Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    When We Were Strangers: A Novel
    Unavailable
    When We Were Strangers: A Novel
    Unavailable
    When We Were Strangers: A Novel
    Ebook390 pages6 hours

    When We Were Strangers: A Novel

    By Pamela Schoenewaldt

    4/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “The people as real as your own family, and the tale realistic enough to be any American’s.”
    —Nancy E. Turner, author of These is My Words

     

    A moving, powerful, and evocative debut novel, When We Were Strangers by Pamela Schoenewaldt heralds the arrival of superb new voice in American fiction. A tale rich in color, character, and vivid historical detail, it chronicles the tumultuous life journey of a young immigrant seamstress, as she travels from her isolated Italian mountain village through the dark  corners of late nineteenth century America. A historical novel that readers of Geraldine Brooks, Nancy Turner, Frances de Pontes Peebles, and Debra Dean will most certainly cherish, When We Were Strangers will live in the mind and the heart long after its last page is turned.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJan 25, 2011
    ISBN9780062041791
    Unavailable
    When We Were Strangers: A Novel
    Author

    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

    Related to When We Were Strangers

    Related ebooks

    Historical Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Book Club

      Jul 29, 2020

      Book Club
      1 min read

    • Article

      Sad Farewell

      Jul 2, 2021

      FOR readers there’s a real poignancy to seeing The Missing Sister by Lucinda Riley at the top of the SA fiction bestseller list because it’s the last book that will be released by the much-loved Northern Irish author. Riley’s family recently announce

      1 min read

    • Article

      Cherie Jones

      Jan 7, 2021

      Cherie Jones
      3 min read

    • Article

      Thoroughly Modern Miranda

      Oct 21, 2021

      Thoroughly Modern Miranda
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Audacious Angel Of Auschwitz

      Aug 11, 2021

      The Audacious Angel Of Auschwitz
      8 min read

    • Article

      Fiction

      Jul 9, 2020

      Hilderbrand’s latest novel is perfect for cosy weekend reading. This time she focuses on former lovers who now lead separate lives but share an island idyll once a year. Captivating and bittersweet. (Available Jul. 23) Inseparable twins Stella and

      1 min read

    • Article

      Every CLOUD

      Aug 31, 2022

      Every CLOUD
      6 min read

    • Article

      The PROMISE

      Aug 18, 2021

      The PROMISE
      9 min read

    • Article

      Towns Like Ours

      May 3, 2018

      Towns Like Ours
      9 min read

    • Article

      Aligogoro

      Jun 22, 2020

      Aligogoro
      4 min read

    • Article

      This Town Has Become a Museum

      Sep 21, 2021

      This Town Has Become a Museum
      6 min read

    • Article

      Until The Sea Closed Over Us And The Light Was Gone

      Jul 1, 2020

      —Dante, Canto XXVI But if the truth is dreamed of toward the morning—El Paso Although it was really last summer’s song,all this summer Despacito played on as slower then I turned myself to gazeupon Juarez. The summer everything hurts my eyes, a dozen

      6 min read

    • Article

      Come Stay

      Jan 16, 2024

      Come Stay
      23 min read

    • Article

      Ghoulies and Ghosties

      Oct 1, 2022

      Ghoulies and Ghosties
      7 min read

    • Article

      You Girls Are Good

      Mar 31, 2022

      You Girls Are Good
      16 min read

    • Article

      The WITCH GIRL

      Oct 20, 2021

      The WITCH GIRL
      6 min read

    • Article

      Cherubs

      Jul 5, 2023

      Cherubs
      10 min read

    • Article

      A Day At The Beach For Aphrodite

      Jul 1, 2023

      A Day At The Beach For Aphrodite
      14 min read

    • Article

      Out of THE BLUE

      Aug 22, 2023

      Out of THE BLUE
      11 min read

    • Article

      My Country Childhood

      Sep 4, 2019

      AUTHOR AND FORMER executive director of the Australian Writers Guild, Angela Wales, 71, moved from Bondi in Sydney to Walcha in the Northern Tablelands of NSW when she was five years old. Angela’s father, Bob, was to take over a struggling sheep prop

