The New Internationals
The turbulent economic and political maelstrom of Paris in 1947 serves as an apt setting for this character-driven novel of young people from different cultures, who are coming to maturity and looking to the future in the aftermath of the city’s occupation in WWII. Cecile Rosenbaum, a young Jewish woman who is a survivor of the war due to both bravery and profiteering on the part of others in her family, meets Sebastien, a West African man from a royal line in Dahomey (now part of Benin) who seeks to become an architect to enhance his nation. Their friends are members of a youth Communist group who are also searching for a better way forward for themselves. Differing political views of how best to accomplish this aim both connect and disconnect them. Add to this mix more students from other African countries still held as colonies by France and American GIs who bring jazz music, soul food, and better cigarettes to the city, and the kaleidoscopic face of Paris becomes evident.
Themes of what progress means, what the idea of family should encompass in terms of cultural traditions and expectations going forward, and how people see themselves and are seen by others, weave in and out of the novel through the various characters’ lives. These are timeless themes, but they unroll here in a very specific setting of a city on the brink of change potentially fueled by new international perspectives. Thought-provoking and written in a style that reflects these different perspectives, this book is highly recommended for any readers willing to dive into a time of change in the past that can perhaps help us see our own time in new ways as well.
