I found this an interesting and pleasant read, despite the lack of a real plot. It is more a glimpse into the lives of the characters who inhabit a Paris apartment building, and how their polite but brief interactions mask the real dramas going on in the separate apartments. Nicely written, (I noticed only one grammatical error), very evocative of daily life in Paris, and a fascinating little peek into the lives of the neighbours.
Thanks to the publisher for a review copy.

I’m so torn by this book. These Dividing Walls is so very well written and I love the concept of the different lives all in one building. The characters are all well developed and we’re given the background of the main characters; Frederique, Edward, Chantal, Cesar, Anais, etc. I really liked the mismatch of characters and how each of their stories were told. And how they all tied together mainly as neighbours but also as other aspects of their personal lives cross.
My favourite characters were Frederique and Edward. They were the most interesting, the most passionate and had the most room for development. I think I could’ve quite happily just read a book all about them without the others.

The reason I was disappointed is purely because I felt the book was building up to something but it didn’t seem to meet up to the expectation. Obviously we saw how each characters story played out, to an extent but it just felt very flat at the end.
These Dividing Walls is a good read and very well written and no doubt some people will really enjoy it. I just wasn’t one of them. As much as I wanted to read this book, it took me much longer than I normally read and I kept finding my mind wandering while reading. A shame because the concept and characters are really good.

Not for me but thank you to NetGalley, Fran Cooper and the publisher for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Beautifully written, mesmorising stories of the people in one apartment block in Paris one summer. There is anger, despair and hope but all are given proper attention and contemporary issues are explored with great sensitivity.

This is an excellent novel, set in France, around the time of protests against immigrants, in particular Muslims. It is set in a varied apartment block, where different people have different views about such things.
Into this mix comes an English man who is still mourning the loss of his sister, and needs a break from his family. Thje owner of the block takes him under her wing, and introduces him to all sorts of people. As his French improves,he sees the tension between neighbours,and gradually falls in love with the older woman who falls for him as well.
As the demonstrations, and protests mount he sees needless violence, and decides he needs to go home.
The characters in this book are exceptionally well-drawn, and the plot is entirely plausible. Many thanks yo NetGalley, and the publisher for allowing me to read this book.

A young man arrives in Paris seeking respite from his grief, surrounding himself in the solitude of an attic flat loaned from a friend. Alongside him, his neighbours are happy and unhappy, they are getting by, they are lying to loved ones, lying to themselves. ‘These Dividing Walls’ by Fran Cooper is a multi-layered story of microcosm and macrocosm, of an apartment block in Paris and its inhabitants, of city-wide anti-immigrant protests.
A wave of racist violence enters the centre of Paris and the unfolding events are told through the lives of the residents at Number 37. Their lives converge and depart from each other, some are socially-minded, others watch from behind curtains. The young mother stretched so thin in the care of her three young children that she fears she will break. The banker who lost his job but is too ashamed to tell his wife. The homeless man who sleeps in a doorway on the street nearby. The silver-haired seller of art books who mourns her dead son. A young couple, new residents at Number 37, lock their door and turn off the television. The lives of all these people are affected by the xenophobic hatred which enters their street.
‘These Dividing Walls’ is at once a tender story and a violent one. Cooper writes with a love for Paris, a city she knows well, and this knowledge is in every sentence. A fond familiarity with Paris shines off every page, gently done, without shouting. The best book I have read this year.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

I initially chose to read this novel due to its setting in Paris, where I lived for a time in the late 1970s. Fran Cooper, the author, has herself lived in Paris and this novel shows her love for the city while not romanticising it in the way which has been done by so many films and books. This is a very contemporary Paris, edgy and marked by homelessness, poverty, terrorism and the alarming growth of the Far Right. This Paris is here seen through the eyes of the residents of one building. Rather than being an introspective and localised view of events this is a very human tale which demonstrates the global impact of the specific and the similar human needs and motivations of those seemingly very different from each other. I felt I was walking the streets of Paris with Edward and feeling the pain of Anais. The characters were very well written and I particularly loved Frederique and Madame Marin who in their own ways were the central points of the narrative. This is a book which seems to have been written by a woman who loves Paris and is paying homage to French literature and political activism. The cafes where Edward participates in debate could be those same cafes frequented by De Beauvoir and Sartre. I shall certainly be on the lookout for more novels by Fran Cooper.

