Description

A young Greek woman flees the horrors of World War I by accepting a mail-order marriage in America. A German boy, abandoned by his single mother, lives by his wits to survive the war until he is unexpectedly summoned to New York. They both find the land of opportunity riddled with pitfalls as Herman becomes a bootlegger, while Aglaia makes it through the Great Depression by performing with the temperamental young Orson Welles. The two immigrants meet and produce a son, the author, who has unflinchingly recreated the touching and hair-raising stories told by his parents.

He follows with an account of growing up in Greenwich Village, playing street games with a multiethnic crew of friends and navigating complex relationships with his parents’ bohemian comrades. This epic story reveals the resiliency of the immigrant personality that continually shapes our nation, and how the following generation redefines the American experience.