Book title: The Paper Palace
ISBN: 9780241990452
Author: Miranda Cowley Heller
Publisher: Penguin UK
Publication year: 2022
“Let others pride themselves about how many pages they have written; I’d rather boast about the ones I’ve read.” – Jorge Luis Borges
SOMETIMES, the biggest decisions in life are made in a moment, but they come with the weight of everything we’ve lived through.
That’s the journey Miranda Cowley Heller takes us on in ‘The Paper Palace’, an emotional and powerful debut novel published in 2022.
Set over the course of one summer day in Cape Cod, this is a story about choices, regret, and memory.
It’s about a woman torn between the life she built and the love she never quite let go of. What makes the story stand out is not just the dilemma but the deep dive into how our past – especially our pain – never truly leaves us.
The novel begins with Elle Bishop, a 50-year-old wife and mother, waking up beside her husband, Peter, just hours after sleeping with her childhood best friend, Jonas.
Elle is someone who has spent her life carefully holding things together, but now everything she kept buried rises to the surface.
The storyline unfolds over 24 hours, interwoven with a series of raw and emotional flashbacks about Elle’s childhood, her complicated family, the trauma she endured, and how the bonds in her life shaped her journey.
Elle is strong on the outside, yet she carries a deep burden. The characterisation reveals that she’s far from perfect, but there’s a raw honesty in her portrayal.
Peter, her husband, offers stability, while Jonas is the man who once held her heart.
Though Peter provides safety and love, Elle feels he doesn’t fully understand her emotional needs.
Jonas, on the other hand, seems to embody everything Elle yearns for. Their bond, forged in childhood, is steeped in shared secrets, laughter, and tragedy. He knows Elle in ways no one else does. With Jonas, there’s the possibility of a different life – one where she doesn’t have to hide parts of herself just to keep going.
But choosing Jonas might mean losing everything else. Elle stands at a painful crossroads.
Beyond the love triangle, Elle also navigates complicated family dynamics. Her mother, Wallace, is sharp-tongued and emotionally distant, often choosing tough love over gentleness.
Her sister, Anna, born two years earlier, highlights two very different versions of growing up in the same household. Elle is carefree, fierce, and protective, while Anna is goal-oriented and gentler.
Through their relationship, Heller shows how siblings can grow up under the same roof yet emerge with entirely different versions of themselves.
Heller brings a cinematic touch to her storytelling, lingering on each of Elle’s memories with emotional depth that resonates with readers.
By the end of the story, Elle makes a decision. But Heller doesn’t spell it out, instead leaving it to readers to interpret for themselves.
It underscores the idea that life doesn’t always offer clear answers – sometimes, it’s about listening to what your heart is trying to say.
If you enjoy stories that make you pause and reflect, ‘The Paper Palace’ is right up your alley.
