Capturing Paris

As a confirmed Francophile, I'm always on the look out for both fiction and non-fiction books about Paris. This one did not disappoint! For once, a realistic main character. Not one with the stiletto heels, high power job, looking for Mr. Right while romping in every bed available. Davis's prose was smooth and enjoyable. Her characters and plot were believable and she wrapped up the ending in a timely fashion that left the reader satisfied. I look forward to more novels from this author.

Davis knows and loves Paris and her words--whether describing an individual, a meal, a room, a park, or a photograph--get it right. It's a sensuous book. She has an eye, ear, and nose for details that bring the story alive, make it all believable, and engage the reader. And she knows the kinds of people and situations she's writing about. We connect with our own memories of Paris, our own experiences of relationships, of change, of self-discovery. It's a hard book to pull away from.

With the painterly hand of an Impressionist master, Ms. Davis artfully renders the ravishing images, scents, and sounds of the City of Light in the accomplished manner of a seasoned novelist (this is, surprisingly, Ms. Davis' first full-length work of fiction). An acute observer of emotional nuance, Ms. Davis convincingly unspools her seductive narrative of personal relationships - relationships fragile, intricate, and enduring - within the alluring contours of glamorous Paris and environs. I shall spare our gentle readers another summary and instead leave you with a warning: Danger. Reading Capturing Paris will likely trigger an irresistable urge to visit the City of Light. In fact, I'm already packing!!! Bon Voyage.

Here is a book to swallow whole. For years I've missed the rich novels of Laurie Colwin but in Katharine Davis I may have found the next master of domestic detail. Her fine novel, Capturing Paris,not only tells a deeply moving story of a marriage thrown off balance by a complicated new acquaintance, but it also brings Paris to life. Taste the pastry at a sidewalk cafe, sit at a table set for an intimate dinner party, walk the paths of a wild country garden,wash the freshest mussels from Brittany at an old stone sink. In Davis' capable hands, the reader falls into a world where life's important moments happen around the dinner table: wine, cheese, flowers, a perfectly roasted chicken, chocolate mousse, and a congenial coversation that barely covers the undercurrent of lust and betrayal.