Her First American: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: This is an odd book....
Review: I have known about Lore Segal since I was a child because of "Tell Me a Mitzy" and "Tell Me a Trudy." These are truly hilarious children's books with catchy stories and absolutely fascinating illustrations of VERY interesting characters. When I realized that Segal has also written for adults, I felt compelled to try this one out.

The children's books have an "ethnic feel" to them, so it is not surprising that Segal writes about Jewish immigrants in "Her First American." (See Segal's non-fiction works about the Holocaust.) The novel also gives you a tidbit of the same type of wry humor present in "Mitzy" and "Trudy", but that is where the similarities end.

The main character of the book is a young Jewish immigrant to the U.S. (NYC) in the early 1950's. She believes that her father died at the hands of the Nazi's, and she is looking for her mother with whom she has lost touch - also as a result of Nazi-generated terror. While she is looking for her mother, she wants to know and understand America. So, she embarks on a brief vacation into the American West to meet some "real Americans."

In Nevada, she happens to meet a middle aged, Black, intellectual, alcoholic, politically well connected, journalist. (Segal seems to imply that he had been part of the Harlem Rennaissance.) They both return to NYC and embark upon a rather odd and sad love affair that ultimately ends shortly before he dies of alcoholism.

A review on the book jacket states that the book is about the relationship of Jews and Blacks in the U.S. in the 1950's. If, indeed, the author is trying to use the relationship as a vechicle to make the larger social statement, it is not clear. Neither the personal themes nor the broader socio-political themes are ever fully explored. In the end, more questions were posed than were discussed. The book led me to wonder what Segal really wanted me to learn from her.

At the same time, the portrayal of the young immigrant seemed improbable. She seemed to take everything with an attitude of supreme calm. She never seemed to feel emotions about her lover or their situation. She was a vital literary device because she was used to tell the reader what she saw, but her character seemed somewhat empty.

Even though this is not a tightly woven novel, I would still reccommend the book if the subject matter and/or Segal appeal to you otherwise.