by no means equivalent to horror films, but it adds its own twisted influence to the story, not making the story a pointless novel, but rather one that is a rollercoaster ride: full of twists and turns, hills and slopes that capture your full attention with the sheer velocity of it.
In some parts, it is a fast-paced ride, which drags you along with it and forces you to follow, your stomach full of knots, because what will happen next? However, in the rest, it is a gentle thrum that allows you to slow down and take in the surroundings of the different time periods that Hallie must acquaint herself with and try to blend in with.
In some ways, you become the anomaly, beckoning Hallie to you and wanting to see how she adapts to different time periods, and seeing what she needs to fix. However, when she is released from your grasp, you still want to see more, you want her to see more. Just like the anomaly.
Her withdrawal period is like you are losing control of the story, but then you see what it is doing to her, and it is like a horrified realisation. And you want to see how she will recover. You end with everything being alright, and it brings a satisfaction that the anomaly did not damage her as much as you first thought.
I’ll say this, Paris Adrift is well worth the read.
Paris Adrift is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
The Time Machine meet Midnight In Paris
Determined to escape her old life, misfit and student geologist Hallie packs up her life in England and heads to Paris. As a bartender at the notorious Millie’s, located next to the Moulin Rouge, she meets Gabriela, who guides her through this strange nocturnal world, and begins to find a new family.
But Millie’s is not all that it seems: a bird warns Hallie to get her feathers in order, a mysterious woman shows up claiming to be a chronometrist, and Gabriela is inexplicably unable to leave Paris. Then Hallie discovers a time portal located in the keg room. Over the next nine months, irate customers will be the least of her concerns as she navigates time-faring through the city’s turbulent past and future, falling in love, and coming to terms with her own precarious sense of self.
