The Ambassadors

By: Henry James

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Lambert Strether, a mild, middle-aged American of no particular achievements, is dispatched to Paris from the manufacturing empire of Woollett, Massachusetts. The mission conferred on him by his august patron, Mrs. Newsome, is to discover what, or who, is keeping her son Chad in the notorious city of pleasure and to bring him home. But Strether finds Chad transformed by the influence of a remarkable woman. And as the Parisian spring advances, he himself succumbs to the allure of the "vast bright Babylon" and to the mysterious charm of Madame de Vionnet.

Public Domain (P)2010 Tantor

True exaltation, the kind that's earned

One of the greatest novels ever written. Nearly all of life is here. Struggle, doubt, beauty, hope and resolution, or, perhaps more accurately, as near as we ever come to honestly, haltingly grasping those shifting realities. Set down in language that not only deepens consciousness but expands it. This book's nagging questions and shimmering sublimities will stay with you for the rest of your days.

Henry James can be hard to follow but worth it

With Henry James things move at a glacial pace. I happen to be a very fast reader and would be tempted to gobble up the plot and try to skip the delays, so having this read to me is much better as I get the full effect. For example, two people meet in a room and you are dying to know what they will say to each other, but James is slow to tell you - he meticulously describes the surroundings, the atmosphere, what the characters are thinking, etc. letting the tension build almost unbearably - and then they say almost nothing! The writing is exquisite - if painfully slow - and eventually I was just dying to know where this was going so I had to keep extending my walks so I could listen to more!

The plot involves a main character (the "ambassador") who has been sent from New England to London to bring back the family's son and heir to take up the family business back home. He slowly - and I mean slowly - discovers what the young man is up to. There are many other fascinating characters involved. A great deal of the action takes place in Paris. I won't give away any more. If you like Henry James or period pieces and have the patience to wait out a good story, you will enjoy it.

The reader does a beautiful job - no excessive acting, just beautiful reading with meaning. Perfect for this text. I'll look for more by Stephen Hoye.

This can drive you crazy

Oh what a chore to keep going! This is a great book, I suppose. That is, if you like language to be a nuanced dance: " (Speaker 1) " Do you mean XYZ?" (Speaker 2): Oh! Oh! Oh!".....makes me want to shake some of these characters by the shoulders and tell them to make themselves clear and get to the point. Not my favorite Henry James book.

Bringing a wayward son back home

After being sent to Europe to find and reconcile a son with his mother, the protagonist begins to understand the allure of European society.

A Masterpiece

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book is a treasure for anyone who loves the English language.

What did you like best about this story?

Given the deep, patient attention that James' prose demands, this recording is sublime. In perfectly constructed sentences delivered with Shakespearean cadence, James' insights into human nature unfold like hothouse flowers. But don't look for resolution--as in life, there are none in The Ambassadors.

Have you listened to any of Stephen Hoye’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Hoye is new to me, but I'll look for his work in the future.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

An American in Paris Gets Lost in Translation