The World of 1937 was on the brink of the greatest revolution in social, scientific, and artistic expressions. It was experiencing a vast economic depression, and inexorably drawn into a fiery death storm of war that would burn up the past, destroy the present and open the gates to nuclear horrors. Two poor Jewish brothers, Lee and the story's narrator, fall in love with Gretta, a girl from a rich Miami Beach gentile family. The love triangle deepens when Lee joins the army leaving a pregnant Gretta to face the future alone. But the younger brother and Gretta form a love alliance, which is on hold until Lee, who is missing in action, comes home to claim Gretta and the baby. The narrator struggles with the conflict over his love for Gretta and his guilt in light of Lee's possible return. Then he is also taken by the war to foreign shores.
This is a heart-wrenching story of the cultural divide that engulfs rich and poor families in the late Depression, and the fight for survival in war and peace. Each brother takes an oath to defend the nation. Gretta takes an oath of love for each of them, and waits helplessly to find out if they will return.
On the other hand, she had been naked in our presence when no one in the world, except her maid, her mother, and her doctor at her naissance, ever saw her completely nude. We were the only other people in this world to know that she had a mole on her right buttock. We were the only other people in the world to know that her pubic hair is the color of summer straw, winnowed in the wind. We were the only other people in the world to know that she had full round breasts, matured far beyond her years. We were the only people in the world to know that she was lifted from the floor by a totally naked stranger, who held her naked body in his arms, that her breasts were pressed against his chest, and that he carried her out of danger like a baby in her father's arms. Now, she felt for the first time in her life, free of fear of her body. It was all out in the open, no more silly girlhood shyness. She knew us and we knew her. She did not see us as "boys," but as an amalgam of manhood, of maleness. This confrontation in the aud, was what her puberty was all about. The two worlds of male and female connected right there for her for the first time. She knew now that she had spanned those worlds and she knew that she was in control. She came to a stop before Lee, who did not stand up. She swirled her peasant skirt around Lee, and then turned to Norman and me. Her face broke into a killer smile. She lifted the hem of her skirt knee high and said, "So, guys, how do you like me in clothes?"
About Ivan Wainer
Ivan R. Wainer, B.S., J.D., is an author, musician, adventurer and lawyer. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is married to Dione and has two daughters. Ivan has practiced litigation law for over 40 years, has written extensively on legal matters, and tried many jury cases. He has written two other novels. Last Act and Loose Change. On sale at Amazono and BarnesNoble
The World of 1937 was on the brink of the greatest revolution in social, scientific, and artistic expressions. It was experiencing a vast economic depression, and inexorably drawn into a fiery death storm of war that would burn up the past, destroy the present and open the gates to nuclear horrors. Two poor Jewish brothers, Lee and the story's narrator, fall in love with Gretta, a girl from a rich Miami Beach gentile family. The love triangle deepens when Lee joins the army leaving a pregnant Gretta to face the future alone. But the younger brother and Gretta form a love alliance, which is on hold until Lee, who is missing in action, comes home to claim Gretta and the baby. The narrator struggles with the conflict over his love for Gretta and his guilt in light of Lee's possible return. Then he is also taken by the war to foreign shores.
Ivan R. Wainer, B.S., J.D., is an author, musician, adventurer and lawyer. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is married to Dione and has two daughters. Ivan has practiced litigation law for over 40 years, has written extensively on legal matters, and tried many jury cases. He has written two other novels. Last Act and Loose Change. On sale at Amazono and BarnesNoble