Author:Alex George
Germany, 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, 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.
From bare-knuckle prizefighting and Prohibition to sweet barbershop harmonies and the Kennedy assassination, the family is caught up in the sweep of history as they find their place in their adopted country. Accompanied by a chorus of unforgettable characters, from a chicken-strangling church organist to a malevolent bicycle-riding dwarf, each new generation discovers afresh what it means to be an American.
Poignant, funny and heartbreaking, A Good American is a universal story about our search for home.
A sentimental, lively, and sad family saga spanning four generations
—— Publisher's WeeklyEpic, lyrical, compelling
—— USA TodayA sweeping, lush intergenerational novel about a family of German-Americans learning to live in 20th-century America
—— Oprah.comThere's plenty of storytelling charm on display here, with echoes of John Irving's humane zaniness
—— The New York TimesA truly wondrous book... I was as enthralled as I have not been since The English Patient
—— Ariel Dorfman, author of Death and the MaidenThis work of 'fiction' will endure as a hitory of these times showing us how we may face even the most extreme actions of our civilisation through wise, compassionate re-creation
—— The Sunday Times, Sri lankaI shall be surprised, and, I must admit, dismayed if the whole work is not recognized as a major achievement in the English novel since the war. Certainly it is an astonishing recreation.
—— New York TimesGlittering characterisation, sharp and eloquent writing.
—— Sunday TelegraphAn important 20th-century writer who paints a complex relationship between gender and power with wit and sensitivity.
—— Lauren Elkin, author of FlâneuseLush and lyrical - and darkly funny even at its most gut-punching - Olivia Manning's Balkan Trilogy manages to simultaneously be a sweeping panorama of a Europe in crisis and a discomfitingly intimate portrait of a no-less-broken marriage.
—— Tara Isabella Burton, author of Social CreatureAn addictive, gripping literary saga ... A sharp portrait of a young marriage under pressure and a vivid picture of being a Brit in an increasingly hostile and impoverished corner of Europe.
—— The TimesOlivia Manning takes autobiographical writing to a refreshingly new dimension. In The Balkan Trilogy she follows the well-worn mantra that authors should write about what they know, but she does so without sounding self-centred, a quality that so often dogs memoirs. Her's reads like wholly invented fiction with made-up, yet believable characters. It has been such a joy to re-read Manning's Trilogy...Manning's characterisation throughout the Trilogy is excellent. Her most astute depiction of a person in genuine inner conflict with himself is Guy Pringle...The author's depiction of Bucharest and the places Harriet and Guy visit are bold and colourful.
—— BookmunchThe Suffragette movement and pre-war country cricket might seem an odd couple for a novel but Anthony Quinn marries them perfectly in a nostalgic and compelling tale whose themes of love and friendship on and off the pitch will appeal to lovers of romance and cricket alike.
—— The CricketerTrench warfare is vividly described: the agonizing wait for dawn, the despairing bravery of those going 'over the top', the futility, the waste, the sadness. Anthony Quinn tells this part of his tale faultlessly, and without a cliché... poetic.
—— Mary Blanche Ridge , The TabletNot just an exhilarating love story... a bold, impressive novel
—— Waitrose WeekendWith crisp prose and evocative description, Anthony Quinn's second novel embodies early 20th century Britain with aplomb and exhumes a political plight that still has great relevance
—— Eastern Daily PressSet at the same time as E. M. Forster's novels, this intelligent antidote to Downton Abbey is written with wit, narrative craft and elegant prose.
—— Daily Telegraph (Five stars)Quinn’s novel concerns the stalling romance between a suffragette and a cricketer, set amid war and middle-class Edwardian mores. This chalk-and-cheese couple and their stifling environment are equally well crafted
—— Holly Kyte , Sunday TelegraphThe characters are subtly drawn and the period touches, particularly the sporting passages, have an authentic ring
—— Simon Shaw , Daily Mail