February 21, 2013

A Good American Review

A Good American, by Alex George, is a (fictional) memoir by (fictional) James Meisenheimer. It starts before he is born, as his Grandparents Jette and Frederick meet, fall in love, and quickly escape to America from Germany. Their story is where the book really shines. Jette and Frederick's differing opinions on this new, foreign country are intriguingly different. James' characterization of his grandparents leaps off the page, and I find myself sympathizing with both Jette and Frederick, right or wrong, and my heart broke when (spoiler) America tore them apart.

The book then talks of Frederick's "American Dream"- the bar that he works at and eventually owns which morphs into different establishments through the book, then talks about James' parents and then ultimately James and his brothers, all four of them. This part of the book for me was less strong (some of the comedic elements were a little over the top-wacky, and sometimes this worked-sometimes it didn't). It was still a very enjoyable read, even if the "twist" at the end was unsettling to me and without any resolution.

Overall, this book was interesting, heartbreaking (there are some scenes that moved me to tears) and generally funny read that kept me coming back to finish (and that's not an easy task right now).

Please go visit Blogher to join the discussion about the book, A Good American

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own (of course)!

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