"One September afternoon, Yosef and Mariam, young Ethiopian immigrans, set off on the road from their new home in Peoria, Illinois, in search of their new identity as an American couple. Thirty years later, their son, Jonas, desperate to make sense of the generational and cultural ties that have forged him, sets out to retrace his parents' trip. In a stunning display of imagination, Jonas weaves together a family history that takes him from the war-torn Ethiopia of his parents' youth to a brighter vision of his life in America today, a story -- real or invented -- that holds the possibility of redemption"--P. [4] of cover.

"100 notable books, the New York times book review, 2010"--Cover.