      7 min read

    • Article

      Follow the flavor

      Dec 18, 2018

      Follow the flavor
      12 min read

    • Article

      Little House

      Jun 5, 2023

      On Monday nights our mother made popcorn and served it to us in mugs with milk poured over. My younger sister and I carried our mugs into the family room and ate the popcorn with spoons, like cereal. We were five and seven. Until we were allowed to s

      21 min read

    • Article

      The Periodic Stranger

      Mar 2, 2017

      My roots are in a hilltop village west of Matera, where rabbit and boar run riot in the fields. Figs, apricots, and pears hang in heavy clusters, at eye-level and within easy reach. There, the local girls are famous for their calves, made firm and st

      21 min read

    • Article

      The Periodic Stranger: When exile becomes home.

      Dec 12, 2013

      My roots are in a hilltop village west of Matera, where rabbit and boar run riot in the fields. Figs, apricots, and pears hang in heavy clusters, at eye-level and within easy reach. There, the local girls are famous for their calves, made firm and st

      21 min read

    Reviews for When We Were Strangers

    4/5

    123 ratings21 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      I enjoyed much of the historical information that was woven through the fictional story of a young Italian immigrant girl coming to America. Very nicely written - moves along well as she moves to Cleveland, Chicago, and eventually California. It was easy to put myself in her shoes for a little while. Read this in one day.
    • 5/5
      When We Were Strangers is a compelling novel. I identified with how lost the main character, Irma, must have felt when she left her hometown to come to America. She suffered in a number of ways, and not knowing English for a period of time didn't help. While she was fortunate to have work, she was taken advantage of as so many women were in those days, especially immigrants. Her persistence, however, paid off and though she suffered other heartache and trauma, she came out in the end the kind of person that everyone loves and will miss. She was a hard worker and very respectful. She did what she had to do to survive, but she also thrived over time because she had a caring heart. She struggled with forgiveness, but given what she experienced that made sense to me. This novel was inspiring and just one realistic example of how someone could work hard and eventually prosper in America. In the era that this book was written there were many immigrants from all over the world all hoping for the same dream of a better life. Irma did end up with a better life, but in the end she lost some of her identity, though she tried to hold on to it. She was a strong heroine, but clearly flawed and three dimensional. I suffered along with her in a number of situations, but as life often does, even those painful incidents brought her to the one thing in her life that gave her the greatest sense of purpose. She found who she wanted to be, and I was inspired by that revelation. There are some situations in this story that are not for people who are easily upset, but they weren't overly graphic or anything like that. Just painful situations that too many women face. I won't give a spoiler here, so if you want to find out what I'm referring to, you'll have to read the book.
    • 5/5
      I really, really enjoyed this book. Poor Irma would take one step forward and two steps back, but guess what? It all works out in the end! Very well written :)
    • 4/5
      As others have said, this is actually a GOOD Early Reviewers book! I wasn't honestly expecting much, as the program has sent me some real groaners of books, but this one was a pleasant surprise.
    • 4/5
      Loved this book! I received it as an advance copy, and you never know how those will be. This is a keeper!This is the late 19th century immigrant coming-of-age story of poor, plain Irma Vitale, a girl from a very small, rural Italian village. It's hard to imagine living as they did then - so isolated and ignorant of how the world works. For that reason, it must have taken great courage to leave and travel to the new world.I enjoyed reading Irma's progress in America, and especially about the strangers she took into her life, as they did for her.A little melodramatic at times, but all in all, a *very* satisfying read.I'll recommend this to my book club when it's released to the public!
    • 3/5
      This novel provides interesting glimpses into the life of an unmarried Italian woman who emigrates from a country village in Italy to the United States in the 1880's. Irma tells her own story which starts out well, with a fair amount of detail, then rushes to a conclusion, following several traumatic, and life-changing, events. There are many characters, but most of them seemed flat to me, and although I was able to understand Irma's motivations, I just never felt any attachment to her or to her story.
    • 4/5
