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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
Immigrants from Germany arrive in Missouri. Lovely language. Dashes of humor. Character emphasis.
Kind of one big cliche filled with sentence-level cliches, but an easy story to listen to.
Perfect summer read--reminds me of Fried Green Tomatos in the Midwest with an immigration twist.
beautifully written. the book cover led me to believe i would be reading a love story based in new orleans, which is certainly not what happened. it's more of a story about struggle and family. at the heart and soul of this book and the family lies music and a restaurant.
i truly enjoyed seeing how this family unfolds over generations. in the beginning, it slowly meanders through time, and i appreciated that more than the whirlwind of a wrap up that occurs in the last 50 pages. nonetheless, this excellent writing and unique story had me rushing back to this book every day until i finished it.
i truly enjoyed seeing how this family unfolds over generations. in the beginning, it slowly meanders through time, and i appreciated that more than the whirlwind of a wrap up that occurs in the last 50 pages. nonetheless, this excellent writing and unique story had me rushing back to this book every day until i finished it.
What a great book! The writing was wonderful...I was laughing out loud at some points and tearing up at others. This will certainly be one of the top books of 2012 for me!
This is one of those sprawling multi generational books that when done well suck you in to each thoughtful chapter as it slowly unfurls the tales of the family. This one centered around the Meisenheimers: Jette who is courted by Frederick when Jette's mother has already picked out someone for her to further ensure family wealth/prestige etc She is wooed by his singing and the two flee Europe to start new in America.
Jette is pregnant as they travel and when she has the baby they stop mid trip in Missouri and decide to settle there. The marriage isn't perfect of course, Frederick is distracted by other things trying to make money and then enlists in the military and as the two write each other to rekindle their marriage he gets shot and dies. Jette has to figure out how to support her now growing family (she has 4 children) and running a restaurant where she cooks is just the thing.Until it's not.
More characters are introduced and through the eyes of the second son we find out about the trials and errors of each of the children. I can't explain it. It's just so much yet it doesn't seem that way as you read it. The story is entertaining and realistic and lighthearted with some farcical events.
I was sad for the book to end. The book takes place over about a hundred years.
Jette is pregnant as they travel and when she has the baby they stop mid trip in Missouri and decide to settle there. The marriage isn't perfect of course, Frederick is distracted by other things trying to make money and then enlists in the military and as the two write each other to rekindle their marriage he gets shot and dies. Jette has to figure out how to support her now growing family (she has 4 children) and running a restaurant where she cooks is just the thing.Until it's not.
More characters are introduced and through the eyes of the second son we find out about the trials and errors of each of the children. I can't explain it. It's just so much yet it doesn't seem that way as you read it. The story is entertaining and realistic and lighthearted with some farcical events.
I was sad for the book to end. The book takes place over about a hundred years.
I loved this book. It was so full of heart. And then around page 300 it took a bizarre turn. I'm still not sure what was the point of introducing those two characters to the story. All they did was simply add another body count to the Meisenheimer tragic family history. It had nothing to do with the overarching theme of what it means to be a good American. The theme just seem to disappear around the time the third generation reached adolescence and never really returned to the book. It's a shame because it was otherwise a really beautiful story.
Covering six decades in less than four hundred pages is no mean feat - and it does mean that character development is sometimes neglected in favour of plot, as the storyline continues ever onwards apace. Nonetheless, A Good American is a very engaging book - the covering of such an expanse of time in a modestly sized novel means that there are constant twists and turns to keep you interested (I ended up reading whilst walking from the tram a few times, so eager was I to find out what happened next, and therefore so unwilling was I to put the book down).
Don't let the emphasis on plot mislead you however - A Good American packs a powerful emotional punch and, with a story encompassing several generations of the same family, the over-arching narrative (as opposed to any particular character's journey) is the point. Frederick and Jette's journey to America becomes a journey through time, and a journey continued by their children, their children's children, and so on. This passage of time, and the love and lives contained within it, becomes the focus of the novel.
The last 60 pages or so bumped this up from a steady 3.5 stars to a 4 for me, really adding an extra layer and change of pace which had previously been missing.
Don't let the emphasis on plot mislead you however - A Good American packs a powerful emotional punch and, with a story encompassing several generations of the same family, the over-arching narrative (as opposed to any particular character's journey) is the point. Frederick and Jette's journey to America becomes a journey through time, and a journey continued by their children, their children's children, and so on. This passage of time, and the love and lives contained within it, becomes the focus of the novel.
The last 60 pages or so bumped this up from a steady 3.5 stars to a 4 for me, really adding an extra layer and change of pace which had previously been missing.
This book was a great reminder of what it means to be a Family, and how sometimes we struggle and have strife and sorrow but still we come out , somewhat battered, but also better for the battering. It relates how it must have felt to immigrate from one country to another at the start of the 20th century and how the spirit of America can, should, and does beat it the heart of ALL its people. It was a very refreshing look at our country from one Families perspective.
The Characters were all wonderfully fleshed out in this book and even through misery we see them all coping as well as they could with War Prohibition Life, Death and love. As this family grows, so does our Country, which is a Character in this novel as well. I will be watching out for the next Alex George Novel....I suggest you do too.
The Characters were all wonderfully fleshed out in this book and even through misery we see them all coping as well as they could with War Prohibition Life, Death and love. As this family grows, so does our Country, which is a Character in this novel as well. I will be watching out for the next Alex George Novel....I suggest you do too.
I must have really liked this book! I read it way ahead of time before my book club met, and when I went to turn it in to the library I sat in the parking lot for an hour and reread the last part of the book. The pride of being an American citizen born of immigrants resounded with me. It seemed like there were so many good, hard-working people. But the twists about the main character's mother, brothers, and family "friend", forgiveness, and love were very engaging!