Digging to America by Anne Tyler

Two families, who would otherwise never have come together, meet by chance at the Baltimore airport - the Donaldsons, a very American couple, and the Yazdans, Maryam's fully assimilated son and his attractive Iranian American wife. Each couple is awaiting the arrival of an adopted infant daughter from Korea. After the babies from distant Asia are delivered, Bitsy Donaldson impulsively invites the Yazdans to celebrate with an "arrival party," an event that is repeated every year as the two families become more deeply intertwined.

Empire Rising by Thomas Kelly

Imagine New York in the 1930s, where immigrants full of love, jealousy, and wonder build the "eighth wonder of the world"--the Empire State Building.

The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich

Having survived World War I, Fidelis Waldvogel returns to his quiet German village and marries the pregnant widow of his best friend, killed in action. With a suitcase full of sausages and a master butcher's precious knife set, Fidelis sets out for America. In Argus, North Dakota, he builds a business, a home for his family -- which includes Eva and four sons -- and a singing club consisting of the best voices in town. When the Old World meets the New -- in the person of Delphine Watzka -- the great adventure of Fidelis's life begins.

Metropolis by Elizabeth Gaffney

Epic in sweep, Metropolis follows German immigrant Johannes from his arrival in New York harbor through his experiences in Barnum's circus, the criminal underground, and the building of the Brooklyn Bridge, and on to a life in Brooklyn that is at once unique and poignantly emblematic of the American experience.

The Rug Merchant by Meg Mullins

In New York, isolated and far from his native Iran, Ushman has worked hard to build a wealthy, reliable clientele for his wares: exquisite handwoven rugs from his home city of Tabriz. With perfect rectitude, he caters to clients like the Upper East Side grande dame, Mrs. Roberts, who, despite the cultural gulf between them, thinks of him as a kindred sprit and plies him for stories about his exotic origins to feed her own imagination. But like many immigrants, he's living only half a life. He dreams of the day his beloved wife, Farak, will be able to join him in New York, share the fruits of his labor, and complete his vision of the American dream.

Sophie's Choice by William Styron

A mother makes an unimaginable choice during the Holocaust. If you could only save one child, how would you choose? In America she struggles with her memories and life as an immigrant.

My Antonia by Willa Cather

This novel evokes the Nebraska prairie life of the author's childhood, and touchingly commemorates the spirit and courage of the immigrant pioneers who settled the land

The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan

Set in contemporary San Francisco and in a Chinese village where Peking Man is unearthed, "The Bonesetter's Daughter" is an excavation of the human spirit: the past, its deepest wounds, its most profound hopes. This is the story of LuLing Young, who searches for the name of her mother, the daughter of the famous Bonesetter from the Mouth of the Mountain. The story conjures the pain of broken dreams, the power of myths, and the strength of love that enables us to recover in memory what we have lost in grief.

U.S.A. by John Dos Passos

This trilogy captures the inclusion and exclusion of immigrants in the first decades of the 20th century. A mix documentary and stream-of-consciousness techniques makes the characters' experiences vivid and real.

'Tis by Frank McCourt

McCourt leaves Ireland for America as an awkward nineteen-year old. New York greets him with the same hostility and poverty that defined his old county. McCourt's traces his journey from the extreme isolation to manhood with candor that can make you laugh and cry.

House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus

On a road crew in California, a former colonel in the Iranian Air Force under the Shah yearns to restore his family's dignity. In this book a traditional immigrant success story and a modern love story are turned upside down with brutal, heartrending consequences. It is an American tragedy, and a shockingly true picture of the country we live in today.


Annotation: Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Created by Blackwater Regional Library. Last update June 9, 2006.