Toward the end of the Depression, the Ludaks struggled with jobs, ethnic hostility,
and widespread class prejudice in their upstate New York factory hometown of
Thompsonville. But life for their daughter Joanna proves wide and adventurous;
jubilant, if sometimes terrifying. Her coming-of-age as a Polish Catholic, blue-collar,
scrubbed but culturally hobbled youngster is a riveting fictional odyssey of painful
confrontations with both natal and dominant community values. Into this turbulent
mix, America's entrance into World War II brings further lifestyle changes and
disruptive values into Thompsonville. The family nexus cannot hold. Uncle Sam and
Aunt Albina reach for the prize of the American brass ring. While Joanna's mother
Bertha resonates to their success and strives to emulate their example, Dad Ludak
meanders in his noman's land of bitter unresolved conflicts. Joanna alone promises
to approach the self-actualization that has always been her goal.
