Two Russian socialists emigrate to the United States and begin the long process of becoming American in this novel by a #1 New York Times-bestselling author.   Stefan and Alexandra Ivarin emigrated to America at the end of the nineteenth century. Russian Jewish socialists, the Ivarins are now established in a Long Island home designed, somewhat haphazardly, by Stefan. Despite their attempts at assimilation, the Ivarins find themselves still struggling to find a balance between their Russian roots and their American lives, between their past and their future--and those of their children. Based in part on Laura Z. Hobson's own childhood, First Papers is a tender portrait of the tension involved in embracing a foreign culture full of opportunity while longing for a lost homeland, and "a warm-hearted novel" by the author of Gentleman's Agreement (The Sunday Herald Tribune).