"Blondel’s moving and dynamic novel explores the intersecting lives of visitors and staff at a provincial French café . . . The café serves as the perfect theater for tragicomedy . . . This has plenty of charm."—Publishers Weekly
"Each character comes fully and beautifully alive, and together their stories create a strong sense of people sorting through their lives and making changes . . . Moving, insightful, and fun to read; for fans of literary and popular fiction alike."—Library Journal
"A novel of finely drawn characters taking place in—you guessed it—the French version of Tom's Diner. Thick with atmosphere, it serves up charming and engrossing bittersweet slices of life.”—Suzanne Vega, singer-songwriter
"Delicate and delightful . . . Café Unfiltered is a warm hug of a novel that brims with hope."—Foreword Reviews
"Café Unfiltered takes a look at the pandemic through a rear view mirror . . . A post pandemic poetic effort to put into words, to make sense of what we have all just lived through . . . Wherever you found yourself between February 2020 and July 2021, the slender book will have something to say to you."—Musée Musings
"This intimate story confirms the author's rare talent for portraying bygone eras."—Le Monde
Praise for The 6:41 to Paris:
"A strong plot and a touching portrayal of how any of us might feel when unexpectedly confronted by the detritus of young love ... The 6:41 to Paris is a timely reminder that the past is always waiting to ambush us."—The New York Times Book Review
"A taut, suspenseful psychological journey from which there is no escape...The 6:41 to Paris shatters any illusions that acts of cruelty committed in our youth are of little consequence later in life. A gripping yarn for our time."—Katie Marton, author of Paris: A Love Story
"Blondel conveys ... a shared, suspenseful dread that makes you want to turn every page at locomotive pace."—The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
"Perfectly written and a remarkably suspenseful read ... an absorbing, intriguing, insightful book for all readers."—Library Journal (Starred review)
"A fast, yet deep journey through the characters' experiences of anger, triumph, remorse, and forgiveness, Blondel's novel ... reminds us that even long-ago heartbreaks have the power to ignite our most powerful emotions."—Kirkus Reviews
07/01/2023
As with his quietly incisive The 6:41 to Paris, French novelist Blondell here does a lot with a little, daisy-chaining the stories of staff and patrons at a small café in the French provinces on a single day. Steady, loyal owner Fabrice explains how he inherited the café from Jocelyn, who later comes for a visit and draws out Chloe, a regular who sketches through the day while considering how to take control of her life. Intemperate waiter José, exasperated with Chloe's constant presence though she barely orders anything, recalls his indebtedness to Fabrice while contemplating his next move. Vainglorious Guillaume meets with his quietly assured mother, who puts him in his place and reveals some shocking moves of her own. Now a famous writer, Thibault grudgingly returns home to visit Pierre, still fuming over the pain caused by their relationship, but Pierre offers a different perspective on things. Though briefly sketched, each character comes fully and beautifully alive, and together their stories create a strong sense of people sorting through their lives and making changes. That the narrative takes place just as society is opening up post-pandemic serves to amplify that sense of possibility. VERDICT Moving, insightful, and fun to read; for fans of literary and popular fiction alike.—Barbara Hoffert