Futile Deceptions: Book one of Basil Ackroyd's France

by Douglas Spencer Wallis

Basil Ackroyd, mayor of a comfortable little town in the French Midi, leads a pleasant life profiting from his position of influence among the malleable citizens many of whom are ex-pat Brits. There are those outside his domain who resent this privileged position he is able to hold by the chance of his mixed parentage. However he has learned his craft in the grubby underbelly of British local politics and is able to carry the battle to his Gallic adversaries. This morning unfolds into one of those days of destiny for our hero.

280 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2014

About the author

“It is a shame and bad taste to be an alien, and it is no use pretending otherwise. There is no way out of it. A criminal may improve and become a decent member of society. A foreigner cannot improve. Once a foreigner, always a foreigner. There is no way out for him.”

George Mikes

I am sure this is as true for me as anyone living their life in another country. I adore to live in France but am reconciled to the fact that I will always be an alien. So be it, I often cannot understand my wife, it is not so much a question of the mist of language but that strange blurring that occurs when cultures do not blend. No matter how well you combine them they eventually separate and I become an Englishman floating around in a delectable French soup.

However I must say I am tolerated by my hosts with the deep understanding and kindness of a family who have taken in a stray dog with a weak bladder. I am seemingly unable to survive without their constant succor and tolerance of my occasional lapses. But we get along well enough, except when it comes to the game of rugby, although a relatively new form of combat it does bring out some primeval desire for battle, just for the sake of it, between the perfidious albion and the noble French.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the solution to all of his problems almost within reach, the mayor of a small French town, a British expatriate, becomes the focus of a national scandal, fraud investigation, counterterrorism manhunt, blackmail scheme and paparazzi feeding frenzy.

This story is a delightful romp through the trials and errors of Basil Ackroyd’s life. His ups, downs, advances, retreats, genius and ineptitude. The author has crafted a tale that involves a bit of political intrigue, a touch of mystery, a well thought out comedy of errors, irreverent humor, a well-written supporting cast and Basil.

Basil Ackroyd is completely despicable—morally bankrupt, corrupt, completely self-serving and abrasive. He is thoroughly convinced that he is the only intelligent being in a world of idiots, and tirelessly endeavors to perfect the art and science of official malfeasance for personal gain. He attempts to corrupt everyone and everything he touches. Basil is also one of the most interesting characters I have read in a long time. I enjoyed his faults, elaborate schemes, tirades, irreverent observations and ability to unwittingly destroy his own plans. He is one of those characters I know I am supposed to hate, but I like him anyway. He made me laugh, cringe and shake my head in wonder.

The author does a wonderful job of bringing Basil’s world and its inhabitants to life. Several minor characters are introduced, in rapid fire fashion, at the beginning of the book, but individual personalities stand out quite well—a no-nonsense barkeeper, the timid policeman, a band of geriatrics who behave like a gang of teenaged miscreants, Basil’s seemingly brainless secretary who consistently saves the day, Basil’s unhappy yet dutiful wife and others. These are the residents of Durac, a French town saddled with Basil’s unique brand of governance and drawn into the machinations of nefarious outsiders.

The only fault I found in this book was a handful of misspellings.

I heartily recommend Futile Deceptions, Basil Ackroyd’s France Book 1 and look forward to the next installment. It is well worth your time.

[Jeffrey Carl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reads like a BBC comedy, in a good way. The characters are quirky, and they create their own mayhem in a confined community in France. The characters and their foibles become the plot elements that move the story forward, with ever- escalating conflicts playing off the various personalities. It took me some time to adjust to the comedic tempo. Once I adjusted I found the tempo of the story telling was a good match for the plot as it plodded and tumbled humorously forward. The story centers around a recreation center that has burned down, and the extreme measures the mayor takes to make sure the resulting insurance claim is handled the way he wants. It turns out everyone in town has their own secrets that relate back to that event, and they all have to come clean in one way or another. This is a welcome find in an independent book. You'll like it the most if you like quaint, small-town humor. This is a welcome change from the formula based books you may find in main-stream publishing.

[Elizabeth Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quirky characters populate the French countryside in Douglas Spencer Wallis' Futile Deceptions. The story mainly centers around Basil Ackroyd, a corrupt British expat who serves as mayor to a sleepy town in rural France, largely populated by other expats. He is engaged in a wide array of unethical/illegal wheelings and dealings. It would have been easy to make Ackroyd a villain, but Wallis provides such a cast of comically nefarious characters, he doesn't come off too bad. Everybody has an angle, some of them are just too dull to be any good at scamming each other. This is a farcical comedy that invites readers to revel in the absurdity of serious matters including runaway nationalism and corruption.
None of the characters is realistic, but they are all still relatable. Rural France comes off sounding like a lovely place to visit, even if all of the locals are crazy.
In all, Futile Deceptions is a fun read, good to take on vacation or for general unwinding.

[Rubin Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Douglas Wallis has penned a sprawling novel set in a French village in which the native French are outnumbered by expats. Farce is an old dramatic form defined as comedy that entertains by creating weird situations. Exaggerated characters, physical humor, and complex improbable plots are typical of farce. As such, farce can't be reviewed by the same standards of other types of fiction. The author delivers on characters larger than life, slapstick type physical gags, and a wild meandering plot with lies, missteps, accidents, and randomness twisting and turning the characters every which way.

For me, successful farce is both funny and insightful. On both counts, Futile Deceptions falls short for this reader. Note that I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. I would not have read this book otherwise because it was soon apparent the humor in this farce(and there is lots of it) doesn't amuse me although I'm sure it could be funny to many. Perhaps, there are insights into the differences between the English and the French that are too subtle for this American to decipher. Alas, I suspect there is a better audience for this than me.

The author does a wonderful job in some of the dialogs in which the characters have completely different perceptions which turns the meaning of their speeches into three distinct interpretations: what the speaker thinks he is conveying; what the listener thinks the speaker means; and what the reader learns by knowing the mindsets of the speaker, the listener, and what is going on.

Real estate shenanigans, marijuana-infused beer, a French-style theme park, and numerous liaisons are mixed and mashed together in this sprawling fast-paced story which takes place in the days leading up to VE day in a small French town. Subplots abound to accommodate various pairings and nefarious business arrangements. Deceptions are the order of the day. Government ineffectiveness is an underlying theme. As befitting a farce, as the mass of lies increased, the pace accelerated as the characters headed toward their inevitable collisions.

I had to read the first few chapters several times to get into the story. There are (too?) many characters to track, especially because some of them have hidden goals that eventually come into conflict. It was difficult to identify with the main character, Mayor Basil Ackroyd, whose antics caused him so much physical injury, he certainly owes his life to fiction. As I made my way through the final chapters, it still seems several loose ends may not have been tied. Whatever did happen to that insurance claim? Will the mayor's wife find new happiness? Will Stavros ever get a shower? Will the terrorists be brought to justice?

The book is decently proofread. If you like farce, Futile Deceptions may be a book for you.

[Caron Allan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Join British ex-pat, now French Mayor Basil Ackroyd in this crazy, bullet-riddled madcap romp as he copes with eccentric characters, out-of-control family members whilst trying to evade the insurance investigator and keep himself from getting blown up or bankrupted. All in a day's work for Durac's finest public servant. Hilarious tongue-in-cheek fun!