by Ethan Canin
First published 2001
August Kleinman carries his mother's words with him as he escapes Nazi Germany: "Take the advice of no one." In America, he follows this principle while building his fortune and family. August faces a Japanese soldier in a cave during World War II, his survival instincts taking over in the darkness. Later, he makes the bold choice to start a brewery in Pittsburgh, defending it fiercely when others threaten its independence. During a Barbados vacation, his wife disappears without explanation, leaving August to search and wonder. At his grandson's birth, August reflects on the choices that brought him here. Each pivotal moment reveals how August's fierce independence shapes his destiny. The novel traces how one man's refusal to bend creates both his success and his isolation, following him from wartime terror to American prosperity.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, american, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama, fish-out-of-water
Setting: America, Germany, Pittsburgh, Barbados
Period: World War II, 20th Century, 21st Century
224 pages · Hardcover · Random House
Content warnings: war