Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Digging To America


For 2008 the Iowa Center for the Book chose Anne Tyler's book Digging to America as their All Iowa Reads Book. They encouraged book clubs, libraries, and readers of all kinds to have a discussion about the issues and ideas raised in this story. The story was about adoption and in a very real way about what it was like to be American. Two families from radically different backgrounds and ideologies are brought together on the same day in the same place, an airport, as they are waiting for their new daughters to arrive from Korea. The one family, American by birth, enthusiastically embrace everything foreign about their daughter. The other family, Iranian, struggles to become as American as possible. These two families develop an unlikely friendship. The story is as everyday as it can be. I kept waiting for something monumental to happen throughout the story, but it remained as every day as it could be. It was a great read though. I enjoyed the story and was pleased with the Center for the Book's choice this year. Don't pass this one by if you can help it!

No comments: