How I Became an American
Karin Gundisch wrote How I Became an American in German and it was translated into English by James Skofield. How I Became an American is a good work of historical fiction. It is a pretty straightforward book with interesting historical facts, but not too many literary devices like metaphors and such. For example, a likely true fact that the author used was that when boarding houses were full, people stayed in private homes. Also, Karin Gundisch did a very good job describing how poorly the people had to dress at work. There are some good descriptive moments in the book such as when she describes the treats that they have on Christmas Eve. The “whole house smelled of vanilla and cinnamon.” At one point the main character compares himself to a staving man and at another point he notes that something “preyed on my mind….” These are some of the historical and literary things about this book. It’s a good book so I suggest you read it.