This warm, simple yet artful look at her life as an army officer's wife during WWII, a sequel to Suberman's memoir, The Jew Store,
is the story of a young woman—typical of so many—"who got caught up in a whirlwind and, while she was finding her way about in it, did a lot of growing up." Now 80, Suberman brings a sense of immediacy, tension and even a surprise ending (that will catch your heart) to events that took place more than half a century ago. Before being sent off to battle, Suberman's husband was stationed in California, Arizona and Kansas, and with a novelist's gift for detail and pacing, the author introduces the characters who moved in and out of her life in these locations, among them the anti-Semitic Mrs. Gillis, who inspected young Stella for the "lump" she'd been assured existed on the backs of Jews everywhere; Jerry Bulla, a Mexican-born cadet who passed himself off as Hawaiian to avoid discrimination; and Mrs. Womble, the Subermans' Kansas landlady, who spent her afternoons playing strip poker with the neighborhood ladies. Suberman's narrative retains a calm, even tone, even when her luggage is stolen and she's nearly arrested by a cop who mistakes her for a hooker when he finds her sleeping on a train station bench. And she is equally matter-of-fact about the undercurrent of racism and anti-Semitism that flows through her narrative, showing, without sanctimony, how she eventually confronted her own prejudices and challenged others to confront theirs. (Sept. 26)
Forecast:With the recent nostalgia for WWII, this lovely account of wartime on the home front should have broad appeal, which will be helped by a 10-city author tour. This could be a sleeper.
