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The Amateur American
Sometimes the hardest boundaries to see . . .are the ones you’ve already crossed.
Twenty-nine-year-old Jeffrey Delanne is teaching English in France but having a tough time stretching his measly paycheck one month to the next. When he’s not worrying about his bar tab, he’s struggling with the language, trying to justify his country’s “imperialist” actions to every French person in sight, and wondering just what the hell he’s doing abroad.
Desperate for a few quick euros, Jeffrey takes on some translating work for an eccentric Arab businessman. But the job turns ugly, and Jeffrey is forced to do things he never thought himself capable of, torn among guilt, a host of criminal impulses, and a haunting paranoia he’d never known back home.
But maybe it’s not just paranoia. Soon Jeffrey’s colleagues, his students, and even the women in his life begin hinting at dark secrets, and Jeffrey starts to suspect that he’s been lured into a brutal game whose implications go far beyond this unassuming corner of the world.
Now his life may depend on his willingness to transform himself into something–someone–who’ll stop at nothing to survive.
Twenty-nine-year-old Jeffrey Delanne is teaching English in France but having a tough time stretching his measly paycheck one month to the next. When he’s not worrying about his bar tab, he’s struggling with the language, trying to justify his country’s “imperialist” actions to every French person in sight, and wondering just what the hell he’s doing abroad.
Desperate for a few quick euros, Jeffrey takes on some translating work for an eccentric Arab businessman. But the job turns ugly, and Jeffrey is forced to do things he never thought himself capable of, torn among guilt, a host of criminal impulses, and a haunting paranoia he’d never known back home.
But maybe it’s not just paranoia. Soon Jeffrey’s colleagues, his students, and even the women in his life begin hinting at dark secrets, and Jeffrey starts to suspect that he’s been lured into a brutal game whose implications go far beyond this unassuming corner of the world.
Now his life may depend on his willingness to transform himself into something–someone–who’ll stop at nothing to survive.
320 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2009
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
May 4, 2014
Someday in the future, I hope to enjoy the film adaptation of this book while munching on a bowl of nice freedom fries. Mmmm. Some books are better made as movies - this might be one of them.
International angst and xenophobia in a post 9-11 world serve as the backbone for this attempt at a suspenseful thriller. Yes, I said attempt. Hard to root for an unlikeable protagonist with no discernible skills other than the fact that he's an American that speaks good French. And drinks like a fish. And makes out with his high school students. Don't worry- not a spoiler alert- it's not even central to the main story arc.
Too many characters to follow. So many women, so little pages. Little character development. So little purpose. The scriptwriters should take huge liberties with the characters. Please.
International angst and xenophobia in a post 9-11 world serve as the backbone for this attempt at a suspenseful thriller. Yes, I said attempt. Hard to root for an unlikeable protagonist with no discernible skills other than the fact that he's an American that speaks good French. And drinks like a fish. And makes out with his high school students. Don't worry- not a spoiler alert- it's not even central to the main story arc.
Too many characters to follow. So many women, so little pages. Little character development. So little purpose. The scriptwriters should take huge liberties with the characters. Please.
April 14, 2009
Writing good genre fiction is HARD. You can't just crank out page after page of drinking, smoking, and torturing and call it a mystery novel.
November 21, 2009
Full of suspense! Joel writes, so you can't put his book down. You just have to find out what happens next!
July 11, 2014
Suspenseful and bit campy.
June 25, 2012
A fast-paced and well-plotted thriller with great polish that reads like the first novel of an author with a lot of technique and no experience--a recent creative writing MFA graduate.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews