So, what’s a nice girl from a good family doing in a place like the Bronx House of Detention?

Like many immigrants who flee persecution, when the Rosens escaped the Nazis they thought life in America would be perfect. And for a while it was. Men developed successful businesses, a mink stole hung in every hall closet, overly abundant high-carb food graced all tables and grandma preserved traditions while finishing her weekly bottle of whiskey.

But then cracks appeared–a teenager pushed boundaries so far that the police became part of the family story, an in-law loudly mourned the loss of status he had in their village and a woman with stricter beliefs married into the family causing catastrophic rifts.

Despite the ever-present shadow of the Holocaust there’s frequent humor. People who eat frozen, pre-packaged bagels are condemned, Cossacks who once incinerated towns are now Bar Mitzvah waiters carrying flaming cherries jubilee, the chippie dating the synagogue president carries a bejeweled poodle-shaped purse that barks in French and no one understands how WASPs can wear leather loafers without socks.

This book has enough twists, turns and turmoil to make anyone, immigrant or Mayflower descendant, cry, Oy Vey!

Loved it. WIll recommend to others

i want to say this a great family saga/drama book. but of course its not. because for our Jewish friends it really never could be. particularly ones dealing so closely with the after effect and traumatic burden of post world order. i felt really privileged to read about this. about the culture and also a raw and deep look into just how these families and people coped. because i hardly can bear to think about how you could. it feels overwhelming to me to even be a person living through that time never mind one targeted and murdered.
this is such a beautiful tale of one family living now in america. hoping for a better life. a life to feel free and at peace. but even if the war has ended that doesnt stop the fights and drama that can go on within a family and within communities. i really enjoyed seeing the different beahviour and reactions to event from the different generations of this family too. it was interesting to see how the past might impact the future within each generation

I enjoyed this book. It was an interesting and original story about a Jewish family. I appreciate a good story, that is just that- a story. It didn’t try too hard, it didn’t try to throw in a love story, it just tells the story of a young girls struggles and the family around her.