Swimming in the Moon: A Novel
4/5
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About this ebook
A new historical novel from Pamela Schoenewaldt, the USA Today bestselling author of When We Were Strangers.
Italy, 1905. Fourteen-year-old Lucia and her young mother, Teresa, are servants in a magnificent villa on the Bay of Naples, where Teresa soothes their unhappy mistress with song. But volatile tempers force them to flee, exchanging their warm, gilded cage for the cold winds off Lake Erie and Cleveland's restless immigrant quarters.
With a voice as soaring and varied as her moods, Teresa transforms herself into the Naples Nightingale on the vaudeville circuit. Clever and hardworking, Lucia blossoms in school until her mother's demons return, fracturing Lucia's dreams.
Yet Lucia is not alone in her struggle for a better life. All around her, friends and neighbors, new Americans, are demanding decent wages and working conditions. Lucia joins their battle, confronting risks and opportunities that will transform her and her world in ways she never imagined.
Pamela Schoenewaldt
Pamela Schoenewaldt is the USA Today bestselling author of When We Were Strangers and Swimming in the Moon. Her short stories have appeared in literary magazines in England, France, Italy, and the United States. She taught writing for the University of Maryland, European Division, and the University of Tennessee.
Read more from Pamela Schoenewaldt
When We Were Strangers: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Under the Same Blue Sky: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Swimming in the Moon
23 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, but then I have a soft spot for stories about Italian immigrant women and this one takes place in Cleveland OH so it felt even more familiar. I was not familiar with the Cleveland Garment Workers' Strike of 1911 but the fact that my grandmother worked in a garment factory in Lorain, OH brought the story home to me.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5What I liked: the description of the female immigrant work experience in Cleveland and the description of Lucia's mother's mental illness. What I didn't like: the book seemed flat as in da- da-da - da - da. There were no exciting sections. Ball too matter if fact when the truth was not humdrum at all. The characters had depth and were true to form.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5This book starts in the early 1900s in Italy. The main characters, Teresa and her daughter, Lucia are servants there in a villa. They escape Italy to go to Cleveland, Ohio. Here they start a new life and Teresa becomes the Naples Nightingale a singing sensation of vaudeville. Life in Ohio brings many new trials and tribulations for this mother and daughter. Lucia must grow up quickly and learn how to support herself and later also her mother. With no other family in the country she learns to forge friendships with people that she can rely on for support.I liked Lucia as a character, she is a very strong and determined woman. The book shows the obstacles she must overcome as an immigrant. Lucia also shows us how the young immigrants were often exploited and worked under horrible conditions. She becomes an activist for change in the labor force. Lucia's mother suffers from mental illness and we are shown how Lucia is forced to deal with this problem. We are shown the inhumane and bizarre treatments used for mental illness during this time period.I really enjoyed this book! I read this one in 3 days. I felt that it had a good plot and was well written. I live in Akron, Ohio which is not far from Cleveland, so the area it was set in is familiar to me. I found the book to be engaging. It just sort of unfolded. I especially liked the ending. It ties the book together really well with the beginning. There is also a romance woven into the book. I think this is a good look at what shaped the founders of our country. I give this book a 4.5 out of 5.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Pamela Schoenewaldt has an ability to write about immigration and issues in a historical setting. Beyond just an ability, it's a talent that I, as a reader, am so incredibly grateful for. Swimming in the Moon deals with mental illness, immigration, and the struggles of the early 20th century in a beautiful, lyrical way. In spite of the heavy subject matter, I never felt overwhelmed or like there was too much information being funneled in my direction. Instead, like I felt before when I read Schoenewaldt's book, When We Were Strangers, I finished Swimming in the Moon feeling the urge to research and learn more.Read the rest of my review at The Lost Entwife on August 18, 2013.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Swimming to the Moon by Pamela Schoenewaldt is a beautifully woven story of the bond between mother and daughter as well as a story of immigration in the early twentieth century. Schoenewaldt takes the reader from Naples, Italy, to Cleveland, Ohio as mother and daughter, Teresa and Lucia, struggle against odds to make a life for themselves in a new country. Schoenewaldt deftly describes not only life as an immigrant but also the very complex and powerful bonds that exist between and mother and daughter. Swimming to the Moon is an exceptionally beautiful work of historical fiction and one I highly recommend to readers and book discussion groups alike.