Of

Of - A tale of how Peter Mueller came to be is crisply-written historical fiction that deftly examines a family's lineage over a period of roughly 100 years. Characters battle in three wars and labor in a steel mill, on a horse farm and in a coal mine. The harshness of life in America for immigrants in the late 19th century and early 20th century is brightened with humor. The book relieves heavily upon character dialogue, including that of characters who speak broken English. An easy, enjoyable read.

Of – A tale about how Peter Mueller came to be is crisply written, fast-moving historical fiction that sprinkles its characters into a backdrop of international events over a period of roughly 100 years. Beginning in 1870 in Europe, the book touches upon three wars and conveys the travails of poor Hungarian and German immigrants arriving in America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Settings include World War One bomber runs over the Italian Alps, the horse farms of Kentucky and the coal mines of Ohio. Of poignantly transmits the harshness and poverty that many immigrants encountered upon arriving in America during that period. Characters' sparse, bleak environments are leavened by frequent injections of humor that help to keep the reader engaged. Of relies heavily upon dialogue between characters, including those who don't speak English very well. All of this is tidily connected, even the final chapter that finds the book's namesake physically ejected from a beer festival in France the day that Richard Nixon resigned from office.

Steve Luttner was a newspaper reporter for 30 years. He later served as vice president of a public relations firm in Cleveland. He, his wife and their dog live in Northeast Ohio.