The Parisian Chapter by Janet Skeslien Charles

This reading group guide for The Parisian Chapter includes an introduction, discussion questions, and ideas for enhancing your book club. The suggested questions are intended to help your reading group find new and interesting angles and topics for your discussion. We hope that these ideas will enrich your conversation and increase your enjoyment of the book.

Introduction

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Library and Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade, a charming and “richly populated” (New York Journal of Books) novel about two small-town girls with big dreams who move to Paris to become artists. But dreams don’t just come true. They require nurturing, as do friendships.

Topics & Questions for Discussion

1. Consider the epigraph of The Parisian Chapter. Do you agree that “some things do not deserve to be accepted”? What do you think is the benefit of perspective in looking back on past memories?

2. Of all the cast of characters, why do you think we’re introduced to Lorenzo Bruni first? Describe Lorenzo’s ex-pat life. Do you think it’s useful to have our first introduction to the library through the lens of someone who isn’t as enchanted by its charms?

3. What do you learn early on about Lily and Mary Louise’s friendship? Did you expect the rift between them, or were you as surprised as Lily? What are the benefits and the pitfalls of a long-term friendship like theirs? Are there any friendships in your own life that could be considered “fusionnelle”?

4. In Chapter 3, we’re introduced to Jennifer de Narp and learn that she knows both Pam and Hayes from previous encounters. Were you able to guess what both characters had done?

5. At her first Entre Nous event, Lily realizes that she wants to “create worlds to give readers respite.” This sentiment is echoed a few pages later, when Marius recalls that the silence of his childhood library was “a refuge, a relief.” Which books can you think of that have given you respite? And which places bring you the most relief?

6. Marius also observes that “there’s a certain sadness when a writer gives up, when a dream dies.” What dreams do the characters of this novel have? Do any of them end up achieving those dreams?

7. When Lily first sees Chris, she wants to know what books are at his desk, “perhaps One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, or a translation of Camus.” What book would you be excited to see at his desk? And alternately, what book would be the equivalent of a ‘literary red flag’?

8. There are many religious images in the library. For example, The Faithful come to every book event, The Afterlife is the most peaceful place in the library, and Meg is compared to Saint Peter at the “pearly revolving door.” Are there similarities between a church and a library? Are there any differences?

9. Did you expect that David was homeless? What does his life look like? How does his community help him?

10. On Lily and Chris’s first date, recounting her memories of Montana makes Lily homesick. How is her life in Paris different than her life back home? How is it better, and how is it harder? Later, at dinner with Mary Louise, she observes that “more money did not mean more fun.” How are the two girls’ lives, and experiences of Paris, diverging?

11. Up until Chapter 11, we learn about Hayes only through the eyes of others. Did reading a chapter in Hayes’ own voice change your opinion of him?

12. Lily makes the controversial decision to save Mary Louise’s paintings, even after her friend explicitly tells her to leave them in the trash. Do you think Lily made the right decision? What role do our loved ones play in preserving our dreams?

13. There are multiple pairings of women in this book: Lily and Mary Louise, Meg and Odile, Jennifer and Pam. At one point, Odile writes that “friendships, like romantic relationships, go through trials and tribulations. The important thing is not to run.” What do these women learn from one another? And what did you learn from their various friendships?

14. Many of the unpublished stories in this book are of women: Meg’s wartime memoir, Bricktop and her jazz club, Iréne Cohen’s lost novel. What is the best book you’ve ever read of a woman’s life? Was it encouraging, shocking, inspiring? Share with the group.

15. Of all the characters—the employees of the library, the trustees, the patrons, and even a ghost!—who do you wish you could learn more about? Who do you wish received an extra chapter? Was there a perspective you were particularly surprised by?

Enhance Your Book Club

1. Inspired by the employees’ love of the Dewey Decimal System, choose to either 1) find the classification number of your favorite book or 2) research the most obscure category you can find. Bring it to book club and share with the group!

2. Read The Paris Library, also by Janet Skeslien Charles, for a future book club. Does your opinion of Lily and Odile change with more information into their past lives? One theme of The Paris Chapter is how important history is to the strength of an institution, a city, and an individual. How does learning more about the American Library in Paris during World War II affect your understanding of the events in The Parisian Chapter?

3. Host your book club in the manner of a Entre Nous literary event. Lay out Brie, baguette, and Bordeaux—and feast to your hearts’ content! Play jazz in the background for the full effect.

4. Connect with Janet Skeslien Charles at her website, https://JSkeslienCharles.com

A Conversation with Janet Skeslien Charles

Q: Congratulations on publishing this exceptional follow-up to The Paris Library! What inspired you to pick this story back up? What did you learn by stretching the timeline of the story into the future?

Thank you! Would you believe that I started writing this novel before The Paris Library. As the program manager of the American Library, I jotted down funny or sad comments from coworkers and library members. At evening events, I took notes while authors spoke. The working title was “The Kicker,” in part meaning an unexpected turn of events, in part a reference to the explosive way that Lily and one of the trustees meet. I always hoped to share this story of Parisian ups and downs with booklovers, and am thrilled to hear the characters come to life.

Q: Much of this book takes place from Lily’s perspective, as she’s navigating her mid-twenties and presented with a litany of challenging circumstances—a rift with a dear friend, learning to take accountability for her actions, juggling a demanding job while seeking her life’s purpose. If you could go back and talk to your younger self at this age, what would you tell her?

When I was Lily’s age, I was too polite and gave too much to “friends” who rarely reciprocated. I worked for free in exchange for the promise of future “comp time” that was never paid. Today, people talk about “boundaries” and “matching energy.” These concepts are much needed, especially for young women, who are conditioned to respect elders (whether the elders are right or not) and to not speak out or stand up for themselves. I would tell my younger self not to be afraid to make noise. And to focus more on what I need and what I need, and to focus less on what others want.

