This book sounded so much my kind of read, so I was so disappointed to find myself struggling through it. I've given it a bit of thought and I think the problem is that the characters just never really came alive for me.

In order to really get into a novel and get enjoyment from it, I need to care about the people and be immersed in the story. I just didn't get either feeling with this one. It was too much of a slog.

I'm sure it will appeal to other readers, but it's just not one for me.

I received an arc via Net Galley in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

In a rundown, unfashionable part of Paris, far removed from the romance and grandeur of the City of Love a young Englishman arrives looking for a safe-haven following a family tragedy. As he tries to deal with his own inner confusion he becomes embroiled in the lives of his many neighbours and their worries, their dislikes, their uncertainties represent a sense of wider change and growing agitation in Paris as a whole.

There is so much to enjoy in These Dividing Walls. She writes with impressive assurance and clarity for a debut novel, with perfect narrative control and poise. Her characters are excellently realised, forming a diverse cast of peoples whose lives intersect and collide in their shared building, it's a dynamic that you will probably be familiar with if you have ever lived in a block of flats. These are convincingly ordinary people, living recognisable, largely unremarkable lives but Cooper writes them with real charm and sympathy, and a finely-judged dash of eccentricity so that you come to care for each of them in spite of their flaws and pettiness. They're amusing infuriating, heart-breaking and most importantly they are believable, because this is not just a charming, light-hearted tale about neighbourhood relations, it's also a book of clever contrasts that sheds thoughtful light on the sides of Paris more at home in the headlines than the picture postcards.

"Oh, Edward," one character sighs towards the end, "the myths we make for ourselves," and this theme defines many of the contrasts that Cooper contracts between the real and the imaginary, the simplified ideal and the complex reality. There's subtlety and insight in the way that the grandeur of the Louvre and Monmatre with homelessness, unemployment and the struggle to make ends meet in the dilapidated streets where Edward settles. These daily struggles weigh on her characters and the new Muslim family moving into the building become easy targets for hostility and frustration. These issues are sensitively unpicked as fear and tension rise with a new terror attack at Notre Dame and the violent response of the Far Right. She convincingly demonstrates the all-too-easy drift into extremism for those looking for someone to blame and it rings very true both for those characters who watch on from the periphery in horror or vindication and for those swept up more directly in the flow of hatred. My only reservation with this aspect of the story is that there is so little of the Labiris (the new Muslim residents) whose perspective could have contributed so much.

The way that innocuous personal narratives are woven with violence and terrorism is remarkably true to the way these things really touch most people, shockingly but often peripherally and life goes on in spite of them. Edward struggles with his personal grief and forges new relationships far from home while his neighbours struggle with failing marriages, unorthodox relationships, loneliness and mental illness. And yet despite it all this is not a dark book. It's full of characters I became fond of and is often astute and touching in equal measure. It offers a lot of hope without denying that there is darkness in people. A warm and ultimately uplifting story.

An honest book

With today's political climate as it is, this book can't be read at a better time. This book explores the lives of the individuals who inhabit Number thirty seven, an apartment building located in the beautiful Paris. A building, located in a Paris different to the one that is so often romanticized. Its residents couldn't be more different to each other, they're all fearful of what their world has come to. Be it, the rising immigration, the increasing unemployment, their own personal losses, or what their lives are shaping up to become...

Cooper also explores Islamophobia in this book, and in an honest manner giving due credit to those who don't share this attitude. This is what I especially liked about this novel: Fran Cooper explores a handful of diverse perspectives, whilst delivering a compelling narrative that couldn't be more reflective of today's reality.

I received this book through NetGalley.

I haven't read this author before but I liked her easy style. The blurb gives enough of the plot to give you an idea of what the book is about. Simply an apartment block in Paris and the routine stories of the residents and their highs and lows and how each interact.

Remember the movie Alfred Hitchcock movie "Rear Window" where James Stewart is confined to a wheelchair looking out of his apartment window watching all the other residents and learning their stories. This book reminded me of that except it's not written from one character's view, but all of them and it's set in Paris rather than New York .. and it's not a thriller.

It had the same voyeurism in some parts as characters were watching others as well as judging them and their lives. Also set in increasing seasonal temperatures and the residents trying to keep themselves and their apartments cool.

However, beneath the surface, also lurks a rising intolerance which reaches a peak which affects all of the residents. There are two such "events" which are over and done with fairly quickly in the book. The book is more about the build up to these and the after effects.

So there's not much action or much more of a plot than that. It's not my usual genre of book so I was a little slow in getting into it. I really liked the descriptions of the apartments and the character interactions though and the easy writing style. Having been to Paris many times, I knew all the places referenced so that helped. I could easily see the main character's apartment and bookshop in my mind and the author conveyed the lifestyle well too.

