Cannonball Read #18: My French Whore

The book is called My French Whore, and it's written by the actor Gene Wilder. That may be all you need to know about the book, but I'll elaborate. It's a fairly pithy tale of a 30-year-old American soldier, Harry, in the Great War who flees a loveless/boring marriage to join the army. While overseas, he finds himself a coward in the line of fire, and thusly flees the battlefield only to be caught by the German army. Once caught, the German he learned from his immigrant parents comes in handy and he pretends to be a famed German spy. He's treated like a king and even treated to a French woman, Annie, who he begins a real and loving relationship with. All sorts of pickles and close calls ensue.

My French whore reads more like a screenplay if a screenplay were written in first-person prose. The chapters are fast and fairly predictable, and there is a clear three act structure. This isn't really a complaint so much as proof of Wilder's background as an actor and occasional screenwriter. An old school, broad sort of humor also bleeds through the book that makes it feel comfortable and well worn even though the book is only 3 years old.

And while My French Whore is too fast to have any real emotional resonance, it's a sweet book that likes its characters. It's funny with little dashes of deeper character development. What I enjoyed most was the kindness in Harry and Annie's relationship. You might expect a torrid affair, but it really just feels right. I appreciated the tone of the book, and by the end, I was ready to let the characters go feeling like I'd gone as far as I was meant to go with them and not a moment too long.