Arcadia Books Book Club: “Perestroika in Paris”

A racehorse, a dog, a raven and two ducks walk into a park in Paris. This sounds like the set-up for a bad joke but it is actually the list of characters in the most delightful book of 2020.

Jane Smiley’s novel teaches the healing power of friendship (cross-species or otherwise), the importance of observation and patience, of dreaming and of acceptance. Smiley walks a gossamer high wire and never falters. At one point she writes of the character Etienne, “No book he had ever read spoke about such a thing, but Etienne was not surprised. If every new thing were to come as a surprise, he would be surprised every hour of his life.” There are a hundred tender surprises in “Perestroika in Paris;” each one is a balm.

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