The novelist, a first-generation American of Ukrainian heritage, begins his story just after the turn of this century, but most of the action takes place after World War II. His characters, who come from two generations, flee war in Europe only to enter long-ensuing personal battles in New Jersey as cultures clash and family friction ebbs and flows with the struggle against the "subtle Sabotages of the seemingly peaceful suburbs." Intertwined with the living characters are dead legends, the gods credited with the early, more spectacular origins of the family back in Tartar times. Treating the dreams and aspirations and loves of immigrants, this unusual novel seeks in an imaginative manner to integrate legend with reality. Melnyczuk, a poet, translator, and short story writer as well as a novelist, has produced a novel worthy of purchase.