Birth of an American Family
by Geoffry Moehl II
First of all, I must disclose that the version I read of this work was provided for me by the author himself and was contained in a .pdf file. Thus the copy that readers pick up off the bookshelves in their local booksstores may be an edited or revised version and not entirely the same. For that reason I won’t be commenting on the grammatical errors that I encountered. Secondly, this Book Review was at the behest of the author and I was compensated for my time. While I do not feel that this has colored or biased my review others might feel differently.
In Birth of an American Family the author, Geoffry Moehl II, recounts the time he spent with a Russian refugee family. From the trials and tribulations that the family over came in order to adapt to American society and culture to the broadening of his own beliefs and ideals. This book is truly a remarkable piece that allows the reader not only the opportunity to step into the lives of the Russian families that Moehl interacted with but Moehl’s own writing allows the reader the both see and feel what he felt at the time. The chance to be in both the subject and the author’s position at the same time, truly well thought out and written.
Living in a border state and less than two hours drive from the border with Mexico I have had some indirect experiance with the immigration process and have found myself rather frustrated to hear and see just how little our government seems to care for its new citizens. Aid that is promised upon the completion of certain criterion often gets misappropriated or there is adament denial that such aid and funds were promised. It’s disconcerting to see and to be honest I had hopped that this was something that was regional and not reflective of our [US] government as a whole. I am disheartened to see that it does occur, with alarming frequency, in other parts of the United States as well.
I confess to not knowing a great deal about Russian culture and what I do know is limited to stereotypes and cold hard history facts that are taught to all US children in public schools. That is to say that my knowledge is largely biased and and extremely limited. I was most glad to see that the author, when encountering anything that would have made one not familar with the families’ culture, took the time to explain the why behind it. For example, I found it odd at first that the families would offer soup and water that was literally boiling hot. Upon coming to that statement I was a bit puzzled and wondered if maybe the author had done something to offend the families and this was a subtle retaliation on their part. Embarrassingly enough, I too take for granted the availability of clean drinking water and it never once crossed my mind that serving and consuming beverages that had been boiled were the only sure way of knowing that it was safe to consume and that the water was not diseased.
One thing that detracted from the pleasure of reading this account was the author’s habit of switching from present to past tense. Initiailly Moehl started off BoaAF by recalling his experiances with the Russian family and then in midstride he altered his course and began to speak as if the events were unfolding before his eyes. While this hardly deterred me from continuing, it might be enough to give some readers pause. There were also some recollections and experiances that came off far too choppy. I would have liked more detail, what exactly did the author feel, what were the families’ reactions? On more than one event this was lacking which had me struggeling initially to get a feel for the people I was reading about.
While the author may have been enlisted to aid the families as an English tutor I received the impression that he taught the parents and children more than just a language and how to adapt to the U.S. culture. There is a sense that they gained far more from the experiance than even the author realizes and he in turn received just as much, if not more.
For anyone who enjoys reading memoirs and personal accounts I would recommend giving this book some serious consideration. Despite some falterings it is worthy read.
Joana’s rating: 
