Things are often not what they appear to be. In the historical fiction A Good American, by Alex George, we are reminded of this truth. George tells the story of a young couple’s voluntary escape to freedom in the name of love and in search of a fresh start.
Frederick woes Jette by singing Puccini and she is drawn to his voice. In rapid sequence they fall in love but are forced to seek a new life when Jette’s unplanned pregnancy causes her family to turn away from her. They set sail from Hanover, Germany to America but wind up in New Orleans before traveling by steamboat up the Mississippi River, then over land by coach to Beatrice, Missouri where their first child is born and they begin to build their version of the American Dream.
This saga is narrated by James, one of the many grandchildren to come from this union and his telling of the family story does not end until well into the twentieth century after the presidency of Ronald Reagon.
Most fascinating is the reader’s ability to witness how the family comes to terms with their changing circumstances. Puccini had been the soundtrack to their lives when they left Europe. But in the New World, their new life requires improvisation, like the new ragtime music; and an openness to a new kind of musical structure to which they were not accustomed and the ability to lean into life.
They begin to build a food dynasty with the Nik Nak in a somewhat rundown saloon using recipes from the Old Country. But they learn to cook American fare using the idiosyncratic approach taught by Lomax, their first black American friend who helped them accept that life in America was not about exact measurements or ingredients.
I enjoyed the early years of Jette and Frederick’s life as they learn the language, figure out how to survive in new cultural circumstances, address the sticky relationships between blacks and whites, and get beyond strictures imposed by Prohibition to live long lives. I got bored with the unfolding of the great-grandchildren’s story until I remembered that I knew little about the narrator who was telling me this story.
Read the book. That is my suggestion. It is not THE most compelling read. But you will not figure out the ending which make this worth the read —just to know the ending. I reviewed this book for the BlogHer Book Club, a club I love. It is a paid review for them in fact but the opinions expressed are my own.
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