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A daughter of Jewish refugees searches for love and a spiritual home in this novel by the National Book Award?nominated author of Difficult Women.
Delphinium
January 2018
On Sale: January 9, 2018
275 pages
ISBN: 1883285739
EAN: 9781883285739
Kindle: B076WC7QFN
Hardcover / e-Book
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Women's Fiction
Brought up in a secular household on Manhattanβs Upper East Side, Nancy Green knows suspiciously little about her parentsβ past. She knows they escaped Germany, avoiding the fate of so many of their fellow Jews during World War II, but the few family heirlooms they brought to the United States are reminders of a lost life that, for Nancy, remains shrouded in mystery. She seeks connection and a sense of belonging, a relationship in which she can find some sort of religious fulfillment. Unfortunately, Nancyβs first encounter is with a Hasidic man who, dissatisfied with Judaism, has taken vows to become a monk. Then, while studying English literature in Boston, she meets a Catholic boy who captures her interest, but heβs desperate to escape his overbearing mother and the clutches of the Church. After a devastating breakup, Nancy finally settles down with a husband whose background and beliefs seem at least similar to her own. Perhaps now sheβll stop yearning for something more, and trade volatility and heartbreak for a sensible, practical life. But forcing a fitβinto a society, a sect, a family, or even a marriageβisnβt easy for anyone, and Nancy still has a long way to travel before she finds her true home. From an acclaimed author of both fiction and memoirs, including National Book Award finalist The Family, American Stranger is a wise and insightful story about the search for identity, and how our real lives are far more complex than our labels.
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