In spite of her strong attraction to Isaac, Emma remains aloof, fearing the loss of her hard-won independence. But the tidal wave of 1900, which devastates Galveston Island, leaves both Emma and Isaac shaken and keenly aware that life cannot be lived in safety. Still haunted by their pasts, and conscious of the disparity in their backgrounds, Emma and Isaac are swept away by passion, and they marry, settling in Arizona. In the desert hamlet of Phoenix, newly proclaimed capital of the territory, they open a tent store. Calling on abundant reserves of ambition, courage and entrepreneurial daring, Emma and Isaac work together to transform the tent store into one of the West’s largest and most successful department stores.
Yet neither their material success nor their deep pride in their four talented children is enough to bridge the emotional gap between them, and their relationship grows ever more distant. Both Isaac and Emma seek solace in extramarital affairs, even as they are unwilling to break up their troubled marriage. It is only when Emma finds herself caught up in the enchanted life of San Francisco’s “gilded ghetto” that she at last confronts the reality of her life and marriage.
Set against the backdrop of Arizona’s fight for statehood and the cataclysms of the First World War and the Great Depression, West to Eden chronicles a fascinating, largely unknown part of the Jewish immigrant experience. Drawing on the breadth of imagination and the faithfulness to detail that her readers have come to expect, Gloria Goldreich has created characters of rich complexity…and an unforgettable novel.
Gloria Goldreich is the author of several prize-winning novels on a wide range of themes. Her other novels include Leah's Children, Walking Home, Dinner with Anna Karenina, among others. Her short fiction and essays have appeared in McCalls, Redbook, Mademoise