From New York’s Lower East Side to San Francisco, four generations of an immigrant family in America come to vivid life in this timeless saga by bestselling author Cynthia Freeman
In an act of great courage and will, Esther Sandsonitsky leaves her abusive new husband and tiny village on the border between Poland and Germany for the more welcoming shores of the United States. When she makes her … United States. When she makes her way through the throng at Ellis Island, the world is on the threshold of a new century. But Esther is on her own quest: to capture a piece of the American dream for her children, including Jacob, the son she was forced to leave behind.
Portraits tells an indelible story of the struggles and sacrifices of a family–and a people–searching for a place to belong.
A wonderful historical book about immigrants and america
I loved everything about this book, and enjoyed every page. Ms. Freeman is an excellent writer, not drawing situations out, but doing an amazing job of making you want to read the next page. I enjoyed each generation and when I turned the last page, I was already missing the characters. Best book I have read in months.
The best part of the book were the characters. This generational story hit the highlights of each family. Things happened quickly without a great deal of development. I did keep reading it because I wanted to see how the characters lives we’re going to unfold.
No plot
loved it, could not put it down.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading “Portraits” every main character came to life just as if you met them. A life can have more drastic ups and downs then many would believe. For me it depicted real life. Of course there are people who have come from happy homes and their lives have been mainly good. This is simply not the fact for everyone. I’m happy …
Cynthia Freeman is a great author, with great topics in her historical fiction books.
This is one of the saddest books I’ve read. What a family.
Poorly written dull uninteresting repetitive
I absolutely love this book! I’ve probably read it a handful of times. I love a book that spans generations of a family and this one delivers. I think I’ve read every one of Cynthia Freemans books but this one, by far, is my favorite.
She is a talented wriiter. Excellent character development. However, it was filled with one disaster after another. One mistake after another by the characters. Too much unhappiness. Depressing.
I read this book many years ago and enjoyed it, which is why I read it again.
Loved it!
Interesting and a good read.
Family saga
Great story but went on to long with some annoying characters
Family saga books are my favorite genre. this book kept me interested and looking forward to what would happen to the characters.
Slow moving.
This book was disappointing. It could have used tighter editing as it began to become repetitious. The love relationships were unbelievable, and, although many of the main characters were well drawn, most of them were unlikable. The prose was simplistic and much of the plot was unrealistic.
Loved this book. Realistic characters and great character development