This book is about three women: Vera, an older (no age given) American living in Paris who decides to go back home to die since she has been diagnosed with cancer of the breast. She is in first class on the SS Paris. Constance, an American who is coming home from Paris after trying to get her sister to come home to help her mother get better, she is traveling in 2nd class and then Julie, a young and innocent native of France and has decided to work on one of the ships she has seen going in and out of the harbor by her house. She is in steerage. The book goes back and forth between the three women who run into each other at different times. Their stories are very different. This is a really enjoyable book. I felt like I really got to know the three women and what it was like to be on the SS Paris back in 1921. I recommend this book. ( )

This was an interesting look into the lives of three different women in 1921 who all board the same ship, the Paris. One is a third class young waitress who is learning about love and men for the first time. One is a second class somewhat older wife and mother learning about her stuffy life. And the third is a first class elderly lady reflecting on her past life. Each stage and class of life is explored in the course of one week. I was impressed with how much Gynther could fit in such a short time. The brief meetings throughout the week were somewhat forced, but the final meeting that entwined their lives was rather poignant. The ending was somewhat sad, but filled with hope for the future. I look forward to reading more by this new author. ( )

Character driven verses plot driven. After coming off two fabulous debut Novels that set the bar so unbelievably high...it's very tough to come next. Nice pace but took me days and days to finish. Not the type of book you say " don't bother me I'm reading". But still good. Loved the concept of writing ones memoir using the alphabet and significant numbers. As a matter of fact I enjoyed the older character SinClair best. But, as was my problem with Steel Magnolias. ... classes do not generally mix like this. ( )

The author is a good story teller of the 1921 crossing of The Paris. Constance Stone is a mother and wife, Julie Vernet a young woman is hired to work on the ship and Vera Sinclair an elderly woman who is ill and returning to the USA are photographed together and then cross paths with each other on the ship. ( )

I requested Crossing on the Paris from the netgalley catalog because of my love of historical fiction. I was drawn to this title for a number of reasons. First, one of my favorite novels, Birdsong, is set in the same era (early 20th century). Second, I love stories that interweave different narratives. And thirdly (is that even a word?) the cover is professionally done and is just beautiful.

The novel spans the trans-atlantic maiden voyage of the fictional luxury liner, the Paris. The book is separated into five main sections, one for each day of oceanic travel. Within each of these “sections” or “days”, we learn the history of the three main characters. Although the three women are living at the same time and are traveling on the same ship, they each have very different experiences during the five day trip.

Gynther does a beautiful job bringing in the historical details that truly bring her story to life. I did find a couple of situations/characters predictable but this did not detract from the story for me. In fact, although I did predict one situation, I was still a bit shocked with how it played out and did not expect it to happen quite like it did.

On a personal level, I appreciated the detail that the author went into with the descriptions of the ship and it’s three levels of passengers, particularly the experiences and plans of the character Julie. My great-grandmother, left Ukraine to escape the communist revolution, in 1918 or 1919, just a couple of years before the start of this novel. She was approximately Julie’s age and as far as I know, was traveling alone. I’ve always pictured her trip across the ocean in small old boat but after reading this novel, I now wonder if she wasn’t actually in the steerage level of some type of ocean liner. While she did not have the exact experience that Julie had, she most definitely did experience the chaos found in the overpopulated steerage level and I appreciate being able to better imagine what it must have been like for her during that voyage.

This is the debut novel of Dana Gynther. If her future novels live up to the promise in Crossing on the Paris, I will be a very happy reader. ( )