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Digging to America

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Who is an American? What does it mean to be an American in cultural terms? What is an American family? Those are just three of the many interesting questions that Anne Tyler cleverly raises in her unexpected story of two families connected initially by having received their adopted Korean babies from couriers on the same flight landing in Baltimore. In the plot, perspective shifts among three generations and the cultural heritages of three nations. From these points of view, you can see that the answer to the three primary questions is quite different for each person in the story. You are left the space to draw your own conclusions about the ultimate answers, a courtesy indeed.

The book is primarily Maryam Yazdan's story. You'll learn how she came to America from Iran through an arranged marriage, eventually lost a husband, raised her son, developed an increasingly uneasy relationship with her daughter-in-law and her other relatives, saw her life revitalized by the arrival of a granddaughter, and opened herself up emotionally to an American man.

Two infertile couples decide to adopt from Korea, not an easy decision to make. Neither knows anyone else who has gone this route. It's not surprising that they would want to keep in touch after meeting by chance at the airport. Bitsy is the wild card in the group: American-born, she seems to lust after genuineness in other cultures. Bitsy also has her own strange ideas about parenting (the binky party is the best part of the book) and friendship (she makes a bigger fuss about the anniversary of the girls' arrivals than for her older daughter's birthday). Without Bitsy's quirky personality, this would be an average book.

The writing is beautiful in its gentle respect for the characters and desire to illuminate your thinking rather than forge your conclusions. Anne Tyler clearly likes to be considerate of her readers. Thank you!

The book has two drawbacks: Much of the plot and the development of the characters is pretty predictable in broad outlines (just the nuances are left for surprises) and it takes too long to fully develop Maryam's story. I would have enjoyed the book more if Ziba's and Susan's perspectives had been developed as a counterpoint to Maryam's perceptions while Maryam's narration was reduced.

Any Anne Tyler fan will feel rewarded by the heart-felt attention given to families in this often humorous work.

Auch wenn ich mich, was Anne Tyler betrifft, gerne zu Wiederholungen hinreissen lasse, ich kan es nicht anders formulieren: Diese Autorin nimmt mich jedesmal aufs Neue in ihren Bann.
Auch in dieser Geschichte geht es, wie fast immer, inhaltlich-sachlich gesprochen nicht um viel. Anne Tyler zeichnet sich nicht durch raffinierte Handlungsstränge oder spannende Verwicklungen aus. Ich möchte deshalb auch keine Inhaltsangabe machen, die findet man andernorts in ausreichender Form. Was hingegen fesselt ist Tylers Fähigkeit, Beziehungen (vornehmlich familiäre) subtil und hintergründig zu beleuchten und dabei immer auch eine gehörige Portion ihres höchsteigenen Sinns fürs Komische einfliessen zu lassen. Die Geschichte der beiden Familien, deren Verbindung durch die zeitgleiche Adoption zweier koreanischer Mädchen entsteht und deren Verquickung über viele Jahre hinweg beschrieben wird, ist ein weiteres Juwel aus der Sammlung dieser begnadeten Schriftstellerin.
Zu meinem Leidwesen bleiben mir nicht mehr viele ungelesene Titel.

Since this is my first Anne Tyler book, I am not as critical as some of the reviews I read on Amazon.com by long time fans. I found the book to be wonderfully engaging. As I live abroad, I thought that the "immigrant" side of things was rather clearly thought out in the book. Perhaps the ending was a bit wordy, but I would recommend it highly to my friends.

Zwei Familien in Baltimore adoptieren ein Baby aus Fernost. Eine Familie gehört zu den Alteingesessenen, die andere ist selbst erst vor einer Generation in die USA eingewandert. Sie haben nur die Adoption gemeinsam, beschließen jedoch, den Jahrestag der ANkunft der beiden Mädchen regelmäßig miteinander zu feiern. Um dieses und andere Rituale herum und im Aufeinanderprall der beiden höchst unterschiedlichen Familien führt uns Anne Tyler auf unterhaltsame und berührende Weise vor, wie Menschen sich Identitäten und Zugehörigkeitsgefühle zusammenzimmern aus fremden und eigenen (Fehl)einschätzungen, Zuschreibungen, Wunschdenken und Verklärungen der Vergangenheit. Und sie zeigt: Dieser Konstruktionsarbeit kommt niemand aus, unabhängig vom offiziellen Status im Pass, denn jede Generation betritt wieder Neuland und trägt die Erinnerung an die Traditionen ihrer Herkunftsfamilie mit.

