Customer Reviews

Souvenirs

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A spiritual journey of love and self discovery, Ruth and Kwassi's story is

moving and expansive. There's magic, mystery and tropical heat that burns

up the page. It's a poetic meditation on youth, idealism and the power to

heal. A lovely first novel that resonates long after the last page.

A touching, but doomed love story between a naive young American and an African man told against the backdrop of 1970s Ivory Coast. In every nuanced detail, this author illustrates her command of not only language but her understanding of the human heart.

An absorbing, heartfelt story of a young female Peace Corps volunteer who arrives in Africa fresh from college in the Midwest, unprepared for the emotional complexity and intensity that awaits her.

Souvenirs is that rarest of novels, powerfully exploring our shared humanity while at the same time acknowledging the deep rifts that divide us. In spare but sensual prose, the book examines a cross-cultural love affair and the experience of living in a foreign culture. Ruth and Kwassi are memorable characters, and you can't help but pull for them and want things to work out. What happens to them, and between them, is wonderfully rendered and will live on in your memory well after the final page. I highly recommend the book.

Julia Lauer-Cheene's Souvenirs is a wonderfully refreshing account of a young woman's experience serving in the Peace Corps in the 1960's. What is remarkable about Lauer-Cheene's writing is her ability to describe so vividly. One can literally feel the oppressive humidity and heat as she refers to and describes it. When Ruth, the main character, burns her leg on her motorbike, the reader feels the pain. Souvenirs is a book that one never wants to end. There is the feeling of having lost a fascinating friend when closing the final page.

Progress and tradition clash in Julia Lauer-Chéenne's debut novella. Set in the seventies during a controversial transformation of the Ivory Coast, Souvenirs follows the journey of a Peace Corps volunteer as she adjusts to the climate and culture of West Africa during her first teaching assignment.

The clash of cultures takes place predominately in the relationship that develops between the volunteer, Ruth, and a local teacher, Kwassi. Ruth falls in love with Kwassi holding traditional Western expectations, not realizing that Kwassi is still tethered to the traditions of his people, which include such rituals as taking multiple wives and surreal methods of healing. Ruth struggles against the need for companionship in light of Kwassi's tribal obligations.

At the same time, Ruth is teaching against a backdrop of uncertainty and turmoil. Africans are reeling against the increasing numbers of French and American tourists and volunteers taking over the countryside. While many natives welcome commercialism and modernization, many others distrust the forced changes. Then there are those in the midst of it all, who will take advantage of whoever presents themselves as most vulnerable. Ruth seems to fit that description well, as evidenced by her multiple encounters with local "law enforcement."

Julia Lauer-Chéenne presents the atmosphere and culture of the region well, providing a basic understanding of the dynamics of the society without bias. No party is unerringly noble; the faults of the American volunteers are represented just as clearly as those of the rebelling locals. Throughout the narrative, the reader remains an outsider, almost as if viewing someone else's dream, but this does not tarnish the vibrance of the story. It enables the reader to fully appreciate the complexity of the situation from many angles. Having the larger turmoil narrowed into the struggles of one couple helps to illustrate the concerns of entire nations. This is not an uplifting book, but one that brings harsh realities to the surface.