      Irma Vitale grows up in the tiny village of Opi, in a remote area ultimately to become part of Italy. Her people are shepherds and, in her village, everyone is as close as family. When circumstances dictate that Irma leave her home, and travel to America, she does so with great reluctance, but in the hopes of finding her brother and making a life with him that will allow them to help her father and her aunt. Irma emigrates, first to Cleveland, then to Chicago and, ultimately to San Francisco. Her dream of becoming a dressmaker to fine ladies of fashion is realized after great struggle and hardship and then Irma, whose life has touched the lives of so many others, is taken as a sort of apprentice to a local midwife, who runs a medical clilnic for those who can't afford, or are afraid to seek, the help of the medical community. In doing so, Irma finds her life taking a wholly unexpected direction. Schoenewaldt has created, in Irma Vitale, a character that the reader can believe in and empathize with, The story of her life has thecredibility that is engendered by good research and by the careful fleshing out of actual circumstances and events. This story will be of particular interest to those whose grandparents or great grandparents may have made one of the mid-19th Century voyages in steerage in search of a better life for themselves and their children--and in doing so, left all that they knew and loved irretrievably behind. It helps the reader to understand and appreciate the magnitude of that sacrifice, and the courage required to make it.
    • 4/5
      This book reminded me quite a bit of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. There is significant growth in both characters, and their immigrant (or immigrant family) status brings a wonderful culture to their stories. As stated by others, this story has indeed been told before, yet one finds themselves unnervingly attracted to Irma, wishing her well, reading impatiently to discover what else she can handle and can do. I don't usually describe books as 'hopeful' because I feel it gives it a cheesy taste, but I'll use it for When We Were Strangers. The ending left me hopeful, happy, and fully satisfied with the story of Irma's life. 4/5 stars.
    • 4/5
      This is an enjoyable if somewhat flawed story of an immigrant's journey. Irma Vitale, a young girl from the small village of Opi, Italy, lives in a time where the promised land of America beckons with tales of quick fortunes and land for the taking. Warned by her mother that those who leave Opi are cursed to die among strangers, Irma never intended to leave her small village until circumstances left her little choice. Determined to get to Cleveland, Irma embarks on a harrowing journey in steerage across the Atlantic. Speaking almost no English, Irma has no idea what to expect in America. Nonetheless, she scrabbles to find work and a place to live, pulling herself up by her bootstraps, so to speak, and determined to get a position making dresses for "fine ladies." Irma's journey takes her from Cleveland to Chicago and San Francisco, as her hopes and dreams shift and change along the way. She meets several unforgettable characters, many of whom are other immigrants and provide a vibrant snapshot of the melting pot of America. The writing is descriptive without overdoing it, and it's easy to 'be" in the scene with the characters. In all honesty, I found Irma's character somewhat irritating at first-- she was almost too good to be true. Her character rounded out as the novel progressed and she discovered other aspects of herself, and she became an endearing character that I found myself caring deeply for. It was hard to put the book down because I worried about Irma and wanted to know what happened to her next. If in the first half of the novel it seemed everything went wrong for Irma, the second half admittedly had a few too many good coincidences that seemed a bit unrealistic. Putting that aside, however, for me, the novel's many strengths made up for this. It's very well-researched in terms of the history, setting details (the author lived in Italy for a decade), and the intricacies of the immigrant experience. The characters are well-developed and easy to root for. This was an enjoyable read that was, despite the flaws, quite easy to get lost in.
    • 5/5
      I adored this book. It was rich with history from across the globe and it reminded me of why I love being American. I love the fact that even today you can walk down a city street and still get a feel of so many cultures mixed in one spot. No place else in the world can celebrate that difference. And yet, so many people forget to do just that, celebrate. It shows the great strength a woman has in such trying times. I have already passed the word on about this book and I have already passed on my copy. This is going to make a great gift and a great book for all those reading groups.
    • 4/5
      Loved it! Historical fiction story of one young Italian immigrants experience. A brave young woman who found her way, by herself, from the small Italian mountain village of Opi to America.
    • 4/5
      This book took some time to get going for be but once it did, i thoroughly enjoyed it.

