VISITOR FROM HARARE by Edward Purizhansky

 

THE BOOK WAS A FEATURED SELECTION AT THE 2017 FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR HELD IN FRANKFURT, GERMANY

An alien from the planet Harare comes to Earth to study humans and report his findings back to his home world.

After visiting Germany, the alien, now using the name “Johan Becker,” ends up in Bridgeport, New York, where he meets a family of Russian immigrants.

The story follows Johan Becker, the alien, as he observes the family as they struggle to adapt to a new environment while still holding on to their old country traditions. The family experiences a culture shock that places them in awkward and humorous situations.

The characters and situations described in the novel are realistic. The author uses touches of sarcasm and humor to entice the reader to flip through the pages of the novel with a “what happens next?” attitude.

Anyone familiar with the emigrant communities in American can easily relate to the difficulties the family goes through in this novel.