The American

By: Henry James

Narrated by: Robin Lawson

During a trip to Europe, wealthy American businessman Christopher Newman proposes marriage to the scintillating and beautiful aristocrat Claire de Cintré. To his dismay, he comes up against the machinations of her impoverished but proud family, who find Newman to be a vulgar example of the American privileged class. Brilliantly combining elements of comedy, tragedy, romance, and melodrama, this tale of thwarted desire vividly contrasts 19th-century American and European manners.

Literary critic Leon Edel, considered the foremost authority on the works of Henry James, wrote of this novel: “Behind its melodrama and its simple romance is the history of man’s dream of better worlds, travel to strange lands, and marriage to high and noble ladies. At the same time, the book reveals a deep affection for American innocence and a deep awareness that such innocence carries with it a fund of ignorance.”

Public Domain (P)1992 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A masterpiece of American romanticism in which James shows us his profound grasp of what he was ultimately to call ‘the Americo-European legend.’” (Leon Edel, literary critic, biographer, and foremost authority on the works of Henry James)

Contrast of French and American

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The first part was boring, no excitment, but latter part was exciting as it comes to climax.

What three words best describe Robin Lawson’s performance?

Slowly comes to the climax

Was The American worth the listening time?

The story developed in the latter part. The contrast of French personality and American personality is worth noticing.

Any additional comments?

I didn't see the movie, but I think movie is more enjoyable than book.

not a page turner

this book was just okay for me. i don't care for books where the author is reading the book to you in his writing instead of just telling the story, comments like "the reader needs to understand that" just leaves me a bit cold. the story was fine but boring in places but the author did make you care about the main character and his love interest.
i absolutely loved the narrator, his voice and articulation made it seem as if it was the main character speaking and not a story being read. a very talented narrator.
how ever when i'm glad the book has ended even if the story line holds my interest and attention it's a book i don't really feel comfortable recommending.

The American

This is a delightful story. However, the reader does not differentiate the characters with his voice at all, so sometimes it’s challenging to know which character is speaking because of the narration style. I usually listen to books that are a minimum of 20 or 30 hours, so I miss the deeper character development, but I’m enjoying the story.

Full of Cliches

I am a fan of Henty James , but I had never read The American . It was disappiointing . First of all, the story becomes exciting only at the second half of the book. Then this book didn't"t age well , it' s full of cliches : the easy- going American versus the stiff old European nobility. Seriously got tired of it, plus the story is very predictable . Not a page turner indeed but I thought Robin Lawson was doing a good job actually , so I listened til the end.

Pleasing novel, seemingly read by the protagonist

I really enjoy Henry James, and this book was no exception. It is a portrait, perhaps one of the earlier, of a character encountered in a number of books (e.g., Sinclair Lewis' Dodsworth): the intelligent, successful, open and likeable American who goes out to see the (old) world and who is somehow completely blind to European social structure and conventions. In some aspects he is naive, but he is not stupid or inexperienced; he is simply unable to grasp the way members of a class-based society perceive humanity. And above all, he is genuinely likeable. I was also somewhat surprised to find that this book was written in 1877 -- to me, it really felt like an early-20th century novel, though I can't explain the precise reason. It wasn't the greatest piece of literature I've ever read, but it was very nice.

As for the narrator: it's really hard to rate him. On the one hand, he has a very warm, pleasant, clear voice, and he has a touch of that slightly outdated American accent which is perfect for the character and the narrator. He makes no attempt at characterizations, which I thought was fine -- I never felt confused as to the identity of the speaker. But the major problem with him is that he simply doesn't know any language other than American. Most of the story takes part in France, and there are quite a few French characters and expressions. For all of these, the narrator sounds like a caricature of an American mispronouncing French. He even mispronounces French expressions that are used in English, such as "coup d'etat" (he pronounces the final t). And the only character he tries to supply with an accent -- an elderly English woman -- sounds more or less like Dick Van Dyke's hilarious mock-Cockney accent in "Mary Poppins". It really sounded as if the main character was reading the novel. And just like the main character, the narrator has such a pleasant and earnest voice that it was hard to "blame" him for this shortcoming -- that's just the way he is.

All in all, an enjoyable if slightly confusing experience.