Synopses & Reviews
Here's a memorable tale of two unlikely heroes: the lively, beautiful Flora and her husband, the brooding, studious Simon, two immigrants, both sent to America by their families to find a better life. An improbable match, they meet in New York City and fall in love. Simon--inventor of the jigsaw puzzle--eventually makes his fortune. Now wealthy, Flora and Simon become obsessed with rescuing those they left behind in Europe, loved ones whose fates will be determined by growing anti-Semitism on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Puzzle King explores a fascinating moment in history with a cast of characters who endure with dignity, grace, and hope for the future.
Review
"Skillfully using ties to her own family, Carter weaves a compelling story and a rich, multilayered novel around three Jewish sisters and deftly captures the squalor and bustle of early 20th century New York . . . A fine novel with twists and turns and pieces that interlock tightly . . . Carter at her best." --
The Miami Herald San Francisco Book Review
Review
"It's a rare treat when a novel's literary merit can compete with its capacity to entertain . . . Carter, a consummate storyteller, cobbles declarative sentences from diction so unexpected that readers rush from one vivid image and scene to the next until the book's characters, their culture and the caveats of their existence are as real as anyone and anything has ever been." --
The Louisville Courier-Journal The Louisville Courier-Journal
Review
"Everybody loves an inspiring rags-to-riches story, and
The Puzzle King delivers that in spades . . . [it tells] the immigrant story from a uniquely relationship-and family-based perspective, all the while honoring their bravery and stoicism in the face of great odds."
--San Francisco Book ReviewSynopsis
Inspired by her own family's legends, Carter tells a story of unlikely heroes, the lively, beautiful Flora and her husband, the brooding, studious Simon, two German Jewish immigrants who are each sent to America by their families to find better lives.
About the Author
Betsy Carter is the author of
Swim to Me and
The Orange BlossomSpecial. Her memoir,
Nothing to Fall Back On, was a national bestseller. She is a contributing editor for
O: The Oprah Magazine and writes for
Good Housekeeping,
New York, and
AARP, among others. Carter formerly served as an editor at
Esquire,
Newsweek, and
Harper's Bazaar, and was the founding editor of
New York Woman. She lives in New York City.