Q: Lily makes a bad first impression when she encounters Jennifer on the street. Why did you have these two characters meet the way they did? Was there something that Lily needed to learn through this encounter?

When I transposed the story from nonfiction (my own experiences at the ALP) to fiction (Lily’s experiences), this is the first scene that came to me. It is the bed stone of the novel. There has been resistance to this scene, which I find interesting. People have no problem with novels in which women are killers, but cannot image one lashing out.

I think Lily needed to learn to communicate with the person who actually frustrated her, instead of taking out her frustrations on other people.

Q: In The Paris Chapter, Jessie Carson receives recognition through the work of Wendy Peterson. In your own life, you’ve spent a decade researching Jessie Carson. What drew you (and has continued to draw you) to her story?

In a 1918 letter to her mother, before she shipped out from New York to work in France, Jessie admitted that she didn’t have the $30 necessary to purchase a train ticket in order to say goodbye in person. That was heartbreaking to read because her mother died when Jessie was in France. Jessie also didn’t have the funds to purchase a steamer trunk for her voyage and ended up borrowing one. She was a single working woman by choice. There was no husband, no safety net of social security. Yet she traveled to a war zone to help children devastated by years of combat and destruction. I am in awe of her courage and her generosity.

Q: Lily notes that she loved when Mary Louise “talked about my favorite character like they were real people.” Do your characters become real to you? Are there any characters, whether your own or another’s, who you wish you could have a conversation with?

Absolutely! I love Janie and Pheoby from Their Eyes Were Watching God. I discovered Anne of Green Gables during Covid, and it always means so much when the right character finds you just when you need her most. When I was in the hospital for surgery, I read the Crazy Rich Asian trilogy and wanted to be friends with Astrid.

Q: You’ve done research at The Morgan Library, the NYPL, and in archives across France. What has been your experience working in all these archives? Did you conduct any research when writing this story? Was there anything you learned during your research that surprised you?

I feel so lucky to have met so many impassioned librarians and archivists. I arrived in France in 1998, just a three years after Lily began working at the ALP. I reviewed articles from the Paris edition of The International Herald tribune to confirmed what I remembered was correct.

I was surprised to learn the Gregory Peck was the speaker of the ALP gala in 1995. I wrote a scene with him, and then decided to take it out of the book. It just didn’t fit. But I loved knowing that he supported the library.

Q: Once upon a time, you were the programs manager at the American Library in Paris. What did you learn during your time there? Based on your experiences, what makes a good book event? And why do you think we are drawn to discuss books in public, even though reading itself is such a private act?

It was incredibly satisfying to bring people from all walks of life together through the fellowship of books. The events that meant the most to me were the ones that meant the most to the authors, usually the ones just beginning their careers. It’s important to nurture writers, and I was proud to invite so many from the local community. Here is a recent message I received: “Janet, I was so thrilled when Editions JC Lattès offered me your book to translate! Apart from the pleasure I took in working on it, your name brought back the happy memory of presenting my book at the American Library, and selling the first ever copy through the legendary Shakespeare and Co (I remember actually tearing up)!” Notes like this are extremely gratifying.

That is such a great question! I think because the books we love are such a pleasure to read, and we want to prolong and share that joy with others. I remember reading The Dutch House by Ann Patchett and needing to discuss the ending with every single person who’d read the book.

Q: The book cycles through the experiences of many different characters, all drawn by the pull of the library. Was there any character you wanted to give a chapter to, but couldn’t?

Yes, I would have loved to include a chapter about a colleague who was my savior when I struggled with the job. I also would have loved to have included the story of a young volunteer who helped me with evening events. Each of the real-life librarians and staff has a fascinating story, but these two in particular spoke to me.

Q: You mention a number of different books—A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, The Liars’ Club, Travels with Charley, My Antonia, To Kill a Mockingbird—that are the story “of a time and place.” How important do you think setting is in storytelling? What are some of your favorite books that create a unique and strong understanding of the place in which they’re situated?

For me, each story begins with place, because who we are is so heavily influenced by where we are from and where we are. For example, I don’t think that Lily would have lashed out like she did if she’d been back home in Montana. The Parisian Chapter is a snapshot of Paris in 1995. It might seem that not much has changed, but I feel that so much has. One small example: Lily mentions men jogging clockwise in the Jardin du Luxembourg with their pastel Lacoste collars popped. Back then, there was a certain pressure to look elegant all the time, even when exercising. There is less pressure now, and that’s a good thing.

The books mentioned above not only tell us about beloved characters, they are a priceless snapshot of a time and place. Ways of life that no longer exist as with A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or My Antonia. Or problems that sadly continue to exist in America as with Travels with Charley and To Kill a Mockingbird. I highly recommend all of them.

Q: Speaking of setting, three of your books take place in Paris. How would you describe your own “Parisian chapter”? What do you think draws so many people to the City of Light?

I would describe my chapter as a lot longer than I thought it would be! I came for “a year,” over two decades ago. I love hearing about other people’s chapters, whether it is the chapter that they lived while on their junior year abroad at the Sorbonne, or a chapter they have yet to write such as a bucket list of museums and restaurants.

Paris feels timeless, with the illusion that it is unchanging. But change happens all the time, in small ways. The city is both reassuring and yet constantly surprising. Each day, I walk down the same streets and there is always something new to notice.

Q: Are you working on anything now? If so, can you tell us about it?

I’m thinking up a few projects right now. I’d love to write another audiobook.