Not so Wilder: Gene Wilder's comedic genius fails to translate to page

By: Heath D. Williams

Posted: 3/21/07

For decades, Gene Wilder has entertained audiences on the big screen with classic, memorable roles in films such as "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" and "Young Frankenstein."

His quirkiness, humor and sometimes questionable sanity made the thoughts of a novel titled "My French Whore," written by Wilder, seem like a reader's dream come true.

"Whore," instead of being a genius piece of literature written by a genius, is simply a novel that had a lot of potential but didn't quite make it.

The book has a very promising plot line. It tells the story of Paul Peachy, a conductor on a train that runs from Milwaukee to Chicago during World War I. Peachy enlists in the army and is sent overseas, leaving his wife behind. Paul's Company is sent to France, where, after witnessing a battle, he abandons his men only to be captured by the Germans.

The quick-thinking and witty Paul decides to impersonate the famous German spy, Harry Stroller, and is then showered with praise and laurels by the enemy. One of those laurels is a French woman named Annie, a self-proclaimed whore.

The plot, however, is executed poorly by Wilder. Paul and Annie fall in love with unbelievable ease. One night, they are sharing an awkward moment in Annie's bed, and two nights later are professing their love, saying they cannot go one night without seeing each other.

Their relationship seems forced, as if due to the book's title, Annie must become Paul's French whore. In a strange way, the couple fails to display any sort of chemistry, like two movie stars poorly paired in a Hollywood romantic comedy.

Paul and Annie do not meet until nearly halfway through the novel, and the second half is dominated by Paul's continuing spy work and eventual discovery. Paul and Annie's relationship seems more like an unimportant back story, even though the cover of the book labels it as "a love story."

With every turn of every page, there was an expectation and anticipation that something would finally happen with Paul and Annie, that their odd, quirky relationship would finally be explained. This expectation was never fulfilled.

There were, however, some bright, genuinely entertaining moments in "Whore," including a prison break ripped straight from the pages of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night," and an ending that, even with the underdeveloped love story, is heartbreaking.

The bright spots in the novel are made brighter by Wilder's writing, which flows through the unnecessarily brief 178-page story smoothly and easily. He is a gifted author, which allowed the book to be a pretty enjoyable read regardless of the failure of the plot.

Wilder's craftsmanship with words alone cannot save "Whore." It appears as if what he was aiming for was a quick, intimate look at love at first sight. But unfortunately, what he provided readers with was a too-quick war adventure with a brief, unbelievable love story on the side.