Tariq Sandrine, a teenager from Tangiers is in Paris to find out about his Parisian born mother. Hannah, is there to study the women on the city as part of her thesis on women during the war. The two characters meet and avery unique view of Paris emerges. Two people in one very different city, a city of many stories, many faces and many guises. Tariq is in awe and fear of each corner of the city which seems to be a reminder of its troubled history, relationships with Africa and French territories overseas.

The story is separated into chapters each of them named after a metro station or area of the city. (It’s actually a really fun and quirky way of finding your way around as well) Paris is the city for reading its history through the names of its stations and streets. Some of them reveal historical battles, figures and a moment in time. Every one is a chapter in Tariq and Hannah’s stories.

I found the characters of Tariq and Hannah to be very interesting in how they give such unique viewpoints of a time and place, a setting and the people of the city over time.Both are outsiders but each wander the streets looking for something, answers, a history, a clue …..Two lost souls in a city lost to them.

Hannah’s story looking into the women during the war and how they reacted to the German occupation was interesting. Often a part of history forgotten. There were some tough ‘scenes’ to read and it made me think of all those stories women never got to tell, that we still don’t know about.

This was like a history lesson told via the metro stations with a good strong message. Two people wanting to find answers talk and help each other to form a bigger picture so they both find their own story. The city, and the past are full of surprises but it’s only by looking into the past and learning from it that we can really continue and move forward. How we deal with war, how we fall into the trap of following the crowd, drowning out individual voices, how war shapes a person…there’s lots in here to explore.

It does read a bit heavy handed at times and doesn’t flow in parts. The story also sometimes reads like the history lesson it is, but all in all, a novel to appreciate and characters and a city to learn from.