What is the effect of setting the entire novel over the course of just one day? What do you think the future holds for these characters?

What is the effect of setting the entire novel over the course of just one day? What do you think the future holds for these characters?

I thought it was brilliant to have the 4 stories happen in one day. It was a unique way to tell their tales that were so much more meaningful than just one day. I would love to see a sequel.

We need a sequel!

I thought the author used the movement of time very effectively by incorporating the backstory of each character into the development of action that was limited to a single day. This alloows the telling of a broader story within a limited plot schedule. The conclusion sets up options for most of them, creating an interesting opportunity for speculation about future events.

Initially, I didn't think it would work, but in fact it is quite genius! A sequel would be great!

I'm not sure how to say this but it established an urban rhythm in my reading--moving in and around this large city, with the characters interaction with others and the times their paths crossed or almost crossed--just as things happen in a bustling metropolis. Also, there was a pace to the writing that somehow indicated the time of day--from the early morning quiet of the start of each of their days to the jazzy, smoke filled, boozy end of it.
I don't really want a sequel--I've already given the characters the rest of their lives in my head--except for what happens as he enters that hotel door at the end. I keep changing that ending in my head. Maybe an epilogue over polished silverware would do,

Though laid out in a day, there are many events from the past included for their effect on the day. I am not sure I would like a sequel but I would like to read the book again, and I rarely say this.

I completely agree with katherinep: setting the action over the course of one day established the rhythm of lives being lead in a vibrant and vital city. The way the characters' paths cross, or almost cross, the chance intersections with famous people, all of this serves to make the characters real people picked out from the crowd. And the way the pace of the writing established the time of day, the mood, the spirit of the city is genius. It leads the reader on, curious as to what will happen next.

I admit I struggled at the beginning--I had a hard time keeping track and figuring out who was who, but I really like @katherinep's take on it! That is a great way to describe it! As someone else said somewhere else, too, it was very much like real life sometimes--you catch glimpses of people in passing, but don't know their full story.

I echo Terriej. It was brilliant for George to use twenty-four hours in Paris for the setting and span of this captivating novel. That short time frame created both tempo and tension for me as a reader. I did not want to put the book down. The chapter by chapter revelation of the back stories of the four main character, the verbal visitions to different areas of this magical city, and the casual cameos of persons of fame made this a novel packed with surprises, joys, and saddness. The ending did not disappoint.

Setting the action of the novel in one day intensifies the multiple plots while making it seem more possible for the characters to overlap with one another. Initially it was a challenge to keep the stories straight, but moment by moment it became more intriguing rather than more confusing. Spreading the action out over more time would have diluted the effect, I think.

I thought it was a great effect and really made me think of my own life and how it intersects with other peoples lives in my own city. Like when I meet a new person, who may become an intricate part of my life due to friendship or co-worker or what have you, what have they been doing in the years before I met them? This is something that I have always thought about , and while reading this book, it made me think about it even more. We are all so intertwined in one way or another, who we know and how we relate to each other..its just interesting to think about.

I must have missed something. I thought Ravel played his piece several days during the story. I thought there were nine years between Gillaume and Suzanne sleeping together and his meeting her at the Chat Blanc? Weren't there ten years between the explosion that killed Anais and left Elodie an orphan? Ah, one day in real time, ten years in memory. Life is short. The novel is tight, yet there is quite a bit of action. I'm sure the thugs beating Gillaume and the fire scene at the Chat Blank would make a good movie. The puppet shows are a bit macabre.