Stacy Cohen

I really enjoyed this one. It was a very quick read and you can't help but get caught up in it. If you enjoy historical fiction and you're a fan of art (especially if you like Joan Miro and Henri Matisse, who are both characters in the novel), you'll probably like this book. I love both so it was a win-win for me. It's set in Nazi-occupied Paris during WWII and is about an artist, Jean-Luc Beauchamp, under the tutelage of friend and fellow artist Miro (later he is an apprentice to Matisse). The typical boy-meets-girl story follows when Jean-Luc meets Natasha, a Russian ballerina. After falling deeply in love with one another, a new suitor enters the scene. Heinrich Lorenz, a ranking German officer used to getting everything he wants, scoops up Natasha and threatens to kill anyone who gets in his way of her. A torrid, painful love triangle ensues.… (más)

A novel about Paris, not just the beautiful "City of the Lights," but a city captured and terrorized in the grip of a hostile German army in WWII, this is a book I couldn't help dying to read. I love Paris above all European cities, and my heart just stops at the thought of anyone destroying a single piece of its architecture or fine arts.

So, I could hardly wait to tell you that this book will leave you breathless and pensive. From the very first paragraphs you will be taken in to the epic story of lovers and liars, artists and anti-heros...

Stacy Cohen paints with a gentle hand and delft stokes the story of an occupied Paris that is so confined and crippled that you feel the constraints of it as you read. We come to know and love favored contemporary artists Miro and the grumpy but irrepressible Mattise, who take under wing the talented but fledgling young artist, Jean Luc Beauchamp.

Jean Luc becomes the hero of this story as we follow his passions of art, true love for a beautiful Russian ballerina with a secret, and love of Paris...all elements of the human story and the battle of good vs. evil. Ms Cohen also provides us a German Oberst officer villian to heat up the struggles. He's interesting, darkly intriguing and easy to hate.

A novel that will set you adrift into another time, "The Last Train for Paris," will catch you up in a story that will rush over your heart and bring you to tears. It is a story that will create a righteous indignation about the savaging of the arts, and the art thefts of WWII. And, it is a novel that will remain with you should you visit Paris or when you think of its beauty and many treasures.

Hopefully, you will never find yourself taking the last train from Paris...but always going toward Paris. It is the most beautiful and mysterious of European cities. Just like cities all over the world in these times and in the past, it is worthy of our concerns and protection.

I'm grateful to Ms Cohen for reminding me of that. It took many brave hearts in the Resistance to liberate Paris and France from a hostile enemy. Theirs is a story that is beautifully rendered in "The Last Train from Paris."

Highly recommended and timely.

Your Bookish Dame/Deborah… (más)

"The Last Train From Paris" by Stacy Cohen is an agonizing and heart-wrenching romance set in Nazi-occupied Paris during World War II.

Jean-Luc Beauchamp is a struggling artist living in his own world where the Nazi's exist in his periphery, but have had very little impact on his day-to-day life. This changes when he meets Natasha, a ballerina, and falls deeply and desperately in love. Unfortunately her beauty has also caught the eye of a vicious Nazi officer, Oberst Lorenz, and Natasha must distance herself from Jean-Luc to keep him safe. With his muse gone, Jean-Luc joins the resistance and fights to liberate his beloved country while Natasha becomes the prisoner of a brutal man who would kill her if her secret was ever revealed.

This is a captivating romance intertwined with horrific brutality that was, at times, difficult to read. What kept me going was the hope that everything was going to work out for Jean-Luc and Natasha in the end. I believed in their love and expected it to conquer all the darkness.

I liked the historical elements of this novel and the inclusion of some real life characters, such as artist Jean Miro, and felt it was very well researched. Nothing about the occupation of Paris by the Nazi's was sugar-coated which added to the fear I felt for the characters as they encountered some truly evil Germans. It was also nice to get a glimpse inside the resistance as it gave me one more element to root for when I wasn't sure if the romance was going to work out.

While the romance is a major part of the story, I think it would appeal to those who enjoy WWII historical fiction as well as those who like historical romance. This novel is fast paced, difficult to put down, and may induce a tear or two, I highly recommend it!… (más)

“The Last Train From Paris” is set in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1944. It tells the story of Jean-Luc and Natasha. Jean-Luc is a struggling French artist who hates the German occupants but remains largely in the dark of what all is going on, especially to the Jews in France. He considers chasing women more important than work, but grudgingly takes a job when his landlady tells him she badly needs his rent money. His mentor gets him a job apprenticing for Henri Matisse, painting the scenery for a ballet.
There he meets Natasha, the beautiful Russian ballerina. He wins her heart only to have a German officer fixate on her. The officer becomes more and more insistent and there is nothing Natasha can do without angering him and endangering both her and Jean-Luc’s lives. Soon the officer discovers Natasha’s secret and she becomes his prisoner. Jean-Luc is still set on freeing her and running away with her, and she knows she must take action to save his life. She tells the press, right in front of Jean-Luc, after her ballet performance that Jean-Luc’s work is that of an amateur and was not worthy of their ballet. Now without hope, she resigns herself to a life as the officer’s captive, fearful every day that he will send her away to Auschwitz.
Meanwhile a heartbroken Jean-Luc joins the French Resistance. He almost gets several of them killed when he hesitates to kill a teenage German soldier, but they find a better use for him. He joins another of the Resistance who is trying to save the art from the Louvre that is being stolen by the Nazis. When they get word that the Allies are on the way he resolves to fight for his country’s freedom, for the art that is being stolen by the Germans, and for Natasha.
I did like “The Last Train From Paris,” but it seemed like a redo of Moulin Rouge set during the war. He was just an artist instead of a writer, and she a ballerina instead of an actress. And she had no choice but to act like she was in love with the bad guy while the good guy tried to think of a way to sneak her away to marry her.
Regardless, it did keep my attention and the characters were well developed. The Resistance fighting was a change from the plot I was already familiar with and was a chance for Jean-Luc to grow up. While I was less than happy with the ending, it still ended well I’m sure others would argue.… (más)