During our present period of immigration obsession, this is probably a good time to get a fresh perspective on being an American. Americans often forget how mixed, mashed and transmogrified their personal backgrounds really are and this novel provides an excellent view of that reality. The story begins with a seemingly hapless young German couple falling in love at the beginning of the twentieth century and soon facing an unplanned pregnancy that changes their lives. They decide that since they are about to become social pariah their only solution is to go to America and begin a new life but a serendipitous event results in their trans Atlantic destination becoming New Orleans rather than New York. This single change in their sojourn takes the reader on a delightful excursion through three generations, filled with humor, pathos, drama and wonderful revelations. The family is what most would probably consider an average American family but therein lies the beauty; this average family soon becomes richly textured and we quickly realize that unpredictability is what makes life so fascinating. Once you start you'll have a hard time putting it down. What a journey! I was drawn to this story mainly because of my deep appreciation of genealogy and my own family history. While this book is fiction I like how it told the whole story of the Meisenheimer family. Even the scandalous parts (which every family has if we are being honest) . There were times I was upset with the characters for their stubbornness which only led to great regrets--certainly a lesson within the story. An unexpected twist made me like this book more than I expected to in the end.
Found this in a random way and enjoyed reading it...historical fiction...passage of time.
—tmckean15
Some of the twists and turns in this epic novel were totally unexpected. A good read.
—ejaah
I kept waiting for something to happen. It was not at all interesting for me.
—phani
I will be Modern-Pairings the shit out of this one. Stay tuned.
—Lott
He nailed Missouri.
—pgk
