Book Club (#27, 1903): The Ambassadors, Henry James

With this pick from the Top 100, we head to Paris with Lambert Strether, a 55-year-old man from small town Massachusetts. He's been sent overseas on a tricky mission. A wealthy woman back home wants him to bring back her son, Chad, who's been living in Paris too long. The plan is simple: pull Chad away from whatever woman is keeping him there, and bring him home to the family business.

Except...

When Strether finds Chad, the young man seems changed. He's confident, charming, somehow better than before. And Paris starts to work its magic on Strether, too. A trip meant to rescue someone else slowly turns into something he never expected: a man in his fifties waking up and wondering if he's missed out on his own life. Around him is a whole cast of characters, and each one sees the situation -- and Strether -- a little differently.

James thought this was his best novel. It is easier to read than The Wings of the Dove (we met on May 27th for that one).

It turns on one line Strether says to a younger friend: live all you can. This isn't a book packed with action. It's about a man slowly changing his mind about what matters. It asks big questions: What do we owe to duty, and what do we owe to ourselves? Is it ever too late to really wake up? What does it even mean to "live"?

Come get a little lost in it with us
✨ Read ahead of time (give yourself room, James takes his time)
✨ Come ready to discuss
✨ New faces always welcome

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Peace ❤️