Book Description
“[Kluge] sketches a difficult but ultimately loving father/son relationship with a rare sincerity and welcome humor. Heartfelt, funny and poignant.” —Kirkus Reviews Set in the1980s, A Call from Jersey follows the life of Hans Greifinger, a German-American who immigrated to the United States in 1928 and built a life for himself and his son, George, who has adopted the surname Griffin for his nationally-syndicated lackluster travel column. “A luminous and compelling novel about the way surprises from the past can reshape our future. An invitation to a high school reunion brings a restless travel writer back to New Jersey to confront a father he abandoned, friends he forgot, and a history he never knew. Kluge knows his characters from the inside and his comic, loving portrayals stand with the best of Russo and Irving. Jersey has never seemed more exotic. Kluge entertains while provoking all the big questions about the meaning of origins and the search for home.” —Askold Melnyczuk, author of What Is Told “I have admired every novel by P.F. Kluge, but I must say that A Call from Jersey is the most stunning, provocative and beautifully written of all . . . This novel is the rare iconic immigrant story—inimitable, mesmerizing, tough-minded, generous, and haunting.” —Howard Norman, author of The Bird Artist “This new novel adds a salient chapter to the history of the American dream.” —Daniel Mark Epstein, author of Sister Aimee “Absorbing . . . as much about the twentieth-century American experience as it is about brothers, fathers, and sons.” —Publishers Weekly
