Customer Reviews

The Mourning of Angels

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I read Patricia Edmisten's dramatic and sensous debut novel in the aftermath of the September 11 terroist attacks. Her marvelous evocation of the first days of the Peace Corps provided me with an escape from the sadness of New York City, where I live, as well as a much needed prespective on the savagery of that act...In straightforward, beautifully descriptive prose, subtly impregnated with the political and cultural history of Peru, Edmisten also shows the wonderful gutsiness and tenacity of those early Peace Corps volunteers who plunged gamely into uncharted waters. Some swam, some sank, but all learned of other worlds and experienced hardships they never would have had a glimmer of if they'd not served...Edmisten has written an admirable book and one that superbly fulfills the third goal of the Peace Corps, 'to bring the world home.'" Marnie Mueller, Peace Corps Volunteer, Ecuador 1963-1965, author of Green Fires and the forthcoming, My Mother's Island.

Because of its touching love story, this is a fast and easy read. But don't be misled, because there is a lot more to it. The book is packed with history, politics, and culture. The reader is introduced to the diversity of Latin America, where the Indians, the Mestizos, and those of Spanish descent have plaited themselves into a rich and colorful braid. The result is entertaining and informative. I'd like a sequel about Lydia after she's returned to the States.

"I've just finished reading it, and I loved it. It is a very interesting and inspiring story. I followed it very carefully.Es un libro muy informativo, muy entretenido, lleno de vida y esperanza."

I loved the first person approach. It helped draw me into the story while making all of the characters around Lydia real. But what I loved the most was how well the author captured the duality of Peru, and, indeed, Latin America. It seems that in my beloved America Latina tragedy always tempers joy. Gracias por tus palabras sabias.

Having served with Patricia S. Taylor Edmisten as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Arequipa,Peru, I was very impressed with deep insight into the culture and way of life of the Peruvian people. At the same time, her character Lydia, expounded a great deal of soul searching for a person raised in a culture that is very different from the one she chose to live in for two years. In short, Ms Edmisten put a tremendous amount of her own sensitivity into writing this book.

Lydia Schaefer leaves her comfortable, middle-class home in Wisconsin an innocent yearning for adventure in an exotic Latin American milieu. The Peace Corps provides her that opportunity and much more. She learns to survive not only the hostile forces of Peru's physical environment, but also the heartbreak of an ill-fated first romance. More importantly, Lydia learns to question her own complacency about received notions of love, faith, patriotism, and feminism. Lydia encounters,--and is transformed by--customs and practices that throw her psychic world into disarray. "The Mourning of Angels" inspires and informs. It will appeal to the reader interested in international politics, feminism, social activism, or the powers of love.

"The Mourning of Angels" gives us a dramatic, personally-voiced reconstruction of the events surrounding the historically important pioneering efforts of the Peace Corps. Seen through Lydia Schaefer's eyes, the female journey from protected innocence to worldliness in the Peace Corps takes on a modestly mythic tone. Here, Patricia Taylor Edmisten has given us the boon of needed insight into the female passage from known to unknown during our country's own passage along this trail in foreign policy.

Patricia Edminsen captures the essence of the 1960s in her book "The Mourning of Angels."
Her real-life adventures in Peru as a Peace Corps volunteer lets the reader see the poverty and devastation that existed in the backroads of that poor nation at the time.
Lydia, the protagonist of the book, brings to life the adventures shared by the volunteers during John F. Kennedy's administration and the contributions made by these selfless people.
Not only is the book factual, but it stirs the soul with the realism of sexual encounters in the life of an innocent Catholic girl, away from home for the first time.
This is one great novel.