Dec 15, 2009

Summer of My German Soldier | Introduction

Summer of My German Soldier, Bette Greene's first and best-known novel, chronicles one summer in the life of a twelve-year-old Jewish girl in the rural South. First published in 1973, it was an overwhelming critical success and has gone on to become a classic of juvenile literature. The book was nominated for the National Book Award, and won the New York Times Outstanding Book Award, the Golden Kite Society's children's book writer's award, and the American Library Association's Notable Book Award. In 1978 Greene published a sequel, Morning Is a Long Time Coming.

The novel takes its inspiration in part from the author's own childhood. Like her heroine, Greene grew up in a small Arkansas town at the end of World War II. Her parents owned a country store, and they were the only Jewish family in a Protestant community. The story explores the tensions created by these kinds of ethnic and religious differences. Published the year that the Vietnam conflict ended, her book also acts as an allegory about the prejudices and fears of late 1960s and early 1970s America.

Summer of My German Soldier Summary

The Arrival of the POWs
Patty's life changes when a group of German POWs arrives by train to be taken to the new prison camp just outside of town. She is struck by the fact that they look no different from anyone else. When the soldiers are brought into town to purchase hats to shield them from the "formidable Arkansas sun," Patty hurries to her parents' store to help out. There is one prisoner who speaks English, and he is singled out to make their purchases. After procuring hats for the men to wear while working in the fields, he approaches the stationery counter to buy writing supplies. Patty is at the counter, and he introduces himself to her. His name is Frederick Anton Reiker. Besides the stationery, he also buys a piece of costume jewelry, seemingly on a whim.

Anton Hides Out
News circulates that one of the prisoners has escaped. The men of the town form a mob, each being told to go home and gather firearms if they have not already brought them. A reporter named Charlene from the Memphis Commercial Appeal comes to Jenkinsville to get the story. Patty offers to guide her to the prison camp. She accepts the offer, and on the way to and from the camp Patty impresses Charlene with her intelligence.

One night, Patty hears a train approaching. She looks out the window of her room and sees someone hiding in the bushes, apparently about to jump onto the train. She goes outside and recognizes the shadowy figure as Anton. She offers to hide him in the family's garage apartment. He accepts, and confides that he used the costume jewelry he bought at the store to bribe a guard. Patty begins stealing food for him. Her father notices the food disappearing; he assumes that Ruth is stealing it. Patty tells him that she has been eating it. She and Anton become friends.

After being caught by her father for disobeying him, her father... » Complete Summer of My German Soldier Summary