This book was an incredible read. Telling the story of one Parisien summer via the inhabitants of one building in the city was inspired. It covered everything contemporary city life throws at us and also clearly, and the way that a rational person is drawn to extremist views was very well written. I can't wait to share this book with everyone.

I found this book completely absorbing - the writing style is wonderfully descriptive, and the characters and their relationships are nicely drawn. The book is an enjoyable read in which the characters have some highs and lows, with plenty of atmosphere and background thrown in. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the "Corduroy Mansions" books by Alexander McColl Smith. Looking forward to Fran Cooper's next novel.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read an advance copy, in return for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book: it's a beautifully written piece about diversity and community in big cities. Both heartbreaking and inspiring in turns. A lovely read.

This is not a book I would pick up very quickly but something was grabbing my attention.
The apartment building is filled with different peoples with their own backstory. This book is pretty short for the number of characters and the subjects that are touched. The most impressing thing was that none of those stories felt neglected. The book is filled with anger and grief. It is hard to imagine happy things do happen in the world. Still there is love and a lot of vulnerability too. I think I would use the word fragile to descibe the book.
The characters are all placed on a specific part in the story. Their role is clear but it is not disturbing. Though some characters are making questionable decisions it is explained why within the story. It is hard though to really get connected to one character. The characters are really working for the various current subjects and a lot of things that everyone can connect with.

Unwaveringly brilliant pulling on each and every heart string. This poignant, rich portrayal of Paris life is completely immersive with moments of pure beauty. Written in the perspective of tenants living in a Parisian apartment, it encompasses modern tribulations with contemporary social politics including terror attacks and the rise of discrimination not to mention the human stories that hold it together. Fran Cooper is a genuinely fantastic writer and I look forward to reading more of her work in the future.

This book surprised me. There is little plot as such. There is, however, a sense of discovery as we delve into the lives of the occupants of number 37, and a reflection on modern life in a troubled city. I had the sense of being there, such was the description. If you've ever been to Paris in the summer time and walked hot dusty streets, away from the main tourist attractions, you will be able to clearly envisage the scene as you read. Even without, reading evokes many scents, sounds and tastes. Edward is the central character, and there is a story surrounding his appearance in the attic room. Frederique is somewhat of a leader, Madame Marin adds a comic touch with her bright clothing and manner. Anais and Paul and their young family are struggling to cope. Chantal and Cesar, middle aged and dealing with unexpected mid life crises by the sound of it. There is likely to be someone you are rooting for, is it the homeless Josef, who observes all the goings on from across the street? We see developing relationships amid a modern day Paris where the far right is having a resurgence and causing rifts and trouble. I found this an easy to read feast of modern day Paris, and while it highlighted trouble in the city, it reminded me what I love about France. And there are stories to follow- each of the houses has their own story, which intermingle as we learn of this varied community.

Great first novel. Captures the variety and intensity if Paris in all its guises. Wonderful characterisation of residents of a building and what goes on behind those walls. How well do we really know people, or trust them to do the right thing

This is a lovely quick read character study novella.

There isn't a mass amount of plot here, but there is a lot of depth packed in to a little space. Just like in the building it describes I suppose. I quite like character studies so I was already likely to enjoy this. If anything, I would suggest it could have delved deeper into some of the feelings of loss experienced by the central characters.

This book is contemporary in its staging and has a very left wing progressive political viewpoint with it. I am open to books offering political stances during the modern era, politics is everywhere and changing constantly (and nowhere less so than in Paris), so it makes sense it should feature in this story. This book does, however, at times sway towards the shout it in your face method of political diatribe which can be a little much.

The brevity of this book means that it is enough of a quick read that it still very much feels like it is worth your while and it is this, that makes this a book I will still recommend. 

