An engaging debut that throws light on a hidden side of Paris.

Confident and brilliant

This book played into my acute nosiness, throwing open the doors to the fictional lives of the residents of number 37 . . . It’ll open your heart and your mind. It certainly did mine.

A multi-layered novel, elevated by fine writing, in which our traditional view of Paris is debunked to show a less familiar side of the city. Cooper’s expertly realised characters, both sympathetic and not, have stories that are interwoven with aplomb.

Cooper has written a Ship of Fools for today, bringing forth the poetry and pathos of ordinary lives.

The Paris of this skillful yet tender debut novel is not the Paris of our Eurostar mini breaks.

Cooper’s characters are what make this novel so readable.

The writing tantalizingly evokes the sights and sounds of Paris while also giving us an eye-opening perspective of a side of the city that we don’t know much about. It is a nuanced portrayal of relationships and the whole spectrum of human emotions.

This beautifully written debut is about love and loss.

Timely and thoughtful, it’s perhaps one of the first novels to reflect back the state of our current society.

I absolutely loved this book and I can’t wait to read more from the author who I’m sure has a glittering career ahead of her.

The writing is exquisite and discursive.

An erudite and engaging read

Cooper’s writing is exceptional. … It’s a beautifully crafted novel.

An enchanting and beautifully written debut

It’s the voices of various neighbours in their apartment block that make this novel special.

In a Paris tense with summer heat, anger and hate drive its people to drastic action, in this intensely satisfying and timely novel of a city in crisis.