A Good American by Alex George -- Nov 2011 Bonus Batch LTER
Talk Reviews of Early Reviewers Books
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1TooBusyReading
A Good American by Alex George
I'm overly nosy so love reading about other families, both fiction and nonfiction. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book about immigrants from Germany, and their not-always-comfortable attempts to be Good Americans. What are your favorite family sagas? I'm also looking for another good one, not that I don't have too many books lined up to be read already. Another that I read not too long ago is The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield, and I loved that one, too.
Here's a cut and paste of my review of A Good American:
At the dawn of the 20th century, larger-than-life Frederick and Jette come to American from their homeland of Germany under less than ideal circumstances but full of love for one another. They build their family and their lives in this new corner of the world, and their story, with all its ups and downs, is eventually told by their grandchild.
Okay, I know, rich, evocative family sagas are a dime a dozen, but I'm still a sucker for them. I loved reading every word of this one. The characters were interesting, multidimensional, easy to take to heart. One character whom I was afraid was going to be just a caricature was much deeper than that, although I would have liked to have known more about him. The storyline was engaging. But best of all, the prose was beautiful. I delighted in the turns of phrase, of the images conjured, of the metaphors that were lovely but not over the top. My only quibble with this novel is that there was too much foreshadowing for my taste, but that is a relatively minor quibble. Still, this is a book that I so much enjoyed reading that I didn't want it to end.
I was given a copy for review by the publisher through LibraryThing, for which I am very grateful.
I'm overly nosy so love reading about other families, both fiction and nonfiction. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book about immigrants from Germany, and their not-always-comfortable attempts to be Good Americans. What are your favorite family sagas? I'm also looking for another good one, not that I don't have too many books lined up to be read already. Another that I read not too long ago is The Homecoming of Samuel Lake by Jenny Wingfield, and I loved that one, too.
Here's a cut and paste of my review of A Good American:
At the dawn of the 20th century, larger-than-life Frederick and Jette come to American from their homeland of Germany under less than ideal circumstances but full of love for one another. They build their family and their lives in this new corner of the world, and their story, with all its ups and downs, is eventually told by their grandchild.
Okay, I know, rich, evocative family sagas are a dime a dozen, but I'm still a sucker for them. I loved reading every word of this one. The characters were interesting, multidimensional, easy to take to heart. One character whom I was afraid was going to be just a caricature was much deeper than that, although I would have liked to have known more about him. The storyline was engaging. But best of all, the prose was beautiful. I delighted in the turns of phrase, of the images conjured, of the metaphors that were lovely but not over the top. My only quibble with this novel is that there was too much foreshadowing for my taste, but that is a relatively minor quibble. Still, this is a book that I so much enjoyed reading that I didn't want it to end.
I was given a copy for review by the publisher through LibraryThing, for which I am very grateful.
2Esta1923
Two reviews here:
“Purgatory,” a novel by Tomas Eloy Martinez, is a puzzling book to read.
Translated from Spanish by Frank Wynne it does have notes (pp. 271-273) but they come as a belated aid as there are none of the usual footnote references in the text.
Here is the book’s opening sentence:
“Simon Cardoso had been dead thirty years when his wife, Emelia Dupuy, spotted him at lunchtime in the lounge bar in Trudy Tuesday.”
Thirty years dead? Simon had been “disappeared” in Argentina, presumed dead. Trudy Tuesday is a restaurant in New Jersey. Somewhat more than 5,000 miles separate these places.
On page 149 we read “novels are written to make amends in this world for the perpetual absence of what never existed.”
I have four pages of notes I wrote as I was reading this book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robertson’s Book of Firsts, subtitled “Who Did What for the FIRST TIME” is the brainchild of Patrick Robertson. It is a handsome volume, weighing 2.5 pounds.
The back of its book jacket lists a sample of offerings, from A to Z. My eye landed on “G” for garbage bags (since they now are a subject of controversy in California). Opening to p. 212 I also was drawn into reading about the first Gas Cooker, Gasoline, Gay Marriages.
Do I need to know these and other facts found idly? Perhaps! Maybe there will be a lull at dinner table and I can share what I’ve learned. Surely if coffee is served I can say it was once used as fuel on steam locomotives in Brazil, and segue to the history of both instant and decaff.
While reading about the first book clubs I found an error (p. 86). Not of fact, I hasten to say, but a typographical one. (This proves old proofreaders never die, they join LibraryThing!)
Do you know what the Book -of -the -Month Club’s initial choice was? Not “Holly Willowes,” as on p. 86, but Sylvia Townsend Warner’s beautiful “Lolly Willowes,” one of my favorite books.
Other casual readers will discover other gems. It is a book to dip into, perhaps use as a basis for a party game. I’m keeping it handy for moments when a little knowledge is just what I need.
“Purgatory,” a novel by Tomas Eloy Martinez, is a puzzling book to read.
Translated from Spanish by Frank Wynne it does have notes (pp. 271-273) but they come as a belated aid as there are none of the usual footnote references in the text.
Here is the book’s opening sentence:
“Simon Cardoso had been dead thirty years when his wife, Emelia Dupuy, spotted him at lunchtime in the lounge bar in Trudy Tuesday.”
Thirty years dead? Simon had been “disappeared” in Argentina, presumed dead. Trudy Tuesday is a restaurant in New Jersey. Somewhat more than 5,000 miles separate these places.
On page 149 we read “novels are written to make amends in this world for the perpetual absence of what never existed.”
I have four pages of notes I wrote as I was reading this book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robertson’s Book of Firsts, subtitled “Who Did What for the FIRST TIME” is the brainchild of Patrick Robertson. It is a handsome volume, weighing 2.5 pounds.
The back of its book jacket lists a sample of offerings, from A to Z. My eye landed on “G” for garbage bags (since they now are a subject of controversy in California). Opening to p. 212 I also was drawn into reading about the first Gas Cooker, Gasoline, Gay Marriages.
Do I need to know these and other facts found idly? Perhaps! Maybe there will be a lull at dinner table and I can share what I’ve learned. Surely if coffee is served I can say it was once used as fuel on steam locomotives in Brazil, and segue to the history of both instant and decaff.
While reading about the first book clubs I found an error (p. 86). Not of fact, I hasten to say, but a typographical one. (This proves old proofreaders never die, they join LibraryThing!)
Do you know what the Book -of -the -Month Club’s initial choice was? Not “Holly Willowes,” as on p. 86, but Sylvia Townsend Warner’s beautiful “Lolly Willowes,” one of my favorite books.
Other casual readers will discover other gems. It is a book to dip into, perhaps use as a basis for a party game. I’m keeping it handy for moments when a little knowledge is just what I need.
3techeditor
toobusyreading asks about my favorite family saga. Without a doubt: CUTTING FOR STONE.