Who is an American? What does it mean to be an American in cultural terms? What is an American family? Those are just three of the many interesting questions that Anne Tyler cleverly raises in her unexpected story of two families connected initially by having received their adopted Korean babies from couriers on the same flight landing in Baltimore. In the plot, perspective shifts among three generations and the cultural heritages of three nations. From these points of view, you can see that the answer to the three primary questions is quite different for each person in the story. You are left the space to draw your own conclusions about the ultimate answers, a courtesy indeed.

The book is primarily Maryam Yazdan's story. You'll learn how she came to America from Iran through an arranged marriage, eventually lost a husband, raised her son, developed an increasingly uneasy relationship with her daughter-in-law and her other relatives, saw her life revitalized by the arrival of a granddaughter, and opened herself up emotionally to an American man.

Two infertile couples decide to adopt from Korea, not an easy decision to make. Neither knows anyone else who has gone this route. It's not surprising that they would want to keep in touch after meeting by chance at the airport. Bitsy is the wild card in the group: American-born, she seems to lust after genuineness in other cultures. Bitsy also has her own strange ideas about parenting (the binky party is the best part of the book) and friendship (she makes a bigger fuss about the anniversary of the girls' arrivals than for her older daughter's birthday). Without Bitsy's quirky personality, this would be an average book.

The writing is beautiful in its gentle respect for the characters and desire to illuminate your thinking rather than forge your conclusions. Anne Tyler clearly likes to be considerate of her readers. Thank you!

The book has two drawbacks: Much of the plot and the development of the characters is pretty predictable in broad outlines (just the nuances are left for surprises) and it takes too long to fully develop Maryam's story. I would have enjoyed the book more if Ziba's and Susan's perspectives had been developed as a counterpoint to Maryam's perceptions while Maryam's narration was reduced.

Any Anne Tyler fan will feel rewarded by the heart-felt attention given to families in this often humorous work.

Who is an American? What does it mean to be an American in cultural terms? What is an American family? Those are just three of the many interesting questions that Anne Tyler cleverly raises in her unexpected story of two families connected initially by having received their adopted Korean babies from couriers on the same flight landing in Baltimore. In the plot, perspective shifts among three generations and the cultural heritages of three nations. From these points of view, you can see that the answer to the three primary questions is quite different for each person in the story. You are left the space to draw your own conclusions about the ultimate answers, a courtesy indeed.

The book is primarily Maryam Yazdan's story. You'll learn how she came to America from Iran through an arranged marriage, eventually lost a husband, raised her son, developed an increasingly uneasy relationship with her daughter-in-law and her other relatives, saw her life revitalized by the arrival of a granddaughter, and opened herself up emotionally to an American man.

Two infertile couples decide to adopt from Korea, not an easy decision to make. Neither knows anyone else who has gone this route. It's not surprising that they would want to keep in touch after meeting by chance at the airport. Bitsy is the wild card in the group: American-born, she seems to lust after genuineness in other cultures. Bitsy also has her own strange ideas about parenting (the binky party is the best part of the book) and friendship (she makes a bigger fuss about the anniversary of the girls' arrivals than for her older daughter's birthday). Without Bitsy's quirky personality, this would be an average book.

The writing is beautiful in its gentle respect for the characters and desire to illuminate your thinking rather than forge your conclusions. Anne Tyler clearly likes to be considerate of her readers. Thank you!

The book has two drawbacks: Much of the plot and the development of the characters is pretty predictable in broad outlines (just the nuances are left for surprises) and it takes too long to fully develop Maryam's story. I would have enjoyed the book more if Ziba's and Susan's perspectives had been developed as a counterpoint to Maryam's perceptions while Maryam's narration was reduced.

Any Anne Tyler fan will feel rewarded by the heart-felt attention given to families in this often humorous work.