Rachel Reviews: The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

I wasn't sure when I started reading this whether I was going to like it or not, but I was soon able to put all reservations to one side as I continued to read.

I also know that this is a book that is going to stay with me for a long time after I've read it, partly because of the content but also because of the moral dilemmas that it presents for the main character.

What a book.

There is so much contained in here but the crux of it deals with Eleanor known as Elle, and Jonas and their story. The Paper Palace is key as this is the place where Elle and Jonas first meet and where they continue to be friends for years to come.

The book is sort of linear: it moves from the present back into the past but the recollections are in order. We learn about Elle's childhood and her parents' marriage and what Heller does really well is show us lots of little vignettes from Elle's memory, transporting us to an incident which shaped her in some way; whether that's the relationship that she has with her mother or how she first meets Jonas or her first encounter with Peter, her husband. Heller takes us into the midst of it, Elle's feelings, impressions, with such ease.

As I've mentioned, I thought that it was going to be a read that I wouldn't enjoy. There are some quite confronting images of Wallace's, Elle's mother's childhood which were uncomfortable to read but on reflection are there to give context to the person that Wallace is and her behaviour towards Elle and Anna, her sister. It is not just Wallace who suffers in the book.

Heller is great at evoking character and does this, not only through what she tells us about the lives of the characters but also in the dialogue. The exchanges wrought by Heller between her creations is vivid and personality-filled so a real sense of who these people are is with you at all times. There is no woolliness here but clear character definition.

What Heller is also good at is creation of place. The Paper Palace is a haven but it is in disrepair and shabby and to an outsider would look ramshackle and dilapidated but it is filled with love. It is also a place of strife, being inextricably attached to bad memories but Elle's refusal to let her joy of being at the Palace become besmirched is admirable and does much to make the reader feel that she will be okay; that she is resilient.

What the book is, is essentially a love story. But it is more than that too as it is not your typical romance. There are the entrapments of life: the griefs; the wedges that get driven between people; the shame and hurt; the wanting to do the right thing; the not knowing if it is the right thing. It is complex and Heller shows this expertly, how being human is bloody hard sometimes and that putting oneself first to be true to yourself can cause an enormous amount of collateral damage. The question is is this something that you are willing to take on?

Heart vs head as its most poignant.

Rachel Rating: 5/5 stars - it was good!

Parts of this review were first published on Reedsy Discovery where I also publish all of my book reviews:

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