The Paris Showroom was a fascinating look at the not-so-well known prison camp located in the middle of Paris, where prisoners worked extremely long hours sorting out furniture, works of art, and other paraphernalia confiscated from the homes of those who were arrested and sent to concentration camps. Knowing that prisoners were kept in Paris, I am glad to see the spotlight put on those people who were forced to work countless hours sorting plundered items, often recognizing items from friends and family, helpless to do much about it. Furthermore, the prisoners were requested to clean and repair the items so they could be sold to German soldiers to furnish their confiscated apartments while in Paris.

The story alternated between Capucine and Mathilde's POV, and while I enjoyed both of them, I did prefer Capucine's simply because I was fascinated by the inner workings of the Lévitan prison camp while Mathilde's story led her in the direction of the resistance network in Paris, something with which I was much more familiar.

Capucine has quite the backstory, and she is quite the character. A wild and free spirit who embraced the liberties of the 1920s and 1930s, she was definitely unconventional, preferring the night clubs, jazz bars, and artistic pursuits that were available during this time period, but all of this came at a great cost as she lost her precious daughter to her prim and conventional in-laws who didn't approve of her behaviour. She has an intense love affair an American jazz pianist during this time period, but refuses to marry him, but you figure it out easily enough when she gets arrested although it takes a long time for it to be said on the page. I did have a hard time putting the Capucine who worked in the concentration camp together with the free-spirited one, as they were so different. The war has definitely broken more than one spirit, and you can see how much of an affect it has on Capucine as she reflects on her earlier days and more carefree ways. I did like the way she encouraged the prisoners to rebel however, in their own ways, and I found it interesting to learn about the many ways prisoners would go about trying to sabotage things and protect things the Nazis tried to destroy.

I really enjoyed Mathilde's character development, but I have to say that I did not like her at all for the first two-thirds of the book. Reflecting the conservative views of the grand-parents who raised her, you got to see the other side of the affect of Nazi occupation in Paris during this time period; the focus was on those who got wealthy by helping the Nazis, and their subsequent falls from grace when the war ended. Mathilde was quite naive in the beginning, but as she learned, she grew on me. And she soon learned that her grand-parents' viewpoints did not necessarily have to be hers.

As much as I enjoyed learning about the showroom concentration camp and the intertwining lives of Capucine and Mathilde, I did feel like the plot lost focus and there was a lack of real drive / purpose to the story. There were times when the story fell flat, or relied on coincidence to further a plot point, something of which I am not a fan, no matter how well-written or how beautifully descriptive the scene may have been. And while I love good resolutions to books, when you learn about the relationship between Capucine and her new husband, and the fact they are returning to the United States to live, there was a small part of me that wondered how that was going to work out.

Verdict
The Paris Showroom was a very enjoyable book, and I loved learning about the fans and the artistry that went into them as I don't think I've ever given it a thought before. I was glad the focus was on the department store concentration camps as there aren't too many books that mention them, so I was fascinated by the men and women who laboured and suffered there for years, with few people knowing they were there. The character development in this book was good, although I'm not sure a reconciliation subplot was needed here, and I did think the plot fell flat at times, and sort of meandered around. That being said, if you are interesting in learning more about the Paris prison camps, this book may be of interest to you. ( )

We meet Mathilde and Capucine during the occupation of Paris....mother and daughter.

Mathilde lives with her grandparents who are doing well under the Nazi regime. She has lived with them for years because her mother had left.

Capucine and her father Bruno were taken away.

Bruno went to a concentration camp, and Capucine was sent to a camp that was in a Parisian furniture store...Levitan.

In this store the Jewish prisoners were made to sort and then sell the items the Germans had taken from the homes of Jewish families who were evacuated from their homes. The German officers would "shop" in the store.

Some of the workers found the things from their families and made their time in the furniture store even worse.

The prisoners also confiscated personal papers they found for anyone who may survive and have something of their loved ones. That was one way they could defy the enemy.

We follow Mathilde and Capucine both present and past through alternating chapters.

Loved learning about the gorgeous fans Capucine's father made before the war and that spoke to others simply by where the fan was placed on one's face or heart.

You will LOVE the characters as we also meet men and women in the French Resistance.

You will be amazed at how the prisoners in this furniture store camp worked together to keep spirits up.

I had never heard of this camp and what was going on inside.

Such interesting facts and research but that obviously included the heartbreaking situations of WWII.

THE PARIS SHOWDOWN will keep your interest even though it is a bit confusing at first with all the characters.

Another book Juliet Blackwell fans won’t want to miss. 4/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review. ( )