Books like The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates
In 1936, the Schwarts an immigrant Jewish family flee Nazi Germany and settle in a small upstate New York town. The father, a former high‑school teacher, is reduced to working as a gravedigger and cemetery caretaker. Local prejudice and the family's emotional fragility lead to unspeakable tragedy. The gravedigger’s daughter, Rebecca, begins a journey of self‑discovery and invention that takes her across America, confronting abuse and risk while forging her own identity. In the end, she achieves a bittersweet but distinctly American triumph of resilience and renewal.
First publish date: 2007
Genre: Literary Fiction/Contemporary Literary Fiction
Authors: Joyce Carol Oates
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