Good Reads / Community Library Notes
Perestroika
Jane Smiley
Review by Priscilla Comen
Perestroika
Jane Smiley
Review by Priscilla Comen
Perestroika In Paris, by Jane Smiley, is the story of Paras, the horse, who is curious about the world outside her stable, and Frida the German shorthaired Pointer, who lives at Place de Trocadero in Paris. Paras and Frida meet and talk about their lives and Frida takes Paras to a pleasant beach area where she can sleep. Frida makes sure the purse with money in it is safely hidden. Author Smiley tells their story with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye. Soon the two are greeted by a raven, Raoul, who leads Paras to a park carpeted with tasty short stalks of grass. Paras nibbles away and, urged by curiosity and good vision, sees horses standing still in the distance. Frida tells Paras they are part of a carousel for entertaining the idle humans. Delphine and Rania, the trainers, had looked for Paras all night, but never in the right direction. Paras jumps over a fence and drinks from the pond. Paras likes the grass at Champ de Mars, it’s flavorful at night. Frida digs a hole there to hide the purse and lies down on top of it.
Frida walks to a market because it reminds her of Jacques, her former master who used to sing and play his guitar for money. Frida put the money in a plastic bag in a purse and picked it up with her mouth. At the meat market Frida trots to the table and spits the bag onto it. The proprietor sees the money and puts vegetables and bread rolls into the bag and gives it to Frida. The man laughs. Paras eats a carrot and Raoul takes a green bean and Frida takes the last piece of bread. Sid and Nancy, the ducks, share the bread too.
Pierre, the head gardener at Champ de Mars, sees Paras and decides that she gives the Mars a certain style. Sid’s responsibility is the nest and says the rats are the worst danger to eggs. Frida, on her way to the shop sees two cars collide and comes on an old old woman who falls down. A boy helps her to her feet and they walk to the vegetable shop. Madame de Mornay cares for the boy, an eight-year-old who may be her great-grandson, Etienne. He teaches himself to read from the books in great grandmother’s house. He doesn’t want to know the outside world. When the raven pecks at the window, Etienne opens it, and Raoul flies in to look around and fly out. Paras can not recall her former dwelling, the stable, or the other horses with their grunts, whinnies and other sounds. The new area and doings are more intriguing to Paras these days. The thrill of racing is now part of the past. To satisfy her curiosity and to do what she wants is more important. There are owls and foxes and of course, Frida and the raven.
Delphine has put another horse in Para’s stall, making ten horses total. She had put up signs, advertised, and talked to other business owners, but no Paras. And what had happened to her purse with all her winnings. An animal psychic tells Delphine she sees Paras looking in shop windows. Delphine laughs and forgets about it and her missing winnings.
Paras sees the boy after he leaves the great-grandmother at church for an hour. The boy looks for Paras, then leaves a carrot and a piece of bread on the ground. The boy goes into a house and Raoul flies in too. A gendarme looks in amazement, then moves on, thinking he is drunk. Etienne locks the gate and runs to the church to help Madame down the steps. She enjoyed the service though she couldn’t hear the choir. Frida meets a woman on the street who gives her a sausage. When they get back to the house, Madame lies down for a nap, and Paras drops some poop. In the kitchen, Paras drinks water out of the sink as Etienne gives Paras bites of a baguette as well as parsnips, turnips and sweet potatoes. Etienne takes a bucket and cleans up Para’s mess as Paras goes outside to eliminate water. Kurt and Conrad, two black rats, are Etienne’s clean-up crew. Frida is invited into a patisserie by Orlando who flips her a roll. Raoul flies inside to land on Frida’s back, and Orlando laughs as Frida offers her paw to him.
For tourists who come into the shop, Frida does several tricks, then follows them to the Metro. Frida drifts off to sleep in the warmth. Etienne rearranges the furniture in the salon so Paras can lie down and the old woman will not trip over him. Paras muses over her last race which she won, and how good it felt to win. Pierre, the gardener, looks for Para’s tracks in the fresh snow. He’d looked for ads about a missing horse but didn’t find any. He won’t call animal control because he thinks it’s nice to have a horse in the garden where cavalries and carriage horses once walked. When Paras knocks on the door, Etienne lets her in, and Madame walks to the door to feel the sun on her skin.
Frida goes outside, digs where she has hidden the purse in the Bois de Boulogne, and with the handle in her mouth, trots to Jerome’s market. She hopes he will like the few blue and brown bills, though there are only a few left. Jerome might be generous to her this day. The gendarme who hears Para’s whinney thinks he’s delusional. He heads to a bar and has a glass of Burgundy. Anais who had cared for Paras is pleased to hear her whinney.
