Having grandparents and an aunt who immigrated to this country from Italy as recently as 1938 really brought this story closer to home. While it was not the best book to bring along on a romantic beach weekend, it was very interesting and kept my interest alive. (My husband was tired of me saying, “another person in this book died”)  Seriously I don’t have enough fingers to count! Read on to see what this book is about.

A Good American  really is a great example of storytelling pure and simple. Four generations of Meisenheimers come to life through the eyes of James, the grandson of Frederick and Jette. The author, Alex George, an immigrant himself, uses James and many other wonderful characters to paint a compelling picture of what it like to transition from the old life in Germany to a future in America.

This books shares an universal story of the dreams and struggles of those finding their way to America, hoping for an improved life while wishing to maintain their history and traditions. Reading this book made me think about my grandparents who lived in a once Italian and immigrant filled neighborhood in Chicago and my father was a first generation American in his own family yet probably dealt with similar issues.

This is a story filled with love, conflicts, deaths and decisions. It really put things into prospective and enjoyed reading the historical details of the years this book was told. Towards the end it did get a little redundant and I was ready to see how this would end. The number characters were expanding and it was challenging at times to remember who was related to who when trying to read casually. This may be a result that I was on vacation and looking for a getaway from real life as that is about the time I was getting ready for it to end.

Not to have a SPOILER but there was a surprising and unexpected twist at the end of the book. I am not sure I would have guessed it! Come see what others are saying at Blogher BookClub about The Good American.

This book is a great book for both men and women especially anyone who has a story to tell about their relatives and actually makes one wish they asked some historical questions to our own loved ones before they passed. Everyone has a story and those around you are the most important.

I received this book and compensation for this review. All the opinions expressed are 100% my own.