A Good American
1st Edition
Published on 2. August 2012
400 pages
978-0-241-95819-3 (ISBN)
Description
Germany, 1904: When Frederick and Jette must flee her disapproving mother, where better to go than America, the land of the new? Originally set to board a boat to New York, at the last minute they take one destined for New Orleans, and later find themselves, more by chance than by design, in the small town of Beatrice, Missouri. Not speaking a word of English, they embark on their new life together.
From bare-knuckle prizefighting and Prohibition to sweet barbershop harmonies and the Kennedy assassination, the family is caught up in the sweep of history as they find their place in their adopted country. Accompanied by a chorus of unforgettable characters, from a chicken-strangling church organist to a malevolent bicycle-riding dwarf, each new generation discovers afresh what it means to be an American.
Poignant, funny and heartbreaking, A Good American is a universal story about our search for home.
From bare-knuckle prizefighting and Prohibition to sweet barbershop harmonies and the Kennedy assassination, the family is caught up in the sweep of history as they find their place in their adopted country. Accompanied by a chorus of unforgettable characters, from a chicken-strangling church organist to a malevolent bicycle-riding dwarf, each new generation discovers afresh what it means to be an American.
Poignant, funny and heartbreaking, A Good American is a universal story about our search for home.
Reviews / Votes
A sentimental, lively, and sad family saga spanning four generations * Publisher's Weekly * Epic, lyrical, compelling * USA Today * A sweeping, lush intergenerational novel about a family of German-Americans learning to live in 20th-century America * Oprah.com * There's plenty of storytelling charm on display here, with echoes of John Irving's humane zaniness * The New York Times *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
File size
1,36 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-241-95819-3 (9780241958193)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
Alex George studied law at Oxford University and worked for eight years as a corporate lawyer in London and Paris before moving from England to the United States in 2003. He now runs his own law firm in Columbia, Missouri.
