The Paper Palace
- Downloads：6750
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-06-16 08:51:58
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Miranda Cowley Heller
- ISBN：0593541812
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
"This house， this place， knows all my secrets。"
It is a perfect July morning， and Elle， a fifty-year-old happily married mother of three， awakens at "The Paper Palace"--the family summer place which she has visited every summer of her life。 But this morning is different: last night Elle and her oldest friend Jonas crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time， all while their spouses chatted away inside。 Now， over the next twenty-four hours， Elle will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband， Peter， and the life she always imagined she would have had with her childhood love， Jonas， if a tragic event hadn't forever changed the course of their lives。 As Heller colors in the experiences that have led Elle to this day， we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity。 Tender yet devastating， The Paper Palace considers the tensions between desire and dignity， the legacies of abuse， and the crimes and misdemeanors of families。
It is a perfect July morning， and Elle， a fifty-year-old happily married mother of three， awakens at "The Paper Palace"--the family summer place which she has visited every summer of her life。 But this morning is different: last night Elle and her oldest friend Jonas crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time， all while their spouses chatted away inside。 Now， over the next twenty-four hours， Elle will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband， Peter， and the life she always imagined she would have had with her childhood love， Jonas， if a tragic event hadn't forever changed the course of their lives。 As Heller colors in the experiences that have led Elle to this day， we arrive at her ultimate decision with all its complexity。 Tender yet devastating， The Paper Palace considers the tensions between desire and dignity， the legacies of abuse， and the crimes and misdemeanors of families。
Reviews
Chris
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So much of this book made me feel uncomfortable。 Generations of abuse and victimization without anyone seemingly healing。 I guess more of a reflection of real life rather than tidy， happy endings。
Cathy
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 I rarely DNF a book， but the abuse is too much。 Men are terrible fathers and brothers， women are terrible mothers， the long foreshadowing to rape。 I am less than half way through and I just can't。 I rarely DNF a book， but the abuse is too much。 Men are terrible fathers and brothers， women are terrible mothers， the long foreshadowing to rape。 I am less than half way through and I just can't。 。。。more
Sam Wightman
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I can’t believe how high this book scored in the ratings。 The main character really was not likeable & I really struggled on to finish it。
Danni Strange
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I found this book was a slow start， lots of past entries that jump around in time。 About half way through it really picked up and I was hooked。 However the ending was quite confusing and I’m still not 100% sure on what happened。
Caroline
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I got lost in this book and couldn’t put it down。 Loved the story， the ending I felt a little let down by but I think it’s because I expected too much and not sure any ending would have pleased me！ Loved it though
Julianne
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I kept putting this book down because I was so busy， almost put it in the library return pile， then dedicated to finishing。。。。。definitely glad that I did， what a really great story！
Sara
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This was beautifully written and had moments of completely sucking me in but the events in book were too much for me and I considered not finishing several times。
Becky ☕️
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Even though there was some disturbing parts to this story， it really puts it into perspective that everyone has their stories and secrets。
Victoria Smith
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Great book。 A really detailed account of the relationships that shape you as a person and lead to the decisions you make
Molly B
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Just like the other reviews I found this book disturbing on many levels。 The abuse of children and animals is astonishing！ Unfortunately， I read it to the end for some redeeming value。 There was none。 One review hit it" book has nothing but narcissistic adults and their entitled children。 Just like the other reviews I found this book disturbing on many levels。 The abuse of children and animals is astonishing！ Unfortunately， I read it to the end for some redeeming value。 There was none。 One review hit it" book has nothing but narcissistic adults and their entitled children。 。。。more
Jennifer Thompson
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At first I didn't like this book， but as I learned more about its characters and their motivations， I couldn't put it down。 It reminded me that people are the sum of their whole life of experiences and shouldn't be judged by one （or a couple） moment in time。 At first I didn't like this book， but as I learned more about its characters and their motivations， I couldn't put it down。 It reminded me that people are the sum of their whole life of experiences and shouldn't be judged by one （or a couple） moment in time。 。。。more
Kathryn
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It was hard to decide between three stars and four stars for this novel。 The author has superb storytelling skills， and writes beautifully。 There were plot points that I thought were excruciatingly infuriating， though。
Joelle
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I wanted to like this book but felt like it was just dragging on。 I would find myself reading the words but not really paying attention to what I was reading then getting confused once I would start paying attention again。
