Alex George - Author

Setting Free The Kites

Setting Free The Kites

Setting Free the Kites

From the author of the ';lyrical and compelling' (USA Today) novel A Good American comes a powerful story of two friends and the unintended consequences of friendship, loss, and hope. For Robert Carter, life in his coastal Maine hometown is comfortably predictable. But in 1976, on his first day of eighth grade, he meets Nathan Tilly, who changes everything. Nathan is confident, fearless, impetuousand fascinated by kites and flying. Robert and Nathan's budding friendship is forged in the crucible of two family tragedies, and as the boys struggle to come to terms with loss, they take summer jobs at the local rundown amusement park. It's there that Nathan's boundless capacity for optimism threatens to overwhelm them both, and where they learn some harsh truths about family, desire, and revenge. Unforgettable and heart-breaking, Setting Free the Kites is a poignant and moving exploration of the pain, joy, and glories of young friendship.From the Hardcover edition.

A Good American

Alex George's A Good American is a positive and uplifting novel about the American Dream. This is the story of the Meisenheimer family, told by James, a third-generation American living in Beatrice, Missouri. It's where his German grandparents - Frederick and Jette - found themselves after journeying across the turbulent Atlantic, fording the flood-swollen Mississippi, and being brought to a sudden halt by the broken waters of the pregnant Jette. A Good American tells of Jette's dogged determination to feed a town sauerkraut and soul food; the loves and losses of her children, Joseph and Rosa; and the precocious voices of James and his brothers, sometimes raised in perfect harmony . . . sometimes in discord. But above all, A Good American is about the music in Frederick's heart, a song that began as an aria, was jazzed by ragtime, and became an anthem of love for his adopted country that the family still hears to this day. 'There's plenty of storytelling charm on display here, with echoes of John Irving's humane zaniness' The New York Times 'Epic, lyrical, compelling' USA Today 'A sweeping, lush intergenerational novel about a family of German-Americans learning to live in 20th-century America' Oprah.com

Good American

';A beautifully written novel, laced with history and music.' Emily St. John Mandel, author ofStation ElevenLibrary Journal Best Book of the YearA Bookpage Best Book of the Year"e;Everything he'd seen had been unimaginably different from the dry, dour streets of home, and to his surprise he was not sorry in the slightest. He was smitten by the beguiling otherness of it all.And so began my grandfather's rapturous love affair with Americaan affair that would continue until the day he died."e;A Good AmericanThis is the story of the Meisenheimer family, told by James, a third-generation American living in Beatrice, Missouri.It's where his German grandparentsFrederick and Jettefound themselves after journeying across the turbulent Atlantic, fording the flood-swollen Mississippi, and being brought to a sudden halt by the broken water of the pregnant Jette.A Good American tells of Jette's dogged determination to feed a town sauerkraut and soul food; the loves and losses of her children, Joseph and Rosa; and the precocious voices of James and his brothers, sometimes raised in discordsometimes in perfect harmony.But above all, A Good American is about the music in Frederick's heart, a song that began as an aria, was jazzed by ragtime, and became an anthem of love for his adopted country that the family still hears to this day.