Motherlands - by Dennis Andrulis (Paperback)

About the Book

A mother's love longed for in a new world.

Book Synopsis

A mother's love longed for in a new world.

Growing up on a farm in early twentieth-century Hungary, Irene knew only joy and the deep, enduring love of her grandmother. As. the First World War ends, a letter arrives summoning Irene to join her long-absent mother, Mary, in America. Irene's odyssey takes her from security to pressing danger with her embittered mother. As the new world exerts its romantic pull on Irene, Mary's darkness and family secrets begin to reveal themselves. Irene must choose whether to pursue her dreams of higher education and independence or risk being consumer by her mother's broken dreams.

Inspired by his mother's oral history and stories, Dennis Andrulis's Motherlands tells a powerful tale of resilience, transformation, and the quiet courage it takes to begin again.

Review Quotes

"Andrulis deftly portrays not only two vastly different cultures, but also two vastly different human beings-a stern, demanding mother and a daughter seeking her own identity in post-World War One New York. The result is a work of fiction that evokes the sights and sounds of a long-gone era and the tensions between two clashing generations of transplanted Americans." -Tim O'Brien, author of The Things They Carried

"How delightful it is to read a story that is truly novel. Motherlands is such a tale. This book shows us how both love and prejudice defy all borders. It reminds us that no matter how far you've traveled and how much you've encountered, the most important discovery is in yourself." -James "BigBoy" Medlin, former writer for E! Entertainment television; co-writer of screenplay Roadie; author of Slap Noir

"Motherlands is a compelling and beautiful read. The carefully woven story floats the reader along through the journey of a young girl from an old homeland to America . . . the book reminds us yet again of the incredible capacity of newcomers to the United States to become one with this country and contribute in unexpected ways." -Denise Gilman, Immigration Professor, University of Texas at Austin School of Law

"Motherlands is a powerful and emotional page-turner. It's a classic migrant's journey, but one that is far from straightforward. The characters that Andrulis gives us are vividly drawn and linger in the memory, but the real hero of this book is education. Motherlands never preaches at us, but tells us human truths in a way that only the most powerful fiction can." -Geoff Ward, Professor of Literature, University of Cambridge