AustLit

'1987 in Australia. Frederick Joseph Fritschenburg's story is about, among other things: a boy, a great-hearted German midwife and a man caught between two cultures. It begins in 1906. Rejected at birth by his mother, Frederick is raised by his Grossmutter and a much tested, but unbreakable bond develops between them. Her Aryan bloodline, plus her stories, ensures Frederick is firmly planted in the history and culture of Germany, but he also belongs to the brash new world of Australia. The young Fredi dreams he is like the Colossus of Rhodes, a bronzed sun god spanning two shores. This dream shatters when his worlds collide in the conflict of WWI. For the rest of his life, Frederick is caught between the sauerkraut and pickle culture of his grandparents and the meat pie world of Australia. Within the novel are two separate, but interlinked stories. The physical experiences of the hospitalised elderly Frederick trigger a lifetime of memories. Pickle to Pie is a story of past wounds, past passions, about growing up and growing old, about love, hope and reconciliation. Source: http://mc2.vicnet.net.au/home/glenellen/web/index.html (Sighted 23/04/2008).