Three Part Invention, a Novel [Anglais] [Broché]

Alice, a classical pianist and daughter of Eastern-European Jewish immigrants, marries violinist Izzy shortly before World War II begins. After Beth is born they move from New York City to the fictional town of Delaware City in west central New Jersey. As she raises Beth, Alice exhibits prejudices too common in her generation against people racially and ethnically different from herself. Yet, in her own way, she is open to a variety of experiences. Alice’s world includes a psychic aunt, a piano teacher of Native American and Irish descent, an adult piano student in a wheelchair who reads palms, and her close friend Sophie, who has a daughter Beth’s age.

Beth grows up in Delaware City caught between her mother’s values, her own ideas - and her quest for social acceptance. Her resentment over being made to study piano and the part she plays in a mishap that injures her mother, deepen the rift between them. In her teens, she is rejected both by Jewish girls, whose families are wealthier than hers, and non-Jewish classmates. Black high school girls her mother hires to clean house introduce Beth to rhythm and blues. Beth’s love of this music soon extends to rock and roll, and then jazz—all of which her mother hates. Beth happily leaves home for southeastern Ohio where she enters college. There, she becomes involved in the early civil rights movement.

After Beth marries and moves to Denver, her daughter Alexis is born. While she is an infant, her parents are involved in anti-Vietnam war activities. As a pre-schooler, Alexis finds herself in an uncertain world, often confused because communication is difficult. Later she is diagnosed with learning disabilities and finds she can do remarkable things with music. Tension develops between Alexis and her mother as Beth struggles to overcome profound changes in her life.

These three distinct voices give us an unforgettable picture of how women in three generations approach war, love, sex, death, career, friendship—and each other. --Ce texte fait référence à lédition Broché .