      I found myself conflicted from time to time with it though. It seemed there were times reading it when I couldn't help but just want something GOOD to happen to her. Then again, being an immigrant in a new country can't ever be easy. It certainly wasn't for single women in the 1880s in America so I had to tell myself that it was probably more realistic than anything. People took advantage of immigrants. Sisters came over here looking for siblings, sometimes not finding them.

      I couldn't help but think of my own family's experience as I was reading this book. My grandmother's mother came to the US either in the late 1800s or very early 1900s from Slovakia to Ellis Island. Couldn't help but think of their own struggles as I read of Irma's.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this novel of a nice, innocent Italian girl who immigrates to the United States. Terrible and wonderful things happen to her and you see how a foreigner could find a home in this new country. I rooted for her, enjoyed her company.
    • 5/5
      When We Were Strangers blew me away.I mean, it's about time I read a b0ok in 2011 that gripped me as much as this book did and honestly, the binding I got for the Advanced Copy was rough to read, the words were half-faded and still, I didn't mind at all. Not a single bit. Because the story was that powerful.Irma is a woman with strength, character, and resolve, yet also I found in her innocence, fear, and a sense of loneliness. This character in a story exhibited every trait that I would strive to have when finding myself faced with the challenges she faced. This is an immigration story that, though told on a nearly day-by-day, common occurrences basis, was filled with adventure, longing, hope and more.Pamela Schoenewaldt writes so beautifully about Italy, about the culture, the food, the scenery. She describes with a brush of truth what life would have been like for a plain girl such as Irma. Without emotion to cloud the story (other than Irma's own emotion), I followed the ups and downs of every event with my heart in my throat. Honestly, this would make for a fantastic book club discussion book and I intend to write it down on my list.Fantastic, powerful novel and I'm so thankful to TLC Tours for providing me with the opportunity to read it.
    • 4/5
      Excellent hsitorical ficition about a young woman's immigration journey from a small village in Italy to Chicago in the late 1800s. Vivid sense of time and place, memorable charcaters, and compelling story.
    • 5/5
      When Irma Vitale's mother dies and her father remarries, she realizes she has no future in her small mountain village. Too plain and poor to marry (not that there are many options in the town) she sets out on an odyssey that takes her across the sea to America--Cleveland, Chicago and more. Skilled in needlework, she finds a job in a dressmaker's shop. But this proves not to be the end of her journey.
      This is a beautifully written story, and I would recommend it highly.
      Note: I received this book as a gift from Reading Group Choices.
    • 5/5
      I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to review this book.I read this weeks ago and it is one of my favorite non-Maisie Dobbs books I’ve read this year. And that’s saying something because I’ve really been on a streak this year.I fell in love with Irma right from the start. Not rich enough and too plain to hope to marry, even if there were enough men to marry in the small village of Opi, Irma just hopes to find a way to support herself and her Aunt Zia. After her hot head brother Carlo flees town to find his fortune in America and the prospect of her father marrying the towns widowed baker Irma feels her only chance is to head to America herself. What follows is an immigrant anyone can relate to.Irma’s journey in steerage is described in such realistic detail you can feel the claustrophobic conditions and anxiety that comes with be confined for far too long. Irma makes the best of her circumstances even eking out a bit of romance. But we learn early nothing is going to be easy for Irma. When defending two women from the bigoted attacks of other passengers Irma’s face is horribly scarred. Yet, Irma perseveres. I found myself loving Irma as she braves each new hardship with grace.We follow Irma from Cleveland to Chicago to San Francisco making her way as a seamstress and trying to find a place for herself in a strange new country. Amazing hardships befall Irma and I will admit there were two incidents that occur where I actually had to put down the book because I was so upset by what was happening to Irma. I just couldn’t take what was about to happen to her. I’m glad I went back of course, but if that isn’t the sign of a good book I don’ t know what is.I think there’s something we can all relate to in the story of an immigrant in their new home. I think at one time or another we all feel like an outsider, like we don’t belong, we don’t know how things work. So, when we see Irma adapt and succeed in the face of overwhelming obstacles is a triumph for us.I was very impressed by the amount of research that must have gone into this story. I really did feel I was right there with Irma as navigated her way through late 1800s America. I was fascinated by the connections Irma made, with the Alsatian seamstress-who gave Irma a chance to better her life, with Molly-the Irish maid with dreams of financial independence,with Jacob-the rag mad who saves Irma in her darkest hour, and with Sophia-the lay doctor how teaches Irma there is more possible than she ever imagined.This book is really something special. I’m so happy I was sent a copy by Book Club Girl to participate in her Blog Talk Radio Show. Click on the highlighted show title to head over and listen to the discussion and go get the book. I’m sure you’ll be happy you did.
