Where the Light Falls (Pataki)

Where the Light Falls:  A Novel of the French Revolution
Allison and Owen Pataki, 2017
Random House
384 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780399591686


Summary
Three years after the storming of the Bastille, the streets of Paris are roiling with revolution. The citizens of France are enlivened by the ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity.

The monarchy of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette has been dismantled—with the help of the guillotine—and a new nation is rising in its place.

Jean-Luc, an idealistic young lawyer, moves his wife and their infant son from a comfortable life in Marseille to Paris, in the hopes of joining the cause.

Andre, the son of a denounced nobleman, has evaded execution by joining the new French army. Sophie, a young aristocratic widow, embarks on her own fight for independence against her powerful, vindictive uncle.

As chaos threatens to undo the progress of the Revolution and the demand for justice breeds instability and paranoia, the lives of these compatriots become inextricably linked. Jean-Luc, Ande, and Sophie find themselves in a world where survival seems increasingly less likely—for themselves and, indeed, for the nation.

Featuring cameos from legendary figures such as Robespierre, Louis XVI, and Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, Where the Light Falls is an epic and engrossing novel, moving from the streets and courtrooms of Paris to Napoleon’s epic march across the burning sands of Egypt.

With vivid detail and imagery, the Patakis capture the hearts and minds of the citizens of France fighting for truth above all, and for their belief in a cause greater than themselves. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—1984
• Raised—Garrison, New York, USA
• Education—B.A., Yale University
• Currently—lives in Chicago, Illinois

Allison Pataki is an American author and journalist and the daughter of former governor of New York, George Pataki (served 1995-2006). She was raised in Garrison, New York, across the Hudson River from West Point Military Academy, and later majored in English at Yale University. She met her husband David Levy during her sophomore, and the two married in June 2012.

Pataki has written several historical novels: The Traitor's Wife: The Woman Behind Benedict Arnold and the Plan to Betray America (2014), The Accidental Empress (2015), Sisi: Empress on Her Own (2016), and Where the Light Falls: A Novel of the French Revolution (2017), which she co-authored with her brother Owen.

In addition to historical fiction, Allison has written for ABCNews.com, The Huffington Post, FoxNews.com, Travel Girl, and other media outlets. In 2016 she wrote an article for the New York Times detailing her family's experience with traumatic brain injury and the road to recovery.

In 2015, Pataki co-founded reConnect Hungary, an educational and social immersion program for young adults of Hungarian heritage, who are born in the U.S. or Canada, to gain a better understanding of their Hungarian heritage.  (Adapted from Wikipedia. Retrieved 7/15/2017.)

Book Reviews
A vivid painting of Paris during the Reign of Terror.... Devotees of Dumas and Hugo willdevour this tale of heroism and treachery…but purists may balk at the occasional anachronistic language and dialog...and other fictionalization of real people despite explanations by the authors.
Library Journal


Meticulously researched…the book succeeds in forcefully illustrating the lessons of the French Revolution for today’s democratic movements. However, sheer talkiness too often overpowers the narrative, and the swashbuckling close is too little, too late. [W]orthy but stultifying.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. This novel begins with a scene at the guillotine, one of the bloodiest and most iconic symbols of the French Revolution, specifically its Reign of Terror. Why do you think the authors begin the story in this way? What role does the guillotine play throughout this novel? How does this opening scene compare to the epilogue, which plays out before Notre Dame Cathedral at the coronation of Emperor Napoleon?

2. The characters in Where the Light Falls frequently mention the ideals of the Enlightenment and its impact on the French Revolution. Do you believe the Revolution was born out of the Enlightenment? Why or why not?

3. This book has many examples of mentors or father figures guiding younger people, some more positive than others. Discuss some of these mentors. Whom did you find to be the most inspiring? Whom did you find to be the most malicious?

4. Compare the French Revolution with the American Revolution of just a few years earlier. Why do you believe they were so different? Were they similar in any way? How would the characters of Where the Light Falls compare the two?

5. Compare and contrast the two discussions Andre Valiere has on the eve of the battle of Valmy. One is with General Murat, the other with General Kellermann. What message was each older man was trying to send, and which had a stronger effect on Andre? Why?

6. In this story, Jean-Luc St. Clair struggles to balance his obligations to his family as a father and a husband with his duties as a lawyer, citizen, and republican fighting for his beliefs. Does he strike an appropriate balance between the two, or does he fall short in his obligations to one or the other? Why?

7. Sophie de Vincennes tells Andre of her forced marriage at a very young age to a count. Discuss the obstacles and opportunities women of this time period faced. Find three women from this period and list some of the obstacles they faced and how they overcame them (or did not).

8. Guillaume Lazare is a fictional character based on several real-life French revolutionaries. Who do you think were the real individuals that his character is based on, and what similarities or differences do you find between the character and the real historical figures?

9. Compare Napoleon’s expedition to Egypt with more recent interventions in the Middle East and North Africa. Are there any similarities between the conquest explored in this book and contemporary conflicts? How are they different?

10. Were you surprised by the revelation of the true identity of the writer known as Citizen Persephone? Why or why not? Why do you think the writer kept his or her identity a secret?

11. The Widow Poitier plays a small but significant recurring role throughout this novel. Discuss this powerless peasant woman and the significance of her appearances in Jean-Luc’s life.

12. Consider the character of General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, based on the historical figure of the same name, the father of the celebrated French writer Alexandre Dumas. What did you learn from his life story? Were you surprised by the role he played in Andre’s fate?
(Questions issued by the publisher.)

top of page (summary)