≡ Download A Good American Alex George 9780399157592 Books

A Good American Alex George 9780399157592 Books

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A Good American Alex George 9780399157592 Books

This book was such a surprise. I loved reading it, hated to put it down to go about my life and was sorry it ended but satisfied that it had a worthy ending. Usually I feel most book endings are rushed. This book just glided to the end and gracefully stopped. What a family. Made me think of my own. My grandparents immigrated here from Poland, bought a farm in northeastern Pa. Had 11 children and I thought of all I knew about them while reading this book. Thank you.


Tags : A Good American [Alex George] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. An uplifting novel about the families we create and the places we call home. <P>It is 1904. When Frederick and Jette must flee her disapproving mother,Alex George,A Good American,Putnam Adult,039915759X,Family Life,Sagas,German Americans;Fiction.,Immigrant families;United States;Fiction.,Immigrants;United States;Fiction.,ENGLISH CONTEMPORARY FICTION - INDIVIDUAL AUTHORS+,English Contemporary Fiction - Individual Authors,FICTION Family Life General,FICTION Sagas,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction Literary,Fiction-Literary,GENERAL,General Adult,German Americans,Historical - General,Immigrant families,Immigrants,Literary,United States

A Good American Alex George 9780399157592 Books Reviews

I loved the lyrical prose and fast paced story. The only demerit that kept me from giving this book a five star rating was the description of the violence in the scene against a black man. I thought it was too much. But still, I remained riveted by the characters, who loved this man and wanted to follow through to the end to learn of the family's triumph through tenacity and familial love and trust. The ending was a great surprise and I felt the book was satisfying.
This book was simply so pleasant to read! I hated to put it down and was sorry to have it come to an end. The characters seemed real and likeable and the story line was smooth and enjoyable.

I had read Mr. George's "Setting Free the Kites" and enjoyed that as well. I hope there will be more books coming from this author.
This is the current book for my book club and I really enjoyed it. It's engaging, easy and fun to ready. The story is about an immigrant family starting life fresh in America in 1904; so, all of the big events of the 20th century are told thru the eyes of this one family. I was so interested in reading this one, that at some points I forgot I was reading a fiction book (so I'm still mad about the death of Cora...not a spoiler, since the book covers 100 years and up to the 4th generation, most everyone except the grandkids have died, I was just mad about the way Cora died.). But all of the surprises in this book come at the end! And then you get a couple you never expected!
I read this book with interest as a young boy brought to America by a foreign mother married to US. Soldier. I could feel the need for acceptance, the question of religion, of who to please, of sex, of family, of career choices, of what makes us happy. All this and more in this book.
Reading A Good American is a bit like reading what could be your very own family's history. Alex George chronicles four generations of the Meisenheimer family as they put down roots in America's heartland and live the quintessential immigrant experience. Frederick and Jette first arrive in New Orleans, hoping they can make it to their chosen destination in Missouri before their child is born. Through happenstance and a lot of good luck, they are directed by a friendly cornet player to a steamship, which takes them northward toward their new home.

They make their way to Beatrice, Missouri, which is short of where they had originally intended to go, but infant Joseph makes his appearance there as they are passing through, and the new family stays put. What follows is a view of the family making their home in this small town populated with other German immigrants. The bar Frederick buys eventually becomes a diner and four generations of the family will feed the town, first with traditional German fare and spicey creole reminiscent of their brief time in New Orleans, followed by cheeseburgers and eventually Mexican food.

Frederick, well into middle-age, feels compelled to volunteer for WWI and is killed overseas, leaving Jette bitter and lonely, raising Joseph and his sister Rosa alone. Frederick's grandson,James, tells us the story of his family through his own eyes. A Good American gives us lots of humor and asks us questions about what it means to be American and part of a family. It tells the all too familiar coming-of-age story of teenagers whose life doesn't seem to go as they want it to, but in the end goes just as it should after all. As James' busy and ever-growing extended family moves busily through their lives, James must come to terms with a family secret that makes him question everything he has known to be true.
Timely. Lots of surprising twists and turns, some of which made me gasp out loud. Incorporates interesting historical events spanning more than 100 years. Well-written, with some really lovely descriptions, such as this one of the music sung by a barbershop quartet “They swooped and rumbled, creating layered confections of a cappella harmony, cross-pollinations of sweet notes and tones. Their voices would stack up with exquisite precision for a dazzling instant; then they would move on, tearing down the edifice they had just created and constructing another of equal wonder in its place.”
This author has an uncanny ability to move this entertaining story along without compromising the various story lines. Being of German descent on my Father's side (they settled in the Garden State), I was anxious to read this novel. It provoked a whole range of emotions; sadness, joy, humor and finally a family secret surprise at the end.
While this isn't true historical fiction in my opinion, the author did provide glimpses into historical events which impacted the family such as WW1, prohibition,etc. Unfortunately, I must agree with some reviewers' remarks regarding the last one third of the book. Once, the narrator, James began telling his own personal story, the novel began to lose some appeal for me. Here are some examples that come to mind. 1) The self pleasuring events among the adolescents. 2) What began as a "Mrs. Robinson" moment slowly evolves into a YOUNG Blanche from "A Streetcar Named Desire". 3) As the story progresses to the 1950's, there are more sexual references, not that I am a prude, it just seemed out of place.
Having said all this though, at the conclusion of this book, I was torn between a 4 or 5 rating . While some of the subplots and images made me roll my eyes, I feel that the whole is more than the sum of its parts!! This novel, all in all was an enjoyable,compulsive read! On a side note, I enjoy watching the neighborhood raccoon attack the food in our birdfeeder with relish.
This book was such a surprise. I loved reading it, hated to put it down to go about my life and was sorry it ended but satisfied that it had a worthy ending. Usually I feel most book endings are rushed. This book just glided to the end and gracefully stopped. What a family. Made me think of my own. My grandparents immigrated here from Poland, bought a farm in northeastern Pa. Had 11 children and I thought of all I knew about them while reading this book. Thank you.