Harvard Book Store Virtual Event: Mamta Chaudhry

Harvard Book Store’s virtual event series welcomes debut author MAMTA CHAUDHRY for a discussion of her new novel, Haunting Paris. She will be joined in conversation by acclaimed local novelist MARGOT LIVESEY.

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While payment is not required, we are suggesting a $3 contribution to support this author series, our staff, and the future of Harvard Book Store—a locally owned, independently run Cambridge institution. In addition, by purchasing a copy of Haunting Paris on harvard.com, you support indie bookselling and the writing community during this difficult time.

About Haunting Paris

Paris, 1989: Alone in her luminous apartment on Île Saint-Louis, Sylvie discovers a mysterious letter among her late lover Julien’s possessions, launching her into a decades-old search for a child who vanished in the turbulence of the Second World War. She is unaware that she is watched over by Julien’s ghost, his love for her powerful enough to draw him back to this world, though doomed now to remain a silent observer. Sylvie’s quest leads her deep into the secrets of Julien’s past, shedding new light on the dark days of Nazi-occupied Paris. A timeless story of love and loss, Haunting Paris matches emotional intensity with lyrical storytelling to explore grief, family secrets, and the undeniable power of memory.

Praise for Haunting Paris

“This fine first novel explores the ways history abides in the streets and monuments of an old city and in the human souls who love it and grieve for it and struggle to forgive it. A small parable, pondering the nature of civilization itself.” —Marilynne Robinson, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Gilead

“Powerful and moving. . . . Audaciously, imaginatively constructed, with a heartbreaking, profoundly adult love story at its center.” —Russell Banks, author of Cloudsplitter and Continental Drift

“Through pianist Sylvie and the flâneur ghost of Julien, Haunting Paris connects the living with our past. This extraordinary debut truly is haunting.” —Meg Waite Clayton, New York Timesbestselling author of The Race for Paris