As a nation of immigrants, the United States has millions of stories of arrival, finding a way in a new country, creating a new self. Some are bold, some mundane. Some are tragic, others joyous.

"A Good American," by a British lawyer who lives in Columbia, Mo., starts off with two of these stories. Frederick and Jette, brought together by their love of music but forbidden to marry by Jette's family, elope to the New World from Germany about the turn of the 20th century. They head to New Orleans instead of New York because that's where the next boat was going ("What's the difference? They're both New. That's good enough," Jette tells Frederick as they depart).

They make their way up the Mississippi, winding up in the fictional town of Beatrice, Mo., where Frederick buys a tavern and can once again be surrounded by music. Told from the point of view of Frederick and Jette's grandson James, the novel spans three generations of the Meisenheimer family.

The family, like any family, has its trials and triumphs, but the idea of being a Good American runs through the family, lending it an optimistic, uncomplicated patriotism that is dampened and even lost at times, but finds its way back.

The author, himself an immigrant, captures the fresh look new arrivals take at the United States, as well as the challenges and sadness of abandoning one's native home and trying to belong someplace new.

It makes the occasional sentimentality of "A Good American" forgivable, and George's lively writing and strong storytelling make the book an engrossing, entertaining read.

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'A Good American'

A novel by Alex George

Published by Amy Einhorn Books, 400 pages, $25.95