Katie Dziabis
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Pleasantly surprised by this！！
Laura
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I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would。 I liked the style and format of jumping back in time。 It’s more of a reflection on life and family trauma than romance。 I liked the semi-ambiguous ending as well。
Teresa Warner
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Excellent read。。。a little graphic for my taste but some of it was necessary for the story。
Emily
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Really surprised at how much I disliked this book given its popularity。 I should’ve abandoned it in the beginning but I have a hard time not finishing things。 Although I was hooked to see what would happen， the whole thing was just a let down and uncomfortable to read。 Definitely not a feel good book and not worth the time IMO。
Laura Taylor
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A good beach read 。
Michelle Yau
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Mmm， didn’t think the writing with Peter was strong enough。 There are a lot of missing pieces that could have really filled out the book， plus the love triangle that was the reason for all the attention。
Caroline Ashby
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An intriguing book full of flashbacks over a woman’s life although the actual story is only 24 hours。 Quite graphic in places but very thought provoking。 Disappointed by the ending。 My friend and I read this together and had to google the meaning of the ending - so did a lot of people by the look of it！ I’m thinking there must be a sequel as it’s been left so open？？
Tammy Pacenza
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The ending！！！ What？
Natalie
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I get what this book was trying to do， but unfortunately I just found most of it dull。 Elle's memories are somewhat interesting at first， but there is no real development， just a collection of rambling thoughts。 It also bothers me that there's no real closure or ending between her and Jonas。 I get what this book was trying to do， but unfortunately I just found most of it dull。 Elle's memories are somewhat interesting at first， but there is no real development， just a collection of rambling thoughts。 It also bothers me that there's no real closure or ending between her and Jonas。 。。。more
Bradys。Bomb。Books
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great book。 upset about the ending， WHO DID SHE CHOOSE😭
Kristi
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This is a really forking good book。 I’m having the worst book hangover。 I actually wasn’t ready to be finished with it。 Just finishing it feels like a gut punch because I know I can’t ever read it for the first time again。 Truly remarkable and heart achingly beautiful。
Kassidy LaRocque
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3。5/5 This book was so hard to get into！ It didn’t keep my attention。 But it got really good about halfway through， but the ending ruined it for me！
Tanya Hadzic
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 DNF at 200 pages。 I had the feeling I should DNF it from the very beginning and regret I did not follow that instinct。 With so many 5 star reviews， a nomination in the fiction category on Goodreads， and so much popularity I pushed forward and assumed the book somehow gets better。 It doesn’t。 Between romanticizing infidelity， child molestation， and incest masturbation and rape scenes I left this book feeling very disturbed and disgusted。 Even if the two childhood friends end up together in the en DNF at 200 pages。 I had the feeling I should DNF it from the very beginning and regret I did not follow that instinct。 With so many 5 star reviews， a nomination in the fiction category on Goodreads， and so much popularity I pushed forward and assumed the book somehow gets better。 It doesn’t。 Between romanticizing infidelity， child molestation， and incest masturbation and rape scenes I left this book feeling very disturbed and disgusted。 Even if the two childhood friends end up together in the end， the fact that the relationship started with infidelity makes me unable to root for them or care。 Also the author tries very hard to create lush imagery and it felt very forced at times， did not enjoy the writing style。 。。。more
Rachael
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I went in with low expectations， and this book blew them out of the water。 I absolutely adored this novel。 I forced my husband to have a book club discussion about it after filling him in on the plot and twists。 The story， the atmosphere， the characters， the writing…so beautiful。 But not flowery or fluffy， quite gritty actually， but it just added to the beauty that was The Paper Palace。 There are some heavy themes， so be aware of those。 TW childhood sexual abuse， rape， infidelity， death of an in I went in with low expectations， and this book blew them out of the water。 I absolutely adored this novel。 I forced my husband to have a book club discussion about it after filling him in on the plot and twists。 The story， the atmosphere， the characters， the writing…so beautiful。 But not flowery or fluffy， quite gritty actually， but it just added to the beauty that was The Paper Palace。 There are some heavy themes， so be aware of those。 TW childhood sexual abuse， rape， infidelity， death of an infant， death of a child， divorce， cancer 。。。more
Lauren
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The abuse written about in this book was very hard to read at times， but I was intrigued to see how it ended。 What you want vs。 what is most comfortable is always a tough decision， and it was interesting to read how Elle decided what was best for her life。
Donna M
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Sucked me in from the beginning！
Jessica
，
Beautiful
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Paper Palace
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Paper Palace&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Paper Palace&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0