Vintage 1954: Handy pocket size pop up map of Orlando and Walt Disney World Resort

It’s wonderful to read a novel that fascinates, intrigues and buoys you up. I don’t normally care for fabulist elements but here they flow so naturally that you sail along in their wake. Four very disparate people meet in a Paris apartment, drink a special bottle of wine from 1954 and find themselves transported back to that time. This is a great excuse to meet all sorts of famous people from 1954 and to experience a Paris where the huge produce markets of Les Halles are still operational, Harry’s Bar is much younger, Cocteau, Dali, Piaf and other famous creatives are still alive and miracles happen. Lest we become too nostalgic, Laurain finds a way to remind us that it wasn’t all marvellous: women had only had the vote since 1944, for instance and there were many men who thought it was wasted on them. The problem of meeting a younger/older version of yourself is blithely handled and all turns out well. It does involve flying saucers. :-) A lovely story.

I loved this book..one vivid vignette after another and 1954 Paris flashes into existence...magic realism at its best. All the characters grow into your liking during your course of reading, and the cameos are splendid fun.

Another superbly written novel, that emerged me into present day life and then transported me to 1950's Paris; a beautiful story of friendship and the shared experience of discovering a magical transformation that only a select few will ever know, which offers hope for us all. Antoine Laurain has never disappointed me, and always entertains with his hopeful undertones.

Even with the translation into English, the reader is transported into France and the cultural differences. I really enjoyed this.

The experience of reading "Vintage 1954" is akin to that of drinking a glass of good red wine - enjoyable, multi-textured and satisfying, leaving you very slightly tipsy in a good way. Four 21st century characters are transported back to the Paris of 1954 with the sights, smells, sounds, tastes and personalities of that era, from Edith Piaf to Salvador Dali to Francois Truffaut to Jean Gabin. The city of the past works its magic on the people from today in a fairytale-like, light-hearted and charming story. The only part I felt jarred a little was the sci-fi element which did not sit easily with the atmosphere. Overall, this is a nostalgic, escapist and entertaining book for relaxed holiday reading.