The animals know that Great grandmother has passed away before Etienne knows. Kurt, the rat, comes to Etienne, then Paras, and then Frida, with her tail and ears down. Etienne feels comforted and goes for a ride on Para’s back. Paras hears the horses racing on the track nearby. Does the sound make Paras homesick and want to go back to the race track?
Author Smiley gives animal characters human behavior that results in a delightful tale. Find this romp on the new fiction shelf of your local library.
Frida walks to a market because it reminds her of Jacques, her former master who used to sing and play his guitar for money. Frida put the money in a plastic bag in a purse and picked it up with her mouth. At the meat market Frida trots to the table and spits the bag onto it. The proprietor sees the money and puts vegetables and bread rolls into the bag and gives it to Frida. The man laughs. Paras eats a carrot and Raoul takes a green bean and Frida takes the last piece of bread. Sid and Nancy, the ducks, share the bread too.
Pierre, the head gardener at Champ de Mars, sees Paras and decides that she gives the Mars a certain style. Sid’s responsibility is the nest and says the rats are the worst danger to eggs. Frida, on her way to the shop sees two cars collide and comes on an old old woman who falls down. A boy helps her to her feet and they walk to the vegetable shop. Madame de Mornay cares for the boy, an eight-year-old who may be her great-grandson, Etienne. He teaches himself to read from the books in great grandmother’s house. He doesn’t want to know the outside world. When the raven pecks at the window, Etienne opens it, and Raoul flies in to look around and fly out. Paras can not recall her former dwelling, the stable, or the other horses with their grunts, whinnies and other sounds. The new area and doings are more intriguing to Paras these days. The thrill of racing is now part of the past. To satisfy her curiosity and to do what she wants is more important. There are owls and foxes and of course, Frida and the raven.
Delphine has put another horse in Para’s stall, making ten horses total. She had put up signs, advertised, and talked to other business owners, but no Paras. And what had happened to her purse with all her winnings. An animal psychic tells Delphine she sees Paras looking in shop windows. Delphine laughs and forgets about it and her missing winnings.
Paras sees the boy after he leaves the great-grandmother at church for an hour. The boy looks for Paras, then leaves a carrot and a piece of bread on the ground. The boy goes into a house and Raoul flies in too. A gendarme looks in amazement, then moves on, thinking he is drunk. Etienne locks the gate and runs to the church to help Madame down the steps. She enjoyed the service though she couldn’t hear the choir. Frida meets a woman on the street who gives her a sausage. When they get back to the house, Madame lies down for a nap, and Paras drops some poop. In the kitchen, Paras drinks water out of the sink as Etienne gives Paras bites of a baguette as well as parsnips, turnips and sweet potatoes. Etienne takes a bucket and cleans up Para’s mess as Paras goes outside to eliminate water. Kurt and Conrad, two black rats, are Etienne’s clean-up crew. Frida is invited into a patisserie by Orlando who flips her a roll. Raoul flies inside to land on Frida’s back, and Orlando laughs as Frida offers her paw to him.
For tourists who come into the shop, Frida does several tricks, then follows them to the Metro. Frida drifts off to sleep in the warmth. Etienne rearranges the furniture in the salon so Paras can lie down and the old woman will not trip over him. Paras muses over her last race which she won, and how good it felt to win. Pierre, the gardener, looks for Para’s tracks in the fresh snow. He’d looked for ads about a missing horse but didn’t find any. He won’t call animal control because he thinks it’s nice to have a horse in the garden where cavalries and carriage horses once walked. When Paras knocks on the door, Etienne lets her in, and Madame walks to the door to feel the sun on her skin.
Frida goes outside, digs where she has hidden the purse in the Bois de Boulogne, and with the handle in her mouth, trots to Jerome’s market. She hopes he will like the few blue and brown bills, though there are only a few left. Jerome might be generous to her this day. The gendarme who hears Para’s whinney thinks he’s delusional. He heads to a bar and has a glass of Burgundy. Anais who had cared for Paras is pleased to hear her whinney.
The animals know that Great grandmother has passed away before Etienne knows. Kurt, the rat, comes to Etienne, then Paras, and then Frida, with her tail and ears down. Etienne feels comforted and goes for a ride on Para’s back. Paras hears the horses racing on the track nearby. Does the sound make Paras homesick and want to go back to the race track?
Author Smiley gives animal characters human behavior that results in a delightful tale. Find this romp on the new fiction shelf of your local library.