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When We Were Strangers
by Pamela Schoenewaldt
Irma Vitale has spent
her entire life in Opi, Italy. Everyone knows everyone and few
leave. Her mother believes that if one leaves Opi, one will die
among strangers. Irma, plain and poor with few prospects in Opi,
breaks away from her village to journey to a new world,
America. With her sewing skills, she hopes to work and make
a living in this new land. From the trip across the ocean to the
sweatshop where she finds work, Irma has both an innocence and
determination within herself. While clinging to some of the ways
her old life, she has the ability to make new pathways, facing new
challenges with determination, fortitude and innovation. Once she
arrives in America, life is much harder as an immigrant than she ever
imagined while living in Opi. Irma focuses on her work and making
ends meet. Several times and in increasing measure, Irma
faces obstacles that change her direction, not only in location but
also in profession. When she least expects change, suddenly, her
life takes a drastic turn when her innocence is forever
obliterated. From tragedy, a new door opens in which Irma finds
her true calling.
Pamela Schoenewaldt's debut novel WHEN WE WERE STRANGERS is a
historical coming of age story of a young woman immigrant who journeys
geographically across the ocean and inwardly as she faces new
challenges and learns about herself in the process. Pamela
Schoenewaldt's prose is poetic in a straightforward almost simple
rather than flowery way, a prose that resonates in its rhythm of images
and phrases. Irma is a complex yet easily likable
character. Irma makes some bad choices and at other times
devastating events leave her with few choices. The author creates
depth in her character and overall emotion in the narrative in these
often heart-breaking moments which test Irma. WHEN WE WERE
STRANGERS grabs a reader from the first moments with the beauty of its
language. The pacing
towards the end feels a little fast, sometimes sacrificing the powerful
detail and characterization of secondary characters that one finds more
in
the beginning in order to cover more territory. While some
readers might enjoy the quicker pace to satisfy the curiosity about how
situations develop, Irma is such a thoroughly engaging character that
this reader's interest would have been easily fixed in a novel with
twice the
page count in order to stay with her journey longer. The
brilliant beauty of the author's voice gets lost a little towards the
end as the pace of action increases. The encounter between Irma
and a few characters are resolved a little quickly. The sheer
elegance of the language in the first part of the book perhaps makes it
more noticeable than it would in a lesser book. Nevertheless,
WHEN
WE WERE STRANGERS keeps one glued to the pages from start to
finish. I found myself waking up earlier than usual just to be
able
to have more reading time.
WHEN WE WERE STRANGERS is an emotionally moving narrative.
Several aids in the back will assist book clubs but, even without
those, WHEN WE WERE STRANGERS would make a very good book club
selection. Several scenes will provoke discussion and the themes
presented in Irma's journey are those a reader can identify with even
without Irma's history or background. The author's historical
research comes to life in Irma's journey. Although the novel
flows well, do not mistake this for lack of depth or narrative
skill. Though the novel reads easily, the author carefully
constructs the presentation of her character, giving much richness and
depth to Irma's story. Within, there are many topics for
discussion, not only in
terms of plot and character but also the author's narrative
style. Pamela Schoenewaldt's debut novel is highly recommended
for readers looking for a novel that challenges a reader emotionally
with multi-dimensional characters and situations.
Publisher:
Harper (January 25, 2011)
Reviewed by Merrimon,
Merrimon Book Reviews
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