Paris By Starlight by Robert Dinsdale

Synopsis

Every city has its own magic…

Every night on their long journey to Paris from their troubled homeland, Levon’s grandmother has read to them from a very special book. Called The Nocturne, it is a book full of fairy stories and the heroic adventures of their people who generations before chose to live by starlight.

And with every story that Levon’s grandmother tells them in their new home, the desire to live as their ancestors did grows. And that is when the magic begins…

Nobody can explain why nocturnal water dogs start appearing at the heels of every citizen of Paris-by-Starlight like the loyal retainers they once were. There are suddenly night finches in the skies and the city is transforming: the Eiffel Tower lit up by strange ethereal flowers that drink in the light of the moon.

But not everyone in Paris is won over by the spectacle of Paris-by-Starlight. There are always those that fear the other, the unexplained, the strangers in our midst. How long can the magic of night rub up against the ordinariness of day? How long can two worlds occupy the same streets and squares before there is an outright war?

Review
Paris By Starlight is the perfect magical read for this time of year. Levon and his family have travelled thousands of miles from their homeland which has been destroyed to the beautiful city of Paris in search of a new life. Levon’s grandmother brings with her her book The Nocturn, which contains all the stories of the old country, where their ancestors lived by night, and magic ruled. As she reads these stories the magic returns, slowly spreading over the city capturing the hearts of many of the Paisians. But not everyone is as enamoured by the new residents and their magic, fear in what they don’t understand starts a division and war between the Paris of the day and Paris of the night, can the two sides co-exist or will the magic disappear forever.

Paris By Starlight has been perfectly described as a fairytale for adults, and where better to set a magical tale than the beautiful Paris, a city with it’own magic. All fairytales have a girl and boy who fall in love but have to over come obstacles thrown in their way, there is aways a an element of evil against the good but hopefully it all has the happily ever after. In Paris By Starlight the star crossed lovers are Isabelle and Levon, who have to overcome their different lives; Isabelle is from the Paris from the day and Levon from the night. Whilst they feel no prejudice in their relationship others feel that Isabelle should not be with Levon, a refugee and someone who is part of the night. There relationship is further put in jeopardy by the faction of Parisions who march and protest about the refugees, and their magical night world ,a protest that results in an unforgivable act of violence. Most fairytales also have a moral, and Robert Dinsdale has the thread of how lack of understanding of different cultures can lead to fear and ultimately to confrontation. Acceptance, humility and education is what is needed.

At the centre of the story is the relationship between Isabelle and Levon. Isabelle has come to Paris in search of her father who left when she was six. All she has is the harp he left her and the hope of finding him playing in one of the clubs in Paris. Her journey brings her much more than she bargained for after her chance meeting with Levon and his extended family who welcolme her into their hearts. Levon’s father also left when he was young, and as the family fled their homeland Levon chose to leave with his family rather than fight with his father. Both Levon and Isabelle have to cope with the fact that their fathers went on to have other children after abandoning them, and that reconnecting with them isn’t the fairytale they expected. Their relationship shows the best of both their worlds, acceptance, love, compromise and being able to live together in peace and harmony no matter what others may feel.

Robert Dinsdale creates such a beautiful and captivating world in Paris By Starlight, the colourful flowers that flourish at night and grow over buildings like Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower, as well as between cracks in the pavements. One of my favourtie places in the book was the catacombs under Paris that turn into the old world with a lake filled with shimmering fish, plants and flowers irredescent with light and nightjars flitting around. Along with the magic and romance there are many more serious issues delt with; the treatment of refugees, segregation between races, the hardship of getting to a new country and of course the fear of what we don’t understand. What really shone through this book for was the message of that wherever you are in the world you carry your heritage, values and history inside you, and you can create your own piece of magic in your new home.

I adored reading Paris By Starlight and being swept away on a magical and captivating journey. This book literally has light and dark, the day and the night, love and fear,and the conflict in-between. The stunning nighttime world and the stories from The Nocturn were vividly brought to life in full technicolour. Add in the romance between Isabelle and Levon and you have all the ingredients for an enchanting, engaing and enthralling read; simply sublime.