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From
March 2, 2007
The Chateau by William Maxwell
After the war, a naive American couple travels to France. Can they be more than tourists – or find out how much to tip? Alyson Rudd kicks off the discussion
A young American couple has travelled to France just after the Second World War. They are, by turns, mesmerised and disappointed but above all else, they want to be more than mere tourists. Earnest and naive, they find that Americans are not quite as welcome as they had supposed.
The novel is not packed with incident but is brimming with misunderstandings. Harold and Barbara Rhodes stay at a château as paying guests of an owner who needs money more than company. They make a poor first impression on their hostess, who supposed that they spoke better French. Dinner parties are a sort of hell as they struggle to understand what is said and whether they are smiling at the correct point.
The Rhodes reminded me of an American couple I know who found London cold and unwelcoming. William Maxwell captures the isolation and insecurity that any traveller feels – particularly one who wants to be sensitive to local tradition. Harold agonises over how much to tip. If he is too generous he might be viewed as showing off. If his tips are small he will be seen as miserly. The Château is coolly and elegantly written by a man who was an editor at The New Yorker. It is a gentle farce that makes the reader want to rush to France to prove that touring can be fun. Harvill, £8.99, 208pp
What do you think? Best comment wins a £20 book token and will be printed in the Books supplement. And we have six copies of The Chateau to give away. Email books@thetimes.co.uk to enter the draw.
The Rhodes reminded me of an American couple I know who found London cold and unwelcoming
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As an American expat living in England for eleven years now, I realise that be it England, France or anywhere else. We are who we are born to be. That is unless we speak the language perfectly and know the humour inside out. There are times that I feel a lonliness andisolation that is difficult to explain to my English husband. At least this couple had each other to commiserate with.
Jodi Collins, London, UK