We're even more charitable when it comes to books about the immigration experience. First, the story. Yitzhak is the charismatic, rebellious son of a rabbi who cannot live with his father's strict orthodox beliefs. Chana is a deeply sensitive but half-wild peasant girl whose family has been torn apart by tragedy. Brought together by a series of mishaps and a minor miracle, the two are pushed into marriage by Chana's adopted family before they know much about each other.
Suspicion turns into affection, which blossoms into true love.
But Yitzhak, troubled by disturbing dreams, cannot rest. His uncanny healing powers and unorthodox ecstatic spiritual practices attract a small group of followers, and soon the little group finds itself on the road, moving first across Europe and then over the ocean in search of sanctuary and a potent something that Yitzhak can't quite name. Moved along by divine guidance and religious persecution, the Jewish settlers land in New Orleans, roll up the mighty Mississippi, and then head out west, braving close encounters with inscrutable Indians, fanatical Mormons, the Donnor party, and even San Francisco's Emperor Norton. It's a great story, but the trick lies in the telling, and that's where the author stumbles badly. Surely the worst examples are the black slaves who talk in bad Southern dialogue, eat watermelon, and pray for Moses to lead them over the River Jordan.