A Good American
by George, Alex
- Used
- Fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Fine/Fine
- ISBN 10
- 039915759X
- ISBN 13
- 9780399157592
- Seller
-
Woodlawn, Illinois, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
An uplifting novel about the families we create and the places we call home. It is 1904. When Frederick and Jette must flee her disapproving mother, where better to go than America, the land of the new? Originally set to board a boat to New York, at the last minute, they take one destined for New Orleans instead (" What's the difference? They're both new "), and later find themselves, more by chance than by design, in the small town of Beatrice, Missouri. Not speaking a word of English, they embark on their new life together. Beatrice is populated with unforgettable characters: a jazz trumpeter from the Big Easy who cooks a mean gumbo, a teenage boy trapped in the body of a giant, a pretty schoolteacher who helps the young men in town learn about a lot more than just music, a minister who believes he has witnessed the Second Coming of Christ, and a malevolent, bicycle-riding dwarf. A Good American is narrated by Frederick and Jette's grandson, James, who, in telling his ancestors' story, comes to realize he doesn't know his own story at all. From bare-knuckle prizefighting and Prohibition to sweet barbershop harmonies, the Kennedy assassination, and beyond, James's family is caught up in the sweep of history. Each new generation discovers afresh what it means to be an American. And, in the process, Frederick and Jette's progeny sometimes discover more about themselves than they had bargained for. Poignant, funny, and heartbreaking, A Good American is a novel about being an outsider-in your country, in your hometown, and sometimes even in your own family. It is a universal story about our search for home.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Granada Bookstore (Member IOBA) (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 034081
- Title
- A Good American
- Author
- George, Alex
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Fine
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- 1st Edition 1st Printing
- ISBN 10
- 039915759X
- ISBN 13
- 9780399157592
- Publisher
- G. P. Putnam's Sons
- Place of Publication
- New York, New York
- Date Published
- 2012
- Pages
- 387
- Size
- 8vo - over 7¾" - 9&f
- Keywords
- Immigrant Families - United States - Fiction; Immigrants - United States - Fiction; German Americans - Fiction. Historical
Terms of Sale
Granada Bookstore (Member IOBA)
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including original shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
Granada Bookstore (Member IOBA)
About Granada Bookstore (Member IOBA)
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- G
- Good describes the average used and worn book that has all pages or leaves present. Any defects must be noted. (as defined by AB...