The Balcony
by Jane Delury
Published by Little, Brown and Company

When I browse through the book store and I pick up a book that I had never heard of, it’s always a leap of faith whether or not it’s the book for me.  The only thing that I have to go by is the blurb on the cover.  This one was a bit deceiving. These were loosely related stories – many of which had nothing to do with “The Balcony”. Some of the stories were OK, but pretty dull for the most part. All in all, a disappointment.

From the Goodreads description:

A century-spanning portrait of the inhabitants of a French village, revealing the deception, despair, love, and longing beneath the calm surface of ordinary lives.

What if our homes could tell the stories of others who lived there before us? Set in a small village near Paris, The Balcony follows the inhabitants of a single estate-including a manor and a servants’ cottage-over the course of several generations, from the Belle Époque to the present day, introducing us to a fascinating cast of characters. A young American au pair develops a crush on her brilliant employer. An ex-courtesan shocks the servants, a Jewish couple in hiding from the Gestapo attract the curiosity of the neighbors, and a housewife begins an affair while renovating her downstairs. Rich and poor, young and old, powerful and persecuted, all of these people are seeking something: meaning, love, a new beginning, or merely survival.

Doesn’t that description sound intriguing?

This book is set up with the first story focused on the “balcony”, however it really doesn’t factor into any of the other stories.  Kind of strange since the title is “The Balcony”.  I kept waiting for the title character – le balcon – to show up.  Instead, the book revolves around characters that are sad, flawed and even pretty distasteful.The stories take us through time, but not in a linear manner, which was fine. I didn’t find it hard to follow as some other reviewers did, but the way it was arranged and the way some of the stories started it was not always clear where we were in the story, or how they were related – if at all.

I didn’t really love this book, but I think that was because I expected it to be an ongoing story of characters that lived in the manor.  However, the stories are well written, and there were some that I wished had gone on a little longer. What I didn’t like was how depressing and hopeless some of the stories seemed.  But I admit, that’s a personal preference. I have a pretty busy life, and work a full-time job, so when I read it’s to entertain and uplift me – I tend to stay away from books that are tear-jerkers. Not that this book could be described as a tear-jerker, it just was a bit of a downer.  And the last chapter/story – left me so muddled that I’m still unsure of what in the world was going on.

All in all, it was a 50/50 for me.  There was never any time during my reading that I felt immersed in any of the stories, which is why I tend to stay away from short story collections.  I wish this one had made it clear from the start that this was basically a short story collection. If it had, I would have passed on “The Balcony”.

I’m very curious to hear if anyone else has read this book, or plans to. Please leave you comments below.