This is the story of the Lipshitz family. Hersh and his wife Esther leave their native Russia to flee the pogroms that are steadily increasing and cost Esther's sister-in-law and her little niece their lives. Hersh and Esther set out for the new world with their four children to join Esther's brother Avi in Texas.
As they arrive on Ellis Island, while waiting in line, they suddenly realize that their young son Reuven, a boy unusually blonde for a Jew, is missing. They don't find him again on that day. Nor do they find him in the months they spend in New York after. Finally, they continue their journey to Texas, leaving behind not only Reuven but also their oldest, Ben.
One day Esther visits a man that reads palms. The man tells Eshter that Reuven is still alive, she will however not be reunited with him but will recognize her son when she hears of him. There will be great tragedy in his life but he will survive it. Gullible as she is Esther believes every word.
Then in 1927, when Charles A. Lindbergh becomes America's hero for his flight across the Atlantic, Esther becomes convinced that Lindbergh is in fact Reuven. From then on she follows his career closely, sending letters warning of impending tragedy to him and his family. Tragedy, of course, does strike and has been well documented.
Esther gets so caught up in her quest to warn Lindbergh and maybe some day reunite with him, she alienates the rest of her family. Hersh, her meek husband, does not quite know how to help her, or indeed, what is even wrong with her. He ends up working first for Avi's family and later for his son-in-law Sam's business. Ben, who was the only one informed of his mother's belief of who Reuven is in one of her rambling letters, returns to his family eventually, also working for Sam. Shmuel, the second oldest, goes off to war and perishes of sickness right before coming home to Texas. Their youngest, Miriam, marries the successful business man Sam.
The writer, T Cooper, is Sam and Miriam's grandson and wrote this fictionalized account of his family story.
But then....
After the tale of Esther and her misguided beliefs wraps up the book starts into an autobiographical, well...rant by T Cooper, that may be telling of how he came to write the story but does it in an extreme and weird change of voice. From beautifully told family struggles to full-blown swearing....
In conclusion I loved part one and hated part two.
6/10
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