Title – The Siren of Paris
Author – David
Leroy
Author's website link - http://www.thesirenofparis.com/Genre
or category – Historical Fiction/Action and Suspense
ASIN:
B0088CA098
The Siren of Paris by David
Leroy
Excerpt: “I have decided to go back to
Paris. I know other Americans there, and I think I might be able to help out
with the American Hospital.” He sounded rehearsed to Joan. “Sounds like you
have this all thought out. I didn’t know you wanted to go into medicine full
time. I could use the help around here, Marc. Why not stay in
Saint-Nazaire?”
“Joan, there is nothing here for me to do. The other
nurses can help. There is no more work to be done with the yards. I need to go
back. There, I might be able to make a difference.” The words fell away from his
mouth over her covers and out the windows to the sea.
“What has changed?
What is the hurry all of a sudden? I mean, you were going to go up to England
and stay with your friend, Allen.” She held her stomach as it cramped. “Why do
you all of a sudden now want to go to Paris? What are you running from, Marc?”
she whispered a little too loudly, unaware that Marc had heard her.
“I’m
not running away, Joan. I just need to be someplace where I am needed. I cannot
go back to America and just resume my plush life in New York and forget about
everyone I know in France. There are Americans in Paris, not many, but still,
and I just think that’s the best place for me right now,” Marc’s voice stood
firm.
She listened and then said, “You found him, didn’t you. You found
your friend and now …”
“Yes.” “I understand now. I have appreciated you
here these months. Without you, I would have had to deal with that German
officer directly, and you made that a lot easier,” she went on.
“He’s
not as bad as you make him out to be. He’s just trying to survive like you
are.”
“When do you leave?”
“Maybe tomorrow. I’ll find out in the
morning.”
“Do you know why you are going?”
“Yes. I think back in
Paris, I can help at the hospital, and help others who are trying to make it
through.”
“Not even close, Marc, not even close,” she said, looking out
at the sea.
“Joan, I can’t go north. Even if Allen were alive and I had
a place to stay in London, I can’t get across the Channel.” He sounded like a
child complaining to his mother. “I can’t really go south. I have no proof of my
American citizenship. I lost everything on that ship out there.” He then looked
out and checked if the tide was low, where the superstructure haunted the
coastline. “If I even got over the border, I don’t know anyone in Spain and
would not know where to go. And, besides, after everything now, I cannot go
home. At least in Paris, I can do something.”
“Marc, listen to me
carefully. Do you know why I dragged you from the ocean that day? Do you know
what drove me when I was nearly eight months pregnant to convince a French
fisherman to go out there and get you swimmers? I got news for you, friend. It
wasn’t because God called me and said, ‘Hey, you got to save these chaps.’ “I
saved you, not because I was trying to save you, but because I was trying to
save the one whom I had lost in the past. I was trying to save the one soldier
who died who I thought I could save if only I had done this, or that. And that
dead soldier, whom I could not save—drives me in ways I can’t quite get at. I
lost my baby, Marc, because I was so driven by that need to save him. That is
why I was out there that day, and dragged you from the sea back to my hospital.
Angels do have demons, you know."
Description: (adapted from the
Amazon description)
In German occupied Paris, a group of unlikely
people collaborate to smuggle an Allied airman south to Spain. Among them is an
American, Marc Tolbert. He had come to Paris in 1939, to study art, not
suspecting he would become caught up in a war or feel driven to acts of heroism.
Marc, the French-born son of a prominent American family, had found
companionship and excitement in the ex-pat scene in Paris. His new friend Dora
introduced him to a circle that included the famous Sylvia Beach, owner of the
bookstore Shakespeare & Company. He had accepted a job with William Bullitt,
US ambassador to France. And while at art school, he'd fallen in love with the
alluring model Marie.
Under the increasing threat from Germany, as
Americans scrambled to escape Paris, Marc found himself trapped by the war. He
almost died, on June 17, 1940, aboard the RMS Lancastria. After returning to
Paris, he helped smuggle Allied airmen through the American Hospital to the
Paris Resistance underground, until a profound betrayal led him into the hands
of the Gestapo and to Buchenwald.
The Siren of Paris, the debut work of
historical fiction by David LeRoy, tells a searing story of love, betrayal,
forgiveness, and war that brings to vivid life the shimmering City of Lights
during its darkest hours during World War II.
Rigorously researched and
vibrant in historical detail, The Siren of Paris reimagines one of history’s
most turbulent times through the prism of an American abroad in Europe’s most
harrowing days. Poignant, gripping, and thought-provoking, The Siren of Paris
mines the human dilemma of revenge versus forgiveness and vividly captures the
conflicted state of survival.
What People Are Saying:This
is a well-written and well-researched story that takes the reader to Paris and
its surroundings during WWII as viewed through the experiences of Marc Tolbert,
an American who was born in France.
The characters are well-developed and we
get to know many of them as well as we might know our friends. The scenery is
vividly painted and one feels like they are there watching the events unfold.
-- AurianeThe Siren of Paris was truly an enjoyable book. I found
the imagery of certain events during World War II (based on what had to be a lot
of historical research) woven well into the underlying story of friendship,
love, growth and self-actualization. I personally found it a great
mixture.
The characters are engaging and you truly want to see what
happens to each of them in the end. And as mentioned previously, the imagery was
very well done to the point that it instilled great visuals for my imagination.
-- ChuckThe author's meticulous historical research really
shines. Events are described in incredibly vivid detail and in a very personal
and human way. For example, we see detailed news footage of the German invasion
of France. We see people cramming themselves into and piling on top of train
cars, trying to escape the country. We experience the destruction of an ocean
liner, are drawn into the intrigue of the French resistance, and feel a
character's psychological deterioration in a prison camp. The novel also touches
on the post traumatic stress the protagonist suffers after the war.
I
also liked the spirituality that runs through the novel. We see a priest who is
well versed in dogma and without compassion contrasted with a loving, spiritual
man of God. This story explores themes of faith, despair, betrayal, guilt,
forgiveness, redemption, and the pivotal choices that make us who we become.
There are also lightly rendered paranormal elements and interesting
dream/hallucination sequences as well as a wise, thoughtful moment, at the end,
where Marc's spirit realizes what he needs to achieve peace.
While it is
packed with information, The Siren of Paris is readable and entertaining. This
is an excellent living history book for adults and mature teens.
--
StephAbout David Leroy:A Native of California, David
received a BA in Philosophy and Religion at Point Loma Nazarene College in San
Diego. The degree served him well while selling women’s shoes, waiting tables,
or working odd jobs after college until settling in the field of
telecommunications, where he has worked for the past 18 years. Early on, he
demonstrated artistic abilities. For many years, David marketed a line of fine
art photographic prints through various galleries and retail outlets.
In
the past few years, his focus has shifted to painting and drawing, which
included the development of a children’s e-book in the Apple Itunes store under
“David Tribble” title “Lord of the Scribes.”
After returning from a
European arts study program, he became interested in the history behind the
French Resistance during World War Two. Writing fiction has become his latest
way to explore philosophical, moral and emotional issues of life.
The Siren of
Paris is his first novel.
-----
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