Last Twilight in Paris, Pam Jenoff (Review by Carli Monostra)

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Lévitan, once a popular department store, secretly imprisoned Jews of higher societal ranking during the second world war in Paris. Due to a childhood illness, Helaine grew up isolated from the outside world, but recently gained theconfidence to leave her strict family only to be treated with even less freedom by the Nazis. Helaine and her fellow prisoners may be considered lucky because they were spared from harsher labor camps, but they are now forced to support a Nazi initiative that further erases the Jewish community in France. Helaine must find the strength she was once told by doctor’s that she did not have if she wants to survive.

Meanwhile, Louise is an English volunteer for the International Red Cross with the assignment of delivering care packages to POWs in camps behind enemy lines. Louise finally found purpose through her volunteer service, but is immensely conflicted when she sees the organization fail to do more while witnessing the cruel conditions of the POW camps and when her close friend is mysteriously found dead after receiving a necklace. Louise seeks justice for her friend, who she believes was murdered, after the reappearance of the necklace in an English thrift shop nine years after the war.

I really enjoyed that the post-war timeline wasn’t decades after the war and that the author spent time discussing how it felt for both men and women to return home and establish their new normal. Additionally, I admire that the author decided to focus on the two unexplored topics of the Lévitan and the controversial lack of action from the International Red Cross regarding Nazi Germany’s persecutions. Novels set during WWII can feel a bit repetitive, so these areas of focus will berefreshing for historical fiction fans. While distressing, these topics are discussed more at a surface level rather than complete immersion for an entirely dark story tone. Additionally, I did find the plotlines to be a bit predictable, so it slightly diminished the build-up to intense, emotional scenes or my ability to form deeper connections to the main characters.