The Mistress

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Summary: A Penetrating Look At Nazi Occupied Paris. A Thrilling Read!
Review: "The Mistress" is an apt title for this novel, even though it may be misleading for those who are looking for a romantic read. Philippe Tapon gives the reader a penetrating look at Paris during the Nazi occupation through the eyes of a doctor, Emile Bastien, and his mistress, Simone. Dr. Bastien, specializing in the treatment of stomach ailments, is an equal opportunity doctor, accepting both French and German patients, including those from both the Gestapo and the Resistance.

Bastien lives with Simone and his two children in Paris. His wife, Marie resides on her estate in the south of France, racing horses, tending her vineyards, and nursing her bitterness and rage at the husband who has betrayed her. Simone is Bastien's nurse, secretary, housekeeper and nanny, as well as his jaded lover. Their love petered out long ago. They live very well in the war deprived city and Simone continues to stay with the sometimes abusive doctor out of self preservation. Where else is she to go? Self-preservation is something that Simone excels at. She is privy to all her lover's secrets and when he makes a move, during the final days of the occupation, to revenge himself against the Nazis, she has her own alternate plan.

Tapon's novel is tautly written in elegant prose. He tells a tale of betrayal and revenge against the backdrop of paranoia and fear that is Paris in 1944. His small cast of characters are cunning and duplicitous. Everyone is out for themselves in this dog-eat-dog world that the Third Reich created. I found myself unable to put this gripping and original novel down. I recommend it highly.
JANA

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Summary: The New York Times loved it for a reason
Review: The NY Times gave a great review of "The Mistress" when it first came out. It concluded: "Reading 'The Mistress' may feel like a guilty pleasure, but Tapon has nothing to be ashamed of: it's a fine, wicked book."

Of course, that may not be what you're looking for. As a result, some people might dislike it. After all, many of the characters are hard to like. But that's the point of the book.

It follows a French family trying to live during the German occupation during WWII. The family is a wreck, partly because the father is having an open affair with a mistress. The kids suffer as a result. Then there's gold that the family must hide from the Nazis, and other challenges that they face.

If you're looking for an exciting book set in WWII, with a cast of characters that are quite devious, then this is it.

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Summary: Reads like a hokey Nazi flick
Review: Unfortunately, Philippe Tapon seems to have gorged himself on far too many Nazi movies (and perhaps a few set in Paris) before sitting down to write this unsatisfying tale of l'amour, French style. This novel reads as though it were written in a single sitting, without revision, as French menus and plot twists flew into the author's mind. Except for one ghastly and characteristically Gallic murder, the book is strangely flat. The characters of stomach doctor Emile Bastien and the Gestapo officer he treats have some depth; everyone else serves as a backdrop. If you want to read an authentic novel set in France during the Nazi occupation, read anything by Kay Boyle. She was there. J. Robert Janes' current detective series set in Paris under the Vichy government is also far superior to this overrated book.