Out of This Furnace (Pitt Paperback ; 120)

Media:	Paperback
Author:	Thomas Bell
Publisher:	University of Pittsburgh Press
Release date:	01 June, 1976
Our price:	$15.95

Out of This Furnace (Pitt Paperback ; 120)

Average rating: Stars

GREAT READ!

I was forced to read this book for a college class... but after a chapter or two, I was voraciously reading it, more than willingly!

This book effected me so deeply with its complex, engaging, and devastating portrayal of an immigrant family that spans over several generations. Nearly every person who calls themself an American will find interest in this amazing book, because all our ancestors came from somewhere else - this book will give you a glimpse into the hard work, heart ache, and life that your forefathers endured.

Without a doubt one of the top 5 best books i have ever read.

Out of This Furnace (Pitt Paperback ; 120) - Thomas Bell

Out of this furnace

This is an amazing and moving novel, especially for those of us of the same ethnic background. My family discovered this book in my grandfather's collection following his death. We all read it and were very moved by it, our grandparents taught us the traditions of the Slovaks throughout our childhood. Being Slovak and all that went with it was a source of great pride for them that they instilled in us. As I read the book I was able to walk through the streets in my mind along with the author. Never before this book did I feel such pride in my family, and how they wokred lived and suffered to give their children and grandchildren a better life. I believe this book to be a MUST READ for anyone interested in the plight of the immigrant.

Thomas Bell - Out of This Furnace (Pitt Paperback ; 120)

Underrepresented immigrant group

Most people are familiar with the experiences in America of immigrants who were Irish, Italian, German, Polish, Russian, Swedish, and a few other groups, but you don't hear much of anything about the Slovakians who came to America. I was supposed to have read this book for a research paper my eighth grade social studies class was doing on our various immigrant ancestors, and while I got an A++ on that paper and much praise from the teacher, I abandoned the book before long. I was upset I couldn't do a paper on my more "interesting" ancestors from Germany, Italy, and Holland, instead of some group I didn't really care about, a group no one else would be doing. I recently finally read the book cover to cover and am really sorry I was so hasty in abandoning it before and how much of a brat I was about doing a paper on my ancestors. I grew misty-eyed at the parts where the mill bosses and even priests and ministers are insulting the Slovakians in nasty and slurring language, even preaching hatred and violence from the pulpit. They were treated like animals because they dared to want humane treatment and equal rights. I have always heard and used the word "Hunky" as a fond term of endearment in my family, not a harsh slur word and racial epithet. Altogether it's a very emotionally moving and real story, about how each generation improves upon the last, until finally the mills are unionised; we know the fourth generation will be just fine. The only complaint I have about the book is that it ends before Dobie and Julie have their baby; I wanted to find out if they had a boy or a girl!

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