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When We Were Strangers
by Pamela Schoenwaldt
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 Schoenwaldt'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
Schoenwaldt's prose is poetic in a straightforward almost simple rather
than flowerly 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 most test Irma. WHEN WE WERE
STRANGERS grabs a reader fom the first moments. The pacing
towards the end feels a little fast, sometimes sacrificing the powerful
detail and characterization of secondary characters that one finds in
the beginning in order to cover more territory. While some
readers might enjoy the quickeer pace to satisfy the curiosity about
how situations develop, Irma is such a thoroughly engaging character
that this reader's interest would have been 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 mre noticeable than a lesser book. WHEN WE
WERE STRANGERS keeps one glued to the pages from start to finish.
I found myself waking up early thsn 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. Within, there are many topics for discussion, not only in
terms of plot and character but also the author's narrative
style. Pamela Schoenwaldt'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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