Paris Blue by Julie Scolnik is a memoir that intelligently narrates the author's incredible journey in the pursuit of a dream to become an artist and the thrills and aches of first love. It is in the mid-seventies when twenty-year-old Julie Scolnik, an American, arrives in Paris to study the flute. She first sees Luc, a French lawyer, and married man, in the bass section of the Orchestre de Paris. The attraction between the two is so strong it sparks a romance that takes them through an experience young Julie will never forget. Follow this wonderful, bittersweet tale of first love, separation, and heartbreak.

This exhilarating memoir instantly catches the interest of readers with the lovely writing — it reflects the tenderness and the fierceness of the experience of first love. The use of the epistolary creates a strong sense of intimacy and allows readers to understand the depth of the emotions of the characters. The lyricism in writing can be perceived in the short letters from Luc that also introduce some of the chapters. Hear his longing in this sentence:  “It’s so frustrating to me that even the rhythms of my days and nights, and the feelings they provoke, are out of sync with yours.” Julie Scolnik brings the beauty of Paris to life in this book, offering terrific descriptions of places and allowing readers to experience what Paris felt like in the 1970s. This memoir is filled with drama and the wonderful exploration of a young heart in love will entice readers. Paris Blue is a great story; while it is a memoir, it contains all the elements one looks for in fiction — strong plot points, captivating and intriguing characters, excellent writing, and a fascinating setting. It is the perfect testament to the fact that once we have loved deeply, we can spend an entire time struggling to recapture the flame of that first love. A work of rare beauty, indeed.