Being “Un-American”

The book’s title can be seen as referring to several aspects of being, seeming, or living “un-American”. One fairly straightforward aspect is the fact that several of the stories take place, in whole or in part, in parts of the world that are not America: “A Difficult Phase” and “Minor Heroics”, for example, both take place entirely in Israel, although a key component of the latter’s plot relates to the intention of some of the characters to travel to America for work. “The Old Country” and “Retrospective” take place partly in America (that is: the characters start their personal journeys in America but arguably come closer to the truths of themselves and their lives in places that are un-American); the framing narrative of “My Grandmother” is set in America, but tells a story that relates to the reasons why the characters came to...