by Henry Roth
First published 2015
Ira Stigman lives with his family in New York's Jewish Harlem in 1914. War breaks out in Europe, and the news reaches their immigrant neighborhood. Ira faces his father's unpredictable rage and violent outbursts at home. He encounters racism on the streets and in school. His body begins changing as sexuality emerges, confusing and unsettling him. The world around him shifts with momentous events he barely understands. His family struggles with poverty and the challenges of immigrant life in the tenements. Ira watches his community navigate between Old World traditions and American realities. The sounds of Yiddish mix with English in the crowded streets. Heat rises from the sidewalks as children play and adults work to survive. This is the story of a boy caught between cultures, trying to make sense of his place in a rapidly changing world while dealing with the immediate pressures of family conflict and growing up.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, coming-of-age, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, fish-out-of-water
Setting: Harlem, New York
Period: 1914
298 pages · Kindle Edition · Weidenfeld & Nicolson
Content warnings: abuse, racism