    • 4/5
      I gravitate toward books that are written about Italy, Italian-Americans, or the immigrant experience so I was very pleased when I received the Advance Reader Copy of “When We Were Strangers’ by Pamela Schoenewaldi.It was an easy read about a young, poor girl from a small mountain village in the Abruzzo who finds herself facing a dreary future. She is alone with her father and an elderly aunt, her father has made inappropriate advances toward her and since she is not attractive and there are no eligible bachelors in her village, sees no hope for future. Her aunt gives her money that the women in the family have horded over the years and she sets off on her own for America in hopes of finding her brother who has gone ahead, supposedly bound for Cleveland on a freighter.The bulk of the story is about her journey and her life once she reaches America and takes her to Cleveland, Chicago and eventually to San Francisco.I did enjoy reading it because I was reminded of the courage it took for my ancestors to leave Italy to come and establish a life in a strange country where they were not embraced with open arms, where they could not speak the language and where they had to draw on their ingenuity and skills to merely survive. I especially enjoyed reading of the sea passage she experienced in steerage. Along her journey she encounters many individuals who represented various aspects of society in the late 1800’s in the United States. I admired her ability to continue to reinvent herself in order to survive. However, I also did not find some of the situations ringing true. Some events felt contrived and did not ring with authenticity to me. As the book approached the end, the events happened rapidly and felt a bit forced. From what I know of real life of the immigrant I found it hard to believe that she became as Americanized as she did in such a short time. I do recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the immigrant experience. If nothing else it leaves you with a great admiration of the courage and ingenuity it took for those cast upon our shores!
    • 4/5
      Don't you hate it when you have written half a review and the computer has a glitch and you cannot recover it? That is what happened to me with this one!I won this book in a contest years ago, I am finally picking it to read. The author, Pamela Schoenewaldt wrote a note in the front of her book for me.Irma Vitale lived in a small mountian village of Opi in the early 1860s, she is a fictional character but inspired by the history of Opi and the heavy amount of research that the author invested to create the story.Her mother had cautioned her to not leave Opi becaue if she did,she would die among strangers instead of family. But after her mother died, her father began dementia and mistook her for her mother. He tried to have sex with her a couple of times. Frightened, Irma went to the village priest for advice. He told her to go to America, gave her a little money and wrote a letter of recommendation for her to get a job in America. Irma left at night and walked down the mountain,meeting a kind and honest peddler. He took her to his sister's house for a rest. The whole town got together to make her journey better. More money, some food and a letter written for her by a scholar helped her on her journey which turned out to be a saga.Rough passage in the bottom of the ship under terrible unhealthy conditions but she survived to go to Cincinnati and live meagerly on menial labor. Later to Chicago, where she hoped for better employment but had to deal with being raped and impregnated. With the help of friends and her defeated will, she had a wonderful turnaround to her story. The author makes it real for the readers about the struggle to survive in deepest poverty but also the determination for a better life and a way to help others, a great resolution to the story.
    • 2/5
      The first part of this novel was enjoyable -- the author has clearly spent a great deal of time in Italy, and is able to give the reader a good sense of a place without being wordy. Unfortunately, the bulk of the story relies too heavily on a string of "oh, isn't that convenient" events and characters with overly-modern speech and philosophies, which snowball until the story becomes nearly unreadable. The need for "suspension of disbelief" is great here, but the story is not fantastic enough to create such a suspension. Despite the weighty topics including immigration, rape, abortion, and 19th century medical practices, the book ends up feeling very light and more like a short story (which is what the author wrote originally for the main character).

