Opa Nobody (American Lives) (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Papa Heinrich, Uncle Klaus, Iron Front (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In her first book, teacher and activist Huber reaches across time and space to find guidance and camaraderie in the reconstructed life of Heina Buschmann, the German grandfather she never met. Struggling to balance her personal and political lives, Huber looks to Heina to find out why she so burns to change the world, and what her sense of mission will cost her and her newborn child. Born in 1902 to a union coal miner, Heina devoted his life to German socialist movements in much the same way Huber devotes hers to American leftist activism. And just as anxiety, depression and exhaustion accompany Huber's political highs, failure, frustrations and alienation accompanied Heina's. In his world-a sooty Germany awash in communist, socialist, and fascist movements-we feel the urgency and impact of personal politics as history gathers the factions in its maelstrom. Although the imagined dialogue sometimes falls flat, the family relationships and political situations are wrought finely enough to illustrate what's at stake for Heina. Unfortunately there are so many gaps in the portrait Huber paints of her own political world that the reader is left wondering about her own motivation.
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From Booklist

Huber is an essayist, professor, and activist for causes ranging from saving old-growth forests to getting out of Iraq. Seeking guidance in blending activism and family life, she is drawn to the life of her grandfather Heina Buschman, a German socialist and anti-Nazi activist her mother, Gerhild, once dismissed as a “nobody.” The result is a narrative Huber labels a “nonfiction novel.” It reads like fiction but is comprised of real scenes from her own life alternating with scenes from her grandfather’s life, all grounded in extensive research and enriched by family anecdotes. Huber traces the threads of her grandfather’s life from his initial interest in the Independent Social Democratic Party to his service in World War II as a “noncombatant” and his postwar anticommunist efforts, which left little time for his family, hence her mother’s resentment. Huber repeatedly draws parallels between her grandfather’s efforts and hers—between his probable periods of despair and her “political depression,” especially following 9/11. The result is thoughtful discourse on political activism and the toll exacted from those dedicated to unpopular causes. --Deborah Donovan

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 380 pages
• Publisher: University of Nebraska Press (March 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803210809
• ISBN-13: 978-0803210806
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,035,145 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Memoir, But More Than Just Memoir, February 10, 2008

By	Kyle Minor "reader" (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews

In Opa Nobody, Sonya Huber expands the territory of the memoir by engaging in speculation of the most fruitful kind about the family history that history itself conspired to make only partially available. The result is a memoir reminiscent of novels that incorporate similar strategies, among them Philip Roth's American Pastoral and William Styron's Sophie's Choice. Lofty company, this, but it is company Huber has earned. Opa Nobody is highly recommended.

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving, Exceptional, Poignant, August 9, 2009

By	Rick L. Wilhelm (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Sonya gives of herself in this book in a very personal way. The book is remarkable in how detailed it is. She obviously sees human nature for what it is: Good, Bad, but mostly always in between and complicated. It is a haunting book but also hopeful. I knew her a little when she was in Ohio, so I know how hard working and dedicated she is. Still, I was surprised by how really great the book was. Incredible work. - Rick W.

5.0 out of 5 stars An Innovative and Exceptional Story, August 3, 2008

By	Suzanne Kamata (Japan) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This compelling hybrid manages to be at the same time a memoir of a young activist and new mother, a meticulously researched history of a group about whom little has been written - German anti-fascists in Nazi Germany - and a richly imagined version of the author's grandfather's life. Huber expertly draws parallels between her own experiences and the lives of the grandparents she never met, while creating characters so real that I found myself in tears at the end.