Woman of Uncertain Character

This tale of a Russian immigrant is a ';gripping and gritty memoir [and] a eulogy for a combative, self-conscious, often violent American working class' (Los Angeles Times). Jennie Persily, with her fiery red hair, buxom figure, and bohemian spirit, is a strong-willed fighter for justice and a passionate lover. A Russian-Jewish emigre who organizes unions in the sweatshops and on the mean streets of Chicago during the thirties and forties, Jennie frequently brings her sonthe book's author, Clancy Sigalalong to rallies and on dangerous missions, often eluding union-busting hit men. As unsentimental, intelligent, and brazen as its subject, A Woman of Uncertain Character is a candid look into a childhood shaped by a feverishly brave, sexually open, and very complex mother. Sigal gains a deep, satisfying understanding of the woman who made him, and the world that made her.