The American: A Memoir

By Franz-Olivier Giesbert

Book Overview

On June 6, 1944, Frederick Giesbert, assigned to the American army's 29th division, landed on bloody Omaha Beach, Normandy, an experience from which he never recovered. Three years later, Frederick... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0375423672
• ISBN13: 9780375423673
• Release Date: December 2005
• Publisher: Pantheon Books
• Length: 151 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.9" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Remarkable, albeit thoroughly sad, memoir

The author Franz-Olivier Giesbert, was born in America but grew up in France, the child of an American father and French mother who met after the dad participated in and survived D-Day. "The American" (151 pages) tells the tale of an abusive dad, beating his wife and kids for years, and the regrets that came with it. This is not an easy read. On just the second page of the book, the author (55 when he wrote this book, originally published in French in 2004) retells in detail how his dad beats his mom, for little or no reason. I was very apprehensive from that early moment on that I would come to "enjoy" this book, but as the pages turn, ir becomes quite a compelling book actually. The retelling of the D-Day events his dad, "Papa", is astounding. The way Papa comes to dislike America, and how the author, in a way to show up Papa, loves America, is equally so. But the most heartbreaking of all is the very reason the author wrote the book: he never made amends with his dad: "Now that I gather these memories, not the least of my regrets is never to have tried to make peace with him. I often had the occasion." The message is clear, and one we all know and understand: if you want to make peace with a loved one, don't wait untill it is too late. "The American" is a great way to remind us of that.