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I received this book as an LibraryThing Early Review copy from the publisher Thank you.I was immediately drawn into this story of Irma Vitale, an eighteen year old Italian peasant who must make hard choices in her life. She lives in Abruzzo in the tiny village of Opi where her family have been shepherds for generations. When her mother dies, Irma realizes that her own future is bleak. There are no men in her village to marry and little chance of getting a husband from the nearest town where Opi women are considered mountain whores. If she does not marry, she always will be dependent on the charity of others just as her beloved aunt Zia Carmela is dependent on Irma's father for a roof over her head. Carlo, her elder brother, has already left home and gone to sea to work a passage to America. When things at home take a turn for the worse, Irma decides to follow her brother to Cleveland. She leaves everyone she cares for and her beloved home to find her way alone to America.Irma's journey is beautifully told. Strangers who become friends, if only for a very short time, help her so many times. A peddler gives her a ride in his wagon to Naples and, on the way, they stop at his sister's village where the local priest writes her a letter of intent. The peddler finds her a ship for the Atlantic crossing, a ship whose captain and crew will not cheat her. On the voyage she meets other families with whom she forms temporary bonds, immigrants who also are trying to find a better life. When she reaches New York and then Cleveland (for that is the place Carlo wanted to live and she hopes to find him), more people have helped her than have taken advantage of her. The description of Irma's journey from Opi to the coast is fascinating and the Atlantic crossing in steerage is harrowing. Schoenewaldt draws a realistic picture of the hardships these people face. Mostly illiterate, they move from their isolated worlds into the unknown, afraid but so brave. Even though Irma and her fellow passengers dream of returning and helping their families they really know that they will never see their relatives and home again. Where the novel falters, I believe, is in the last chapters. Schoenewaldt makes her brave and believable heroine into a sort of superwoman. Irma leaves Cleveland when she realizes that Carlo may never show up and that she must form her own future. A talented seamstress and embroiderer, she goes to Chicago, finds work with a French dresssmaker and is soon a valued staff member copying designs from Godey's Lady's Book for Chicago high society. At one point, she needs medical care and she is helped by a pharmicist and a woman who runs a clinic for the poor. Within weeks Irma is assisting at the clinic and even stitching up the stumps on amputees. After only two years in America, the illiterate Irma learns to read and write, speaks English well enough to teach classes at night, transcribes medical records, treats patients on weekends,all the while creating dresses worthy of Paris fashion houses during the day. And she sets in motion her goal of becoming a doctor!The final sections in Chicago and then San Francisco seem forced. Chicago doesn't feel real; it could be any generic big city with a few place names and society names added for authenticity. Her friends, although appealing, are almost stereotyped: the kindly Jewish peddler; the saintly woman who runs the street clinic and is apparently the only person in the city to adopt Dr Lister's sanitation methods; the hearty Irish cleaning woman who has plans to become rich. But the latter part of the book is still very enjoyable. I recommend this book because it gives such a good explanation of why immigrants give up everything to brave a dangerous sea voyage to America where they often find that their hopes are only dreams. It is a pleasure to travel with Irma and the strangers who become her friends.