Desperate to escape her dull life in her Italian village, Giovanna leaps at the opportunity to marry former childhood playmate Giovanni and move to America, even if he's more interested in acquiring an efficient housewife than a lover. Rechristening themselves John and Jane, the couple forge a life together in 1914 Detroit, where John is an enthusiastic disciple and employee of Henry Ford, and Jane devotes herself to running their household. Riva (Marlene Dietrich: A Life), a first-time novelist at age 92, relates the pair's story in a series of connected vignettes taking place over several decades with a large cast of supporting characters representing a variety of immigrant experiences along the way. The novel is dense with historical detail about everyday life during the period, but the frequently awkward sentence structure and overreliance on difficult-to-read dialect greatly disrupt the flow of the story. While aspects of John and Jane's journey initially seem promising, the characters are never fully developed, and their supposed emotional growth is unconvincing. VERDICT Riva is the daughter of actress Marlene Dietrich, which may generate some interest, but most readers fascinated by the era and subject matter would do better to pick up Ken Follett's Fall of Giants or Adriana Trigiani's The Shoemaker's Wife.—Mara Bandy Fass, Champaign P.L., IL