Perestroika in Paris Audiobook By Jane Smiley cover art

Perestroika in Paris

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Perestroika in Paris

By: Jane Smiley
Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
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About this listen

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres and the New York Times best-selling Last Hundred Years Trilogy, a captivating, brilliantly imaginative story of three extraordinary animals - and a young boy - whose lives intersect in Paris.

Paras, short for "Perestroika", is a spirited racehorse at a racetrack west of Paris. One afternoon at dusk, she finds the door of her stall open and - she's a curious filly - wanders all the way to the City of Light. She's dazzled and often mystified by the sights, sounds, and smells around her, but she isn't afraid. Soon she meets an elegant dog, a German shorthair pointer named Frida, who knows how to get by without attracting the attention of suspicious Parisians.

Paras and Frida coexist for a time in the city's lush green spaces, nourished by Frida's strategic trips to the vegetable market. They keep company with two irrepressible ducks and an opinionated raven. But then Paras meets a human boy, Etienne, and discovers a new, otherworldly part of Paris: the ivy-walled house where the boy and his nearly 100-year-old great-grandmother live in seclusion. As the cold weather and Christmas near, the unlikeliest of friendships bloom. But how long can a runaway horse stay undiscovered in Paris? How long can a boy keep her hidden and all to himself?

Jane Smiley's beguiling new novel is itself an adventure that celebrates curiosity, ingenuity, and the desire of all creatures for true love and freedom.

©2020 Jane Smiley (P)2020 Recorded Books
Animals Fairy Tales Family Life Fantasy Genre Fiction Heartfelt Feel-Good
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Whimsical Tale • Charming Characters • Heartwarming Story • Enchanting Storyline • Beautiful French Accent
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A wonderful, beautifully written and read, story of loyalty and love, for all the family.

A perfect Christmas tale (tail)

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With everything that is going on in the world, this was a welcome respite. Well written and performed enchantingly.

Precious

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A very cute story with memorable characters. Great for anyone who wants a light read.

Charming!

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Loved it! Great and endearing story. The Reader is exceptional. I Highly recommend. Miss Paris!

DELIGHTFUL!

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This is the book you’ve been looking for! You’ll make safe travel plans and get yourself to Paris to meet Jerome, Etienne and Anais. It’s been a long time since such a charming story has come along. I was sorry to have it end.

If you love horses, dogs, ravens, rats and Paris

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This is a beautiful, unusual story, read by a gifted narrator. The author has woven a perfect balance of wisdom, humor, sadness, reality, spirituality and fantasy—experienced by both the animal and human characters. It’s a gem.

Enchanting

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Fun escapism of anthropomorphic life of animals!
The story is so much fun. Our main subject is of Perestroika the horse. But all the incidental humans show how humans are prevalent and many love animals. Perestroika makes friends with a dog Frida who is very intelligent, Raoul the raven, Sid and Nancy the ducks, and Kurt and Conrad the rats.
Each of the animals have their own stories and add to the tale but Paras and Frida are the main two.
The story concept sounds unbelievable that a horse could be lost and live in Paris unnoticed, but in fact while noticed by a few Jane Smiley weaves a very believable tale as to how.
Definitely recommend for animal lovers.

Fun escapism of anthropomorphic life of animals!

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ended up loving the unusual story though had some slow bits, great character development

unusual characters!

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This was just delightful. The story, narration, beginning to end, all of it was perfect. I can't recommend it enough. It lifted my spirits and warmed my heart.

A lovely book

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A whimsical and sweet fairytale with a great cast of wide and varied characters, each with their own story to tell.

Whimsical and sweet

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