The Puzzle King: A Novel
Nov 2010 · Algonquin Books
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About this ebook
This "compelling" novel of three sisters—and the immigrant who invented the jigsaw puzzle—"captures the squalor and bustle of early 20th century New York" ( The Miami Herald).
Lively, beautiful Flora was sent to America from Germany by her family to find a better life. Brooding, studious Simon came from Lithuania with the same goal. An improbable match, they meet in New York City and fall in love. Simon—inventor of the first mass-market jigsaw puzzle—eventually makes his fortune. But now that they have achieved wealth, Flora and Simon become obsessed with rescuing those they left behind in Europe.
Inspired by the author's own family lore, and interweaving the stories of Flora's two sisters, one the mistress of a wealthy WASP and the other struggling back in the old country, this is "a work of genealogical fiction from the late 19th century to the eve of World War II . . . It balances the Jewish immigrant experience in New York—both the achievement of the American dream and the curdling of it—against the insidious anti-Semitism of Germany and Eastern Europe" ( Los Angeles Times).
"Everybody loves an inspiring rags-to-riches story, and The Puzzle King delivers that in spades." — San Francisco Book Review
Lively, beautiful Flora was sent to America from Germany by her family to find a better life. Brooding, studious Simon came from Lithuania with the same goal. An improbable match, they meet in New York City and fall in love. Simon—inventor of the first mass-market jigsaw puzzle—eventually makes his fortune. But now that they have achieved wealth, Flora and Simon become obsessed with rescuing those they left behind in Europe.
Inspired by the author's own family lore, and interweaving the stories of Flora's two sisters, one the mistress of a wealthy WASP and the other struggling back in the old country, this is "a work of genealogical fiction from the late 19th century to the eve of World War II . . . It balances the Jewish immigrant experience in New York—both the achievement of the American dream and the curdling of it—against the insidious anti-Semitism of Germany and Eastern Europe" ( Los Angeles Times).
"Everybody loves an inspiring rags-to-riches story, and The Puzzle King delivers that in spades." — San Francisco Book Review
This "compelling" novel of three sisters—and the immigrant who invented the jigsaw puzzle—"captures the squalor and bustle of early 20th century New York" ( The Miami Herald).
Lively, beautiful Flora was sent to America from Germany by her family to find a better life. Brooding, studious Simon ...
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7 reviews
BIBHASH KUMAR CHOURASIA
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October 7, 2018
Really good this app
3 people found this review helpful
A Google user
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November 5, 2018
Ki hi
3 people found this review helpful
About the author
Betsy Carter is the author of Swim to Me and The Orange Blossom Special. Her memoir, Nothing to Fall Back On, was a national bestseller. She is a contributing editor for O: The Oprah Magazine and writes for Good Housekeeping, New York, and AARP, among others. Carter formerly served as an editor at Esquire, Newsweek, and Harper's Bazaar, and was the founding editor of New York Woman. She lives in New York City.
Betsy Carter is the author of Swim to Me and The Orange Blossom Special. Her memoir, Nothing to Fall Back On, was a national bestseller. She is a contributing editor for O: The Oprah Magazine and writes for Good Housekeeping, New York, and AARP, among others. Carter formerly served as an editor a...
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