Book Review: Moonlight in Odessa

I just finished reading Moonlight in Odessa, the first novel by American-born Paris expat Janet Skeslien Charles.

Most Anglophone writers in Paris know Janet from the famous Shakespeare & Company bookstore, where she has taught a writing workshop for several years. As one of her former students I was thrilled to hear about her published book. And like a new baby or Beaujolais Nouveau, everyone celebrates the arrival, and it isn't important whether it's any good.

But of course Moonlight in Odessa is not just good, it's hard to put down! Here is the back cover description:

"After months pf searching, twenty-three-year-old Daria, armed with perfect English and an engineering degree, finds a job at a big foreign company in Odessa. Unfortunately, her boss makes it clear that sleeping with him is the first item on her to-do list.

Daria evades his advances by setting him up with her neighbor, the slippery Olga. But soon Olga sets her sights on Daria's job, and Daria finds herself moonlighting as an interpreter at Soviet Unions, a matchmaking agency. As she bridges the language gaps between desperate Odessa women and lonely foreign men, Daria finds herself tempted by the American Dream, and faces the choice between her beloved city and the West, between a sexy, irresponsible mobster and a gentle teacher.

Exploring the booming business of email-order brides, an industry where love and marriage collise with sex and money, Moonlight in Odesssa is a darkly humorous debut about the choices and sacrifices we make in pursuit of love and stability, and the lengths we will go to for a happy ending."

Of course, there is a twist. More than one! But without giving too much of the story away I can say that what impressed me the most was how the characters acted illogically at towns. Some critics say that you can't create a smart, independent woman and then have her act in a silly, irresponsible way. Au contraire!

How many times have you, a savvy and intelligent adult, done something that is so completely idiotic that you can only sheepishly shrug your shoulders later when you've come back to your senses? And of course most of the things we do that we wish we didn't involve the opposite sex. The same is true for Daria, as well as her would-be suitors, who each in turn act in ways that are sometimes honorable but usually awful, simply because they want Daria to love them.

Of course the protagonist has to face the consequences of her bad choices, but she eventually figures out who she is and -- most important -- who she is not. It's always heartening to see someone, real or fictional, who learns something from their mistakes and makes the decision to move on with life. This is a great book for all women who need a bit of a kick in the derrière when it comes to their love life.

And kudos to an author who has enough sense to make the ending just a bit ambiguous. I chalk that up to her decade of living in France, a country that has mastered the art of subtlety. No one needs to be smacked over the head with the Hollywood ending.

Finally, the novel is a great introduction to the city of Odessa (Janet even has a guided photo tour of the city on her website so you can see the places that are mentioned in the book), and the way of life in post-communist Ukraine, including a look on the other side of the mail-order bride industry.

I highly recommend Moonlight in Odessa, which you can find in paperback in Europe (UK launch in February) and in hardback in the US/Canada.

If you're in Paris, Janet will be reading and signing books at two events: 

November 12 at the American Library (10, rue du Général Camou, 75007 Paris 01 53 59 12 60)
Talk: A discussion of how to take a subject that fascinates you as a writer and transform it into a subject that will interest your reader. We will also talk about the process of writing and research.

February 15 at 7 pm at Shakespeare & Co (37, rue de la Bûcherie, 75005 Paris 01 43 25 40 93).

Janet and me at the book launch party in October 2009.

Comments

[Lindsey]

Sounds like a great read, I'll definitely be picking it up!