In his upcoming novel A Good American, author Alex George explores themes of finding oneself in a new country (and the struggle of other generations to find themselves in the country where they were born) through striking depictions of the major events of the 20th century. With great humanity, George, a British novelist now residing in Missouri, explores what it means to be an American through a study of these events through the eyes of the Meisenheimer family. American history told through people, especially ordinary people struggling with everyday issues, is powerful history indeed.
The novel begins with Frederick and Jette Meisenheimer, who immigrate from Germany speaking no English, settling in Beatrice, Missouri filled with either unbounded hope (Frederick) or grim despair (Jette). Frederick is determined to be a good American and enlists in World World I, and is shot on the battlefield singing an aria as he untangles his coat from barbed wire. Their son Joseph grows up with his father’s extraordinary voice, though he cannot sing in public, to his shame. His four children, products of a truly happy and loving marriage, encounter their own independent struggles, but grow to find peace together in the barbershop quarter their father encouraged them to become. James, the second child, narrates the story close to the heart once he becomes prominent in it. The worlds of chess, P.G.Wodehouse, and writing help him manage his grief in face of his ultimate loneliness.
Each generation and each character redefines what it means to be American, often steeped in history. Take Lomax, for example, a cornet-playing, moonshine-making black man who befriends the widowed Jette and helps her establish the restaurant that will serve as the family’s livelihood for the rest of the novel. He plays a powerful and influential role with her children (helping shy Joseph at last approach the girl of his dreams through song, and giving Rosa, the second child, the ability to play chess, a game that swallows her frequent despair), who is brutally murdered in a race-spurred hate crime. Or take Martin Leftkemeyer, father of Joseph’s wife, who, as the town’s banker, must repossess homes during the Great Depression and sinks into ever-deeper depression as a result.
Music and food are key part of this novel, but the wide-open story of a family is built more upon its people than anything else, its people and their dreams, many of which are not fulfilled. Some must learn to manage to live with the world they were born into, and handle that very well. And others, like James, the narrator, must eventually look inside himself for his worth. At the very end of this gentle novel, George treats the reader to a stinging surprise that shows the power of his impressive writing. And makes clear the importance of being able to create one’s own peace in a country alternatively unforgiving and glorious.
A Good American will be released on February 7, 2012.
