Frederick loved America. He loved its big open spaces, the sunsets that drenched the evening sky in blistering color. Above all, he loved the smell of promise that hung in the air. Europe, he could see now, was slowly suffocating under the weight of its own history. In America the future was the only thing that mattered. Frederick turned his back on everything that had gone before, and looked ahead into the bright lights of the young century. Here, a man could reinvent himself.
A GOOD AMERICAN is a story of immigrant hope.
Set in a fictional Midwestern town and spanning more than a century, the novel tells the story of three generations of the Meisenheimer family. Beginning with an improbable love affair ignited by the power of song, the story follows an unorthodox young couple as they flee to America in search of a new life together.
From bare-knuckle prizefighting and Prohibition to sweet barbershop harmonies and the Kennedy assasination, 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.
Comments 13
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Hi, Alex! Saw this on a friend’s FB page and came to check it out – sounds like an interesting book, I intend to order it for our store here in St. Louis!
Hi Robin – thanks so much for stopping by! I’m glad you wrote – have visited your website… always good to discover new bookstores!
Alex,
I just received notice that I was to receive a copy of your book A Good American. I’m looking forward to the read and hope to introduce it to our book club in the future.
Hi Alex,
I received a copy of your book and it was one of the best I have read in a long time. I absolutely loved it. Reading it made me want to delve into my family’s history and learn the stories of my ancestors. I laughed and cried and wanted to stay in the Meisenheimer world for as long as I could. Thanks for the refreshed patriotism and an incredible read! I hope if you’re in the Bay Area on a book tour you will stop by our store and say hello. Best of luck with your book. I know we’ll be putting it in people’s hands over here.
I just finished A Good American and enjoyed it immensely. I love multi-generational books and I also have an interest in genealogy, so this was a great book for me in many ways. My only other comment is the “slap” you took at Pres. Ronald Reagan on page 351. Was this necessary to the story or were you just venting? I am not a Republican and did not vote for him, but feel that politics should stay out of fiction unless it is an absolute necessity to the story.
Hi Alex, how did you come to use the Meisenheimer name as the family in your book??
Hi Mark! Perhaps you won’t be surprised to learn that you are not the first person to ask this question, and indeed not the first person with your surname to ask this question!
The fact is, odd though I know this sounds, I actually made the name up. I wanted a German name, obviously, and so just sounded one out in my head which I thought sounded suitably German. Somehow Meisenheimer is what came out. It was only later that I discovered that there are a TON of Meisenheimers everywhere, including in Missouri.
Alex, loved your book, as did others in my book club. One of the members has some questions and she doesn’t have a computer. Is there an address she could write to you by snail mail regarding her questions?
Marnie – thanks for writing (and apologies for the delay in replying.) I’ll write to you via email with a snail mail address. Best wishes, Alex