Novelist Sets 'Paris by the Book' in Milwaukee

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Photo Credit: Patrick Manning

UW-Milwaukee English professor and author Liam Callanan has publicly embraced his adopted hometown, going so far as to dub the Brew City as the “new Seattle,” and so it should come as no surprise that he staged the early parts of his newest novel, Paris by the Book, in Milwaukee. Like its title presumes, however, most of the action in this poignant mystery takes place in the City of Lights, where Leah Eady and her two teenage daughters have unexpectedly relocated, on a desperate quest to locate Leah’s recently disappeared writer husband and the girls’ father.

Even more unexpectedly, the trio of female expats quickly find themselves as the new owners of a quintessential Parisian bookstore in the center of the city, whose beloved books and classic literary characters come alive against a backdrop of intrigue surrounding the disappearance. A national bestseller, Paris by the Book is an engrossing literary mystery, a vibrant tour through the streets of Paris and a love letter to books themselves. Liam Callanan, whose debut 2004 novel, The Cloud Atlas, was an Edgar Award finalist and whose short fiction has appeared in publications ranging from Good Housekeeping to The New York Times, has crafted another charming book filled with refreshing characters whose family sagas and universal struggles transcend any border.

In addition to his work at UWM, Callanan is the founder of several city-wide community literature projects, including “Eat Local: Read Local” and the “Poetry Everywhere” animated film series. Callanan will celebrate the release of the paperback edition of Paris by the Book at the Elm Grove Public Library at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 31. The free book talk is co-sponsored by Boswell Book Co.