MURDER IN THE CHATEAU

The flow of Roosevelt's posthumous novels (Murder in the Executive Mansion, 1995, etc.) continues unabated with this over- the-top excursion into surreal-absurdist plotting. It's June 1941, and Hitler is about to invade Russia, to the dismay of some of his highest officers. In the White House and elsewhere, a plan is being hatched, in deepest secrecy, to bring together for four days S.S. Colonel Artur Brandt; General Rousseau (of Vichy France); Eleanor Roosevelt—as proof of US good faith; Churchill's son Randolph—as the same for Britain; Kevin O'Neil, an Irish mercenary guarding Mrs. Roosevelt; Vicki Neustadt, Jewish and a member of the French Resistance; and General Erwin Rommel. They're all to gather at the chateau of Vivienne Duval in Vichy France—Mrs. Roosevelt and her group arriving by plane, submarine, and fishing boat. A protocol is to be drawn up formulating the boundaries and peace conditions that'll be activated once Hitler is either persuaded to agree—or assassinated. With everyone in place (Sarah Churchill substituting for her brother), there's not a dull moment, with walk-ons by Gertrude Stein and Josephine Baker; the murder of Brandt; the rape of Vicki and, as time is running out, the actual invasion of Russia rendering the whole mess null and void. With its endless rehashing of anti-Semitic horrors, unreal subplots, cardboard characters, and even intimations of romance for Eleanor, there's much more irritation than satisfaction here.