The Strays of Paris

Description

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres, Jane Smiley, The Strays of Paris is a captivating story of three extraordinary animals - and one little boy - whose lives cross paths in Paris. Paras is a spirited young racehorse living in a stable in the French countryside. That is until one afternoon, when she pushes open the gate of her stall and, travelling through the night, arrives quite by chance in the dazzling streets of Paris. She soon meets a German shorthaired pointer named Frida, two irrepressible ducks and an opinionated crow, and life amongst the animals in the city's lush green spaces is enjoyable for a time. But everything changes when Paras meets a human boy, Etienne, and discovers a new, otherworldly part of Paris: the secluded, ivy-walled house where the boy and his nearly-one-hundred-year-old great grandmother live quietly and unto themselves. As the cold weather of Christmas nears, the unlikeliest of friendships bloom among humans and animals alike. But how long can a runaway horse live undiscovered in Paris? And how long can one boy keep her all to himself? Charming and beguiling in equal measure, Jane Smiley's novel celebrates the intrinsic need for friendship, love, and freedom, whomever you may be . . .

Jane Smiley is the author of numerous novels, including A Thousand Acres, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the New York Times bestselling Hundred Years trilogy, and The Strays of Paris. She is also the author of several works of non-fiction and books for young adults. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she has also received the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. She lives in Northern California.