Strangely, and this was probably my own fault, from the blurb I kind of expected the book to be set back in the forties or fifties but it was actually present day. I re-read the blurb and it doesn't actually give any hints of any era. But the characters and the lifestyles described would fit then or now.

I liked it as I like many books set in Paris but that's probably more because I love Paris and the references to places I've been and the memories of those. Maybe I just didn't like present day events and prejudices spoiling those. Maybe I'm just an old romantic and prefer to see Paris in those terms too.

An interesting and unusual novel about a very steamy summer in Paris and the inhabitants of an old apartment building. Each character had their own demons to deal with. Although well observed characters I did not feel much connection to the story.

Thank you to negalley and Hodder & Stoughton for allowing me to read this book. I was interested to read this book, purely because it was from a debut novelist and also because it is set in Paris — a place I have never lived, but one which fascinates me. I have to admit that although ‘These Dividing Walls’ is a beautifully written novel of ordinary (and in some cases not so ordinary) people living in contemporary Paris, it took me a while to get into it. At times the characters felt distant, the narrator omniscient to the point of being disconnected from me as the reader and I struggled to connect with the characters. The connections between each of the characters are interesting to follow and the revelation at the end, although maybe not a complete surprise, is a believable one. However, it wasn’t a page-turner for me, which is a shame because I really wanted to love this book.

However, the way Parisians currently live, under the threat of riots and terrorism, on top of normal everyday concerns is well portrayed in the book and the author clearly has fist-hand knowledge of living in Paris. The central themes of love, betrayal and loss and redemption, are all covered, very clearly. Anyone who lives or has lived or stayed in Paris and wondered about the lives behind the walls of Hausmanian residences will no doubt enjoy reading ‘These Dividing Walls’.
I have to say although I enjoyed it, it didn’t leave an impression on me and I didn’t really care about the characters or wonder about them after the last page.
I am sure this book will however, appeal to a broad range of readers.

I was really, really impressed with this book; despite being a debut, is it has such an assured feel to it. From the beginning I was drawn into the stories of the various individuals living at number 37, storing up the nuggets of information provided by the author about each character. I felt a bit like James Stewart’s character in Hitchcock’s Rear Window, eavesdropping on the residents of the neighbouring apartments.

Number 37 seems to act as a microcosm of society, not just French society. There are secrets, frustrations, unhappy memories, prejudice, loneliness, depression, love and loss. But there are also new beginnings, reconciliations and a coming together in adversity.

The author very cleverly connects the intimate personal stories to the wider political situation in France where tensions over unemployment, immigration and change threaten to boil over in the sweltering heat of a Paris summer. Reading this in the wake of the terror attack in London, the events depicted and the emotions that gave rise to them really resonated.

I absolutely loved this book and I can’t wait to read more from the author who I’m sure has a glittering career ahead of her. Highly recommended.

I loved this book about the inhabitants of an old five-storey apartment building in a less than glamorous part of Paris. They each have their own front doors and their own lives, but in many ways their lives are connected as they battle their own personal demons and secrets.

As the summer in question progresses and the temperature soars the tension both inside and outside number 37 increases too and the lives of these people become ever more closely connected. Although, their opinions and views of the world may differ, sometimes dramatically, they are each dealing with universal human issues like loss, love, loneliness and hope.

The book is well written, with believable characters, a great sense of place and is very current. I experienced many different emotions while reading it and as it progressed I found myself caring about these people, even if I didn’t always agree with their views.

These Dividing Walls is a beautifully written novel of ordinary (and in some cases not so ordinary) people living in contemporary Paris. It is set in a residential area away from the tourists, where this motley group share a building together. The connections between each of the characters are interesting to follow and the revelation at the end, although maybe not a complete surprise, is a believable one.

The way Parisians currently live, under the threat of riots and terrorism, on top of normal everyday concerns is well portrayed. Themes of love, betrayal and loss as well as redemption, are all covered, very cleverly. Anyone who lives, has lived or stayed in Paris and wondered about the lives behind the walls of Hausmanian residences will enjoy reading These Dividing Walls. And for those who have yet to visit the City of Light this story illustrates a different side of life which can only add to their discovery and enjoyment of time spent here.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful novel.

A short book made up of the lives of those live in number 37. It tells of their interactions and of grief and happiness. It also tells us of the violence and racism in Paris. The book was easy to read and I could picture Paris but I expected more of a story.

The first part of this book could have taken place any time. It is well written prose about people sharing the same building and struggling with there own problems.

'Within its walls, people kiss. They talk, they laugh; someone cries, perhaps. A few are glad to sit alone. Others wish that they did not.'

