Reminiscent of This Boy’s Life or Angela’s Ashes, Franz-Olivier Giesbert’s L’Américain is a powerful memoir of childhood by the French son of a G.I. who spent his life nourishing an unwavering hatred for his anti-hero father. The book is both a restoring biography of the broad-shouldered American soldier, and a stunning attempt to expiate the guilt and pain Giesbert feels for having never forgiven his abusive father in his lifetime.

Giesbert’s father lost his soul within minutes of landing on the Normandy beaches. The young intellectual artist from Chicago decided then and there to stay on the earth that had swallowed his humanity, along with so many of his close friends. True to his intention he met and married a bride from Normandy. They moved to Chicago, but, disenchanted with American culture, brought their family back to France soon after Franz-Olivier is born. However, their life on a Normandy farm was hardly idyllic, as the father became a man of resurgent violent moods and reclusiveness.

The beauty of this memoir lies in the complex portrait of the father that slowly emerges out from behind Franz-Olivier’s rage and guilt. Packed with humor and tragedy, L’Américain captivatingly recounts the growth of a son forced to endure so much pain, and offers a rare glimpse into the life of one of many Americans choosing to stay in France after the war.