The Race for Paris

By: Meg Waite Clayton

Narrated by: Jennifer Ikeda

Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

Normandy, 1944. To cover the fighting in France, Jane, a reporter for the Nashville Banner, and Liv, an Associated Press photographer, have already had to endure enormous danger and frustrating obstacles - including strict military regulations limiting what woman correspondents can do. Even so, Liv wants more. Encouraged by her husband, the editor of a New York newspaper, she's determined to be the first photographer to reach Paris with the Allies, and she wants to be there when France captures its freedom from the Nazis. However, her commanding officer has other ideas about the role of women in the press corps.

To fulfill her ambitions, Liv must go AWOL. She persuades Jane to join her, and the two women find a guardian angel in Fletcher, a British military photographer who reluctantly agrees to escort them. As they race for Paris across the perilous French countryside, Liv, Jane, and Fletcher forge an indelible emotional bond that transforms them and reverberates long after the war is over.

Based on daring, real-life female reporters on the front lines of history, like Margaret Bourke-White, Lee Miller, and Martha Gellhorn - and with cameos by other famous faces of the time - The Race for Paris is an absorbing, atmospheric saga full of drama, adventure, and passion. Combining riveting storytelling with expert literary craftsmanship and thorough research, Meg Waite Clayton crafts a compelling, resonant story.

Meg Waite Clayton is the New York Times best-selling author of four novels: The Four Mrs. Bradwells, The Wednesday Sisters, The Language of Light, and The Wednesday Daughters.

©2015 Meg Waite Clayton (P)2015 Recorded Books

Women breaking the glass ceiling in WWII journalism

The story was a little hard to get into, but was interesting to someone who loves WWII, France, etc. The quotes from all the real women journalists were also interesting, and I felt like I learned a little about what it was like then for women in a man's world.

good account of little-known but unsurprising heroism of women journalists during World War II

This was a well-written and involving story based on the accounts of women journalists in World War II. There was little new in the relationships of the principal characters, but they were well-rendered by the author, and I enjoyed listening. Mostly. The narrator had a tendency to speak in a soft tone of voice as if every phrase were deathless literature, weather love the scene or battle scene, and for my money that sometimes impedes the storytelling.

Breathtaking

Would you consider the audio edition of The Race for Paris to be better than the print version?

I can't honestly compare the recording to the print version, it's a masterful interpretation.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jane Tyler. Her humanity.

What about Jennifer Ikeda’s performance did you like?

The tone and tenor of her voice was perfect. It seemed as though Jane Tyler was telling her story herself.

If you could take any character from The Race for Paris out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Jane Tyler. She's a great story-teller.

Any additional comments?

It's difficult to write a review that will do this novel justice. It's the best book I've read in a very long while, impeccably researched and meticulously crafted. The characters and story are so compelling, I was breathless at times, teary at others, and at the end, left with a dull ache.