About this book
Contes d'Amérique by Louis Mullem sweeps listeners into a lively collection of short stories that recast American life through a European, late-19th-century gaze. Mullem's tales drift from a German-settled Kansas town to parlor rooms where gossip, literary ambition, and gentle satire collide, painting a portrait of immigrant communities, social ritual, and the strange comforts of cultural imitation.
These literary short stories blend humor and observation—characters like Gibb, Fogg, and the Wallholm family appear amid moonlit walks, family visits, and spirited debates about poetry and prose. Mullem frames his vignettes as imaginative "chimères," partly fanciful, partly rooted in the era’s realities: the Rhine émigrés who reshaped Midwestern towns, the tension between old-world customs and new-world dreams, and the social scenes that reveal human vanity and affection alike. The language evokes both the rustic landscapes of Humboldt, Kansas, and the parlor dramas of Parisian taste, offering historical context without losing the immediacy of character-driven storytelling.
Perfect for listeners who enjoy historical fiction, classic short stories, or cultural sketches, this audiobook will appeal to anyone curious about immigrant experience, literary satire, and 19th-century transatlantic perspectives—an evocative, thoughtful listening experience.