Gradually, the reader understands more about these characters and gets to know them intimately. Then suddenly this books is of this day and age, and it is clear that - as well as human beings in real life - the characters are connected through a complicated web of things we all hope for, we demand and we take for granted. No matter how despicable the opinions and behaviour of some, somehow I could slightly understand where it came from, what their motivations were. Very good!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

An apartment in Paris filled with people from all corner of the globe - now I’ve lived in such a place and didn’t know my neighbours either - that planted the seed for wanting to see behind the closed doors of this apartment block!

There’s something delicious about peaking behind the curtains (or lack of as is the case in France) and seeing what people get up to. There’s the curious in all of us and this is a fascinating insight into a multicultural French society.

Crime and trouble is known to become worse when the heat of the summer gets worse, and this is no exception. Paris is having problems - there is racial tension on the streets and protests of all descriptions. When a muslim family moved into the building, I felt a prickle of nerves as this was becoming very poignant and relevant to what’s going on in the world today.

There’s not much to be said other than you have to read it and go on the journey with these people to see, experience living in a Paris apartment and a city undergoing turmoil in every sense of the word.

I found the ‘afterword really interesting as this illustrates how life carried on after the riots and turmoil of the summer

This was really special. Lovely to read something set in contemporary Paris. It's a city that holds really special memories for me yet I don't know it that well.
The lives of the residents are so neatly yet gently interwoven, and the political unrest backdrop, so timely at the moment, gives a really authentic backdrop. The eruption of violence in the city such a contrast to the meandering lives of our main characters.

A tale of love, loss, grief, loneliness, intolerance that is just all the richer for being set in Paris.

Such a beautifully written book!
It's easy to fall in love with Paris and it's chic and romantic lifestyle but this novel goes behind the shiny veneer and gives us a glimpse of what can really lie lurking, in this precocious city,
All the inhabitants at number 37 in a distinct corner of Paris live their complicated and interconnecting lives dealing with the darker and the sometimes, more real side of human nature. As a negative energy seems to rise you begin to see how easy it is for a blame culture to develop.
Essential reading.

The characters in this book are beautifully portrayed, and there is a mature handling to their interactions. The plot is topical and sometimes clumsy, a little more subtlety could have rendered it much more powerful. Having said that, the topicality of the story and the likeliness of it are compelling reading, and the setting is always wonderful to read about, city centre or suburbs.

Such a cleverly interwoven plot. The interconnections between each of the characters is effortlessly portrayed as we witness the whole spectrum of emotions and complex parallel lives residng under one roof in a seemingly ordinary corner of Paris. A deeply affecting, intelligent read.

Paris is easy to love, isn't it? Think of the sleek, chic boulevards and grand buildings; the art, department stores and pavement cafes... But this is only the side of the city that the tourists see. Over on the rive gauche, in a quiet apartment building, a group of mismatched inhabitants deal with another face of the world's most romantic destination. In these rooms, jumbled cheek-by-jowl and yet rarely connecting, the inhabitants of number thirty-seven live their complicated parallel lives, negotiating the paths of grief, love, loneliness, failure and a growing sense of hatred. For this is a sweltering summer and tensions are rising, directed against a scapegoat 'other'. In this, Fran Cooper's debut novel has its finger firmly on the pulse of a world in which tolerance hangs by a fraying thread.

When I began reading the novel, I thought it was going to be a bit like one of Frederik Backman's stories, focused on the members of one particular block and their inner lives. But, as I read more, it became clear that this isn't that kind of ultimately heartwarming escapism. These Dividing Walls goes beyond the divisions inherent in architecture, to look at deeper divisions of tolerance, attitude and acceptance. It's a book very much of its time, focusing in on questions that exercise us all at the moment. What makes us French (or British, for that matter)? Is it the colour of our skin; our religion; where we were born; or where we've chosen to make our home? How do we react when bigots hide their prejudices behind a cosy desire to 'keep things as they've always been'? Do we spit venom at the nameless mob of migrants who, we've been assured, are stealing our jobs and plotting to kill us all? Or do we take time to get to know those around us for the people they are?

This book chimes with modern concerns and taps into the current conversation about nationality, immigration and the obligations of common decency. The thing is that, because Cooper is dealing with such a topical subject, she risks seeing world events run away with her. Things have already moved on a little since she wrote this novel, although not to the point of outdating it, but one wonders how the world stage will stand in May, by the time the book is published. Perhaps it doesn't matter. It's a novel, after all, and it's as much about emotional resilience and healing as it is about intolerance - though, unsurprisingly, it's the latter theme which resonates. Timely and thoughtful, it's perhaps one of the first novels to reflect back the state of our current society. And, even in one of the most photogenic cities, it ain't a pretty sight.

The full review will be published on 21 April 2017 at the following link:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/04/21/these-dividing-walls-fran-cooper/