Swimming In The Moon: A Novel

by Pamela Schoenewaldt

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.

• ISBN10: 0062202235
• ISBN13: 9780062202239
• Publish Date: 3 September 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Inc
• Imprint: William Morrow
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 356
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.com.au/9780062202239

Reviews

[lovelybookshelf]

Originally posted on my blog, A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall:

In the past, historical fiction hasn't been a genre I actively seek out. Swimming in the Moon is exactly the kind of novel that is changing that for me. History is told as a natural part of the story thanks to vivid settings and interesting, relatable characters.

This novel is chock full of topics: an immigrant story, coming of age, poverty, women's rights, the way mental illness was treated at the turn of the 20th century, labor unions and workers rights. I read Swimming in the Moon over Labor Day weekend, not knowing that a huge chunk of the story would focus on the struggle for worker's rights. Its insights and the empathy fostered by the story gave me a new appreciation for the holiday.

I loved the writing in the beginning of the book, during Lucia and Teresa's time in Naples. The prose was just lovely, the kind of writing that catches your breath. Once Lucia and Teresa came to America, though, it started to read more like a young adult novel. I'm not sure if this was due to the first person narrative, or because the book covered so much that it couldn't help but hurry along. This wasn't necessarily a bad shift; it certainly made for a page turner! But I kind of missed the slower-paced beauty of those opening chapters.

Swimming in the Moon is rich, its scope ambitious. I connected with the characters and loved learning more about life in the very early 1900's. This is a great choice for reading groups - there is much that encourages further discussion.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via TLC Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive any other compensation for this review.