A book that gives a refreshingly different picture of Paris. That?s the first impression that you get on reading The Seine at Noon by Susan Visvanathan. Gone are the lovers, the art and the music from the Paris that Visvanathan talks about. It is more about the people who live a mundane life in the city. In other words, it is the story about the other side of Paris ? the bakers, the boatsmen and the shopkeepers. Yet she keeps the inherent romance associated with the city alive as her characters search for love.
The book revolves around four characters who are connected to each other, but often lead disconnected lives in the book. Stefan is the immigrant Jew from Kerala who lives in Paris and is married to Esther. His life revolves around his wife, who is a native of Kerala and works in a bakery in Paris.
By a stroke of fate, Stefan and Jacques become friends ? the French aristocrat who likes to live in his boat on the Seine. His marriage to Tatiana, the painter has failed because of her obsession with Dali. Their daughter Bianca keeps her parents together in a way with her intense love for both of them and also binds all the other four characters together. The quest for love by all these disparate characters is the crux of the book. Each is driven by passion and the Seine is the witness to this search by each of the characters. The river is in fact a recurring theme throughout the book, even when the story moves on from Paris to far-off Kerala.
One of the most striking aspects about the book is Viswanathan?s beautiful descriptions and her talent for bringing images alive with her use of words. At times it feels that the scenes are unfolding before your eyes rather than being read in a book. The scenes are carefully detailed and add a lot of authenticity to the book. Visvanathan?s stay in Paris earlier seems to have come in useful as research for the book.
The ending could have been better crafted. Bianca?s move to another country where she marries none other than an immigrant from Kerala seems too far-fetched and somewhat difficult to accept. A good read, especially for a cold or rainy weekend. It is also pleasantly short (133 pages), which adds to its charm.