Digging to America - Best Selling Historical Fiction Novel | Immigration & Cultural Journey | Perfect for Book Clubs & Literature Lovers

This was a very quick read. Before I knew it, I was almost finished, and that's because of Anne Tyler's keen ability to paint vivid characters and vivid scenes. I believed this story would focus on the adoption of Asian babies, but this aspect is only in the background. Digging To America springs forth from the adoption of two Korean girls--one to the Donaldsons, an American family, the other to the Yazdun Family, who are of Iranian heritage, and moves forward in time as the two families come together and share a new tradition: "Arrival Day." Each year the families alternate hosting the party marking the August day when they first met their babies as well as each other. The story spans about five or six years. There isn't much of a plot; however, the characters are so well drawn, that I felt I knew them, and grew very interested to see how their lives would play out in relation to one another.The perspective shifts from chapter to chapter, a way to introduce most of the main characters. We primarily get to know the American mother, Bitsy, who is an opinionated, educated woman. She doesn't believe in disposable diapers or preschool, and she keeps her Korean-born daughter's given name, "Jin-ho," scoffing at the Yazdan family for changing their baby's name from "Sooki" to "Susan." There is also a tremendous amount of focus on Susan's Iranian grandmother, Maryam, a widow, who came to America by way of an arranged marriage. Maryam's experience as an immigrant and her constant struggle to assimilate to the American culture is mostly what this story is about, and when she becomes involved with Bitsy's widowed father, Dave, their awkward romance has tremendous impact, as these two families grow and change together.I found chapter 9, when the perspective switches to young "Jin-ho," now the older sister to a little girl, "Xiu-mei," who was adopted from China, to be at first jarring to the pace of the story. The language and observations are too lofty for an adolescent. But as the story of the "Binky party" unfolds--another one of Bitsy's ideas to rid her daughter of the constant need for her pacifier--I grew more comfortable with the perspective, and found the story quite funny. The chapter itself was like a short story within the novel.I recommend this book for Anne Tyler fans, and for those who appreciate character-driven stories and writing that flows.Michele Cozzens, Author of A Line Between Friends and The Things I Wish I'd Said.