November/December title

Perestroika in Paris
by Jane Smiley
 
Wednesday December 1st at 1pm
 
Copies of the book, including large print and audio editions, are available at the library. 
 
 From the Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling author: a captivating, brilliantly imaginative story of three extraordinary animalsand a young boywhose lives intersect in Paris in this “feel-good escape” (The New York Times).

Paras, short for “Perestroika,” is a spirited racehorse at a racetrack west of Paris. One afternoon at dusk, she finds the door of her stall open andshe’s a curious fillywanders all the way to the City of Light. She’s dazzled and often mystified by the sights, sounds, and smells around her, but she isn’t afraid.

Soon she meets an elegant dog, a German shorthaired pointer named Frida, who knows how to get by without attracting the attention of suspicious Parisians. Paras and Frida coexist for a time in the city’s lush green spaces, nourished by Frida’s strategic trips to the vegetable market. They keep company with two irrepressible ducks and an opinionated raven. But then Paras meets a human boy, Etienne, and discovers a new, otherworldly part of Paris: the ivy-walled house where the boy and his nearly-one-hundred-year-old great-grandmother live in seclusion.

As the cold weather nears, the unlikeliest of friendships bloom. But how long can a runaway horse stay undiscovered in Paris? How long can a boy keep her hidden and all to himself? Jane Smiley’s beguiling new novel is itself an adventure that celebrates curiosity, ingenuity, and the desire of all creatures for true love and freedom. 
--penguinrandomhouse.com

More about Girl, Woman, Other

Check out this great resource page for our upcoming discussion of Girl, Woman, Other (including a handy character list!).