Introduction

"Not every true story is like a good novel, but this one is. Not every memoir of first love has a satisfying ending, but this one does. The confluence of first love with becoming an artist makes this memoir special." —John Irving PARIS, 1976: Twenty-year-old American student Julie Scolnik had just arrived in the City of Light to study the flute when, from across a sea of faces in the chorus of the Orchestre de Paris, she is drawn to Luc, a striking (married) French lawyer in the bass section. This moving tale of an ebullient young American and a reserved Frenchman will transport readers to the cafés, streets, and concert halls of Paris in the late seventies, and, spanning three decades, evolves from deep romance to sudden heartbreak, and finally to a lifelong quest for answers to release hidden, immutable grief. Against a magical backdrop of Paris and classical music, Paris Blue is true fairy-tale memoir (with a dark underbelly) about the tenacious grip of first love.

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Excerpt

And when the music began, I was transported. Seated on risers just behind the Orchestre de Paris, we were able to watch Daniel Barenboim’s communicative gestures and facial expressions as he conducted. This was thrilling for me, as Barenboim was a legend, and I had revered him for years. I sang easily and let the music fill my chest. Unfortunately, I lost sight of my crush, as a massive boys’ choir was seated between the men and women of the chorus. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1) Can you discuss the role of the color Blue in the book?

2) Can you discuss the role of memory in the book and how the author believes it is connected to love, music, and life?

3) Wordsworth poem, what weight do you think it plays in the book and in Scolnik’s introspection at the end? Can you discuss why Scolnik used the poem in two places, and how it evokes the essence of the book?

4) What do you think happened with Luc in Boston? How was it possible that he changed so much? Even though it is clear that Scolnik still never understood herself.

5) Have any book club members had similar experiences of sharing music with someone and associating certain pieces with certain periods in their life? Discuss the role of music and why one author said of the book, “Paris Blue captures the power of words, music and Paris to drive love to madness.”

6) Why do you think this book has been resonating across boundaries of gender, age, and sexual orientation?

Weblinks

»	Author's website
»	Publisher's book info
»	Watch the book trailer on YouTube
»	Watch the author interview on Youtube

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