Old Jewish Rabbi The Jewish Mystic

In Alessandro Paolo Perucci's touching young girl's coming of age, "Evelyn My Jewish Princess," the Old Jewish Rabbi is left unnamed but he officiates in some capacity throughout the novel. He spares intellectually with then eleven year old Evelyn Horowitz (Mrs. Sternheim) who thinks that he as a man has misjudged the capacity of women to be more than just caretakers of children. The Old Jewish Rabbi keeps a a watchful eye over Evelyn's daughter Little Evelyn Sternheim the tomboy who awaits the return of her U.S. Army nurse mother.

Gertrude Studenmeiner the Street Smart Jewish Girl

Street smart and boy crazy Gertrude Studenmeiner is a very poor jewish girl living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Thinking Evelyn Sternheim a stuck up rich girl, she teases the tomboy as "Evelyn My Jewish Princess," which is where the title of the novel derives. She is several years older than Evelyn. Gertrude lives with her jewish mother who is an out of work janitress struggling to get by.

Benji Sternheim the Cute Little Naive Jewish Boy

Benjamin Sternheim, Jr. or Benji from Alessandro Paolo Perucci's "Evelyn My Jewish Princess" is the baby brother of the protagonist Evelyn Sternheim, the heroine character in the novel. He is a spirited young boy who loves to play war. His favorite people are The Fighting Brooklyns fighter pilots, Jinx Falkenburg the actress who he has a crush on, and of course his mother, Lt. Evelyn Sternheim (Mrs. Sternheim) who is the U.S. Army Nurse serving overseas in Europe. Benji is the comic relief in this story. He always has something funny to say much like his big sister Little Evelyn Sternheim. In the beginning of the novel we find out that Benji thinks of his mother more of a soldier than a nurse. He asks his big sister Evelyn if his mother has access to military weapons such as a tank or grenade. She replies no that their mother didn't use those personally because she was a nurse and was responsible for saving lives. The young jewish boy responds, "..Tell Mama to get a grenade... it will be better than spending her time coddling a bunch of babies who need bandages." As always every detail that happens in Brooklyn is sent via a carefully written letter to her mother overseas who along with other U.S. Army nurses and a commanding officer laugh at her son's naivete.

The Fighting Brooklyns: Harry, Johnny, and Edgar

In Alessandro Paolo Perucci's "Evelyn My Jewish Princess" three heroic fighter pilots from Brooklyn onboard the USS Yorktown are adored by young boys in Brooklyn and cheered by young girls in love with them. They are the triplet sons of widowed jewish mother Mildred Rabinowitz. These three Navy pilots fly the F6F Hellcats. Their motto is: "All for one, one for all. And everything for Miss Brooklyn." The three pilots are featured prominently in "Evelyn My Jewish Princess" as heroes of World War II.  The narrator of the story,  Evelyn Sternheim says that their skill is legendary. At one point in the novel the Fighting Brooklyns are fashioned into popular war toys that the young Benji plays with.

Part I Characters in Evelyn My Jewish Princess

The characters in Alessandro Paolo Perucci's "Evelyn My Jewish Princess" are memorable in that they are from Brooklyn. In fact Brooklyn itself is a character hence the focus on "the spirit of Brooklyn" that most of the characters seem to relish talking about.  In the beginning of this fictional memoir we meet Little Evelyn Sternheim, who is a tomboy living in World War II . She looks out for her five year old brother Benji who loves playing war. From the girl's narration we find out that Evelyn's mother is a U.S. Army Nurse that's been away overseas in Europe for approximately two years. The young girl keeps a scrapbook that has memorabilia, pictures, and letters from her mother. When a bomb goes off in the Army hospital base that Evelyn's mother is in, she feels her mother may be lost, but this doesn't happen. Her mother is too resilient to meet death in such a way. She after all drives jeeps and is the most fearless U.S. Army Nurse who is adamant that her unyielding resolve comes from "being a Brooklyn girl. That's where I get my get up and go." Intermittently we meet several characters from Brooklyn who hold the mysterious and mystical "Spirit of Brooklyn" as something of such great importance that it can never be overshadowed. For instance we are told from young Evelyn's narration that a man named Fred Pendleton in a bygone era of Brooklyn's past had once disdained being a poor boy from Brooklyn. He ran away from Brooklyn and made a small fortune abroad selling American trinkets and memorabilia. After more than 50 years of living abroad he got terribly ill, and more than anything he wanted to return to Brooklyn because he heard Brooklyn calling him by name.  Fred Pendleton is one of many fascinating characters that make Evelyn My Jewish Princess an enjoyable coming of age memoir.

Excerpt from Evelyn My Jewish Princess

Book Description: If you missed Alessandro Paolo Perucci's critically acclaimed World War II drama, "Evelyn My Jewish Princess" then you are denying yourself the pleasure of reading one of the most touching and memorable young American girl's coming of age stories ever. Eleven year old tomboy Little Evelyn Sternheim was growing up in a period of time in Brooklyn when many brave soldiers and nurses were going off to war. Her mother, Mrs. Evelyn Sternheim was one such officer. Although the mother and daughter are separated by thousands of miles, Mrs. Evelyn Sternheim and Little Evelyn Sternheim are firmly in each other's hearts. It is 1944. A World at War, A Brooklyn Daughter Waiting, The Jewish Girl Who Grows in Brooklyn: Evelyn My Jewish Princess. Available exclusively on Amazon Kindle. EVELYN MY JEWISH PRINCESS written by Alessandro Paolo Perucci Chapter 2 March 1944. Birmbaum, Fitzwhistle,and Sternheim Bank. Brooklyn, NY Ever since I could remember my father was a banker at Birmbaum, Fitzwhistle, and Sternheim Bank in Brooklyn. My father always wore a brown tie with his crisp white shirt and a pair of black pants. Today was my day to get the allowance that he gives me. He always expects me to put it back in my account there.