🐴 Perestroika, or Paras for short, is a racehorse. But as much as she loves racing - the adrenaline rush when flying to the finish line - Paras is, by nature, a curious filly. One day her caretaker forgot to lock her stall door, and Paras found her first freedom. She didn't run away, just tasting the fresh grass outside, here and there (grass tastes differently in different place, you know). Further and further she wandered, until she's near Place du Trocadero, where she met Frida.
🐴 Frida is not a stray dog. She used to belong to a street performer who loved to wander along Paris. But after he died, Frida has been living by herself, remembering that she must not act like a stray, or else the gendarmerie would take her to "prison". And Frida hates confinement. When she first met Paras, Frida was more interested in the thing that Paras brought - the caretaker's purse - than of the horse itself. From her living with her late owner, Frida knows the value of money. She goes shopping for them all every day, taking one bank note at a time. The kind grocer thinks Frida shops for her humans, and pretty amused with this canine customer.
🐴 Soon Paras and Frida were joined by an old raven, and the three live quite harmoniously within the garden of Champ de Mars. A dog and a raven are common sights in Paris, but what about a horse? Well, people nowadays are more interested in their own businesses or smartphones, no one would have seen unusual things about the garden. Moreover, Paras takes her nap during the day and starts wandering around after dark.
🐴 But is Paras really unnoticed by any human being? The gardener found horse manure around some corners, so he knew there's a horse, but never actually saw it. During one of Paras' evening excursion, she found a young woman called Anaís who works at night for a patisserie. She often feeds Paras, so Anaís too knows about a horse loitering in Paris.
🐴 Finally there's an orphan little boy of about eight, who lives with his great grandmama. He "could" see Paras, and the two became inseparable best friends. I think moral of this story is that modern people have mostly lost the ability of being humane. They stick to their smartphones, tablets, social media, and forget what's more important of being human - love, friendship, and caring for others. The fact that none of these Parisians see a horse who share probably their daily jogging track is rather worrying. They most probably don't care either for their neighbors, friends, and so on. Some who do know about the three unlikely friends, and concern about them, are the happiest of all. They have a wholesome life as human being.
🐴 This is a book about Paris, but also about freedom, choices, and friendship. Jane Smiley did a great job to make me transported to Paris and vibes I had experienced more than twenty years ago (but I still remember very clearly to this day). I loved especially the animals interaction, with other animals and also with humans. It's a heartwarming story and the perfect book to start Paris in July this year!
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2
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hosted by Emma @ Words and Peace
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