**I have to end this review with an apology. I was given an ARC of this book to review and I honestly forgot all about it until I recently saw it on sale in Waterstones. - Sorry!**

Number 37 sits at the meeting of two streets in Paris’s 5th Arrondisement. The apartment block houses a variety of tenants including Edward, a young Englishman who is visiting his French girlfriend Emilie, who is currently away. Her aunt, Frederique, lives in another part of the block. Chantal and Cesar live on a lower floor and Anais lives on the second floor with her husband and children. The caretakers, the Marins live on the ground floor where Mme Marin has a hairdressing salon.

Frederique runs a hidden bookshop at the back of the inner courtyard. She always says hello to Josef, a homeless man who camps in a doorway across the street and lends him her newspapers. She seems to know his business as he does hers. Edward is intrigued by this.

New tenants, Muslims, move in. The residents are divided in their opinions; some like Mme Duval, being antagonistic and some are supportive; others, like Cesar, get caught up in things they did not intend. Against this background and the heat of a Paris summer secrets begin to be revealed, attitudes displayed and events unfold on the larger world stage.

An attack at Notre-Dame means all public buildings have to be evacuated, including the Louvre while Edward is there. Violence erupts and there is trouble on the streets. The tenants of No.37 cannot avoid being involved. People are hurt, passions run high and the new Muslim tenats are targeted. Meanwhile an affaire blossoms.

Will Chantal and Cesar ever recover from their estrangement? Will Anais find the strength to go on? Will Mme Duval leave the new tenants alone to get on with their lives? And will Edward finally realise where he needs to be?

This novel is a fascinating account of a varied cast of people, all with their own problems and destinies. It is well written and a very enjoyable read.

This novel is really a collection of vignettes. No.37 - a block of apartments on a quiet street in Montparnasse, Paris provides the backdrop - and behind each of the residents and visitors lies a very human story. Fran Cooper's skill lies in using the anti-immigrant riots that flare up around the city as the catalyst that draws this group of people together. As we turn the pages more and more is revealed about the real feelings and lives of the residents of No.37. There are many surprises - some nasty, some uplifting. But ultimately humanity and harmony return within the walls of No.37.

These Dividing Walls by Fran Cooper is an intense drama set in contemporary France. During a long and hot Parisian summer, tension rises on the streets, violence erupts and the lives of the residents of an apartment block will never be the same. Young Englishman Edward fleeing a family tragedy moves into the apartment block and befriends Frederique, the aunt of a friend who is hiding from her own tragedy. A compelling novel, touching on issues that we all live with. Beautifully written.

Lovely book, I hope you like my review below

A captivating and memorising story about loss and redemption. It depicts a side of Paris that is unnervingly prophetic. With hate rising , love emerges in unlikely circumstances. Sometimes it makes uncomfortable reading but that's to the author's credit. The characters are vivid as are the described scene. It's a triumph.

Number 27, an apartment building in the little backstreets of Paris, houses behind its turquoise door a myriad of characters each with their own story to tell.
Madame Frederique Aubry lives alone, running the bookshop on the ground floor. Madame Marin, gardienne of the building and owner of the hairdressers. Cesar Vincent, President of the Residents Association lives with his lovely wife Chantel. Then there is Anais, her husband Paul and their three children.
Add into the mix, Edward, escaping from the death of his sister in England and the walls of number 37 begin to creak and groan with bubbling tensions and upheaval.
Paris itself teeters on the brink as terrorists attack the Notre Dame and riots break out.
Against this backdrop Cooper is wonderfully adept and skillful in relaying the stories of the individual characters before bringing them altogether and hurtling them towards a dramatic conclusion.
Coopers writing is fantastic perfectly capturing a true sense of time and place in the heat of a Parisienne summer.
It is a novel that says much about the society we live in today, highlighting the threat of terrorism ,and the ignorance of race and religion so vehemently held by those around us.
This is a superb debut and I cannot wait to read what Fran Cooper writes next