by Pam Lewis
My family was not only supportive, but they were also able to fill in many of the gaps. As with many secrets, the things I didn’t know were widely known by others. My second cousin told me about the dirt floors in my grandmother’s house in Comodoro and the ever-present howling wind. She said Momée was so naive that once pregnant, she had no idea how the baby would come out.
Both Minke and Momée have a quiet strength and elegance, both are excellent seamstresses, and both are very wise. But I also gave Minke a hefty dose of my mother, who was a purposeful and ambitious woman. Momée used to exasperate my mother with her reticence. Even as a young girl, my mother would have to ask store clerks for things because Momée was too shy to ask.
In searching records at Ellis Island, I discovered that while Momée was quarantined in Holland with three little daughters during the war, her husband remained in New York and sailed first class to Cuba under the name Juan. He listed himself as Argentine and said his wife was my grandmother’s sister. He did such a disservice to his real wife and children that I had no qualms about creating a wretch of him, even though I must say here that he never manufactured morphine and he never engineered a kidnapping.
All three of your novels are about secrets and lies, to some degree. What do you think attracts you to this theme?
I’m attracted to secrets and lies because there were quite a few in my own family. From the reactions to my first books, I would say everyone has them. What fascinates me is the way children make up whole logical scenarios to fill in the gaps of information. As a child, I knew my grandfather was alive, although my mother would not even give me his name. I always pictured him out there somewhere. I imagined the reasons for his not being in our lives had to be monumental. Maybe he was too busy for us. Maybe he didn’t like us. I never for a moment considered that he might be a bad man.
What are some of your favorite works of historical fiction?
J. P. Donleavy’s Ragtime stands out. There were so many wonderful surprises in that book, my favorite of which was the appearance of the Little Rascals. I also liked Henry Roth’s Call It Sleep. I don’t read much historical fiction that predates the twentieth century, I realize now from considering this question.
What can your readers look forward to next? Will you return to historical fiction or suspense fiction, or try your hand at a new genre?
The next book will be about a group of sixty hikers encamped just outside Yellowstone who go in groups into the wilderness each day. There has been a mauling by a grizzly not far from the encampment. The story will revolve around three people—the director of the group, a young woman who has little experience with the out-of-doors, and the man whom she is stalking.
Pam Lewis lives in rural Connecticut with her husband, Rob Funk. She is the author of the novels Perfect Family and Speak Softly, She Can Hear, and her short fiction has appeared in The New Yorker and various literary magazines. Visit her website at www.pamlewisonline.com.
MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT
SimonandSchuster.com
THE SOURCE FOR READING GROUPS
COVER DESIGN BY LAURIE CARKEET • COVER PHOTOGRAPHS: BACKGROUND © AFTER THE RAIN, 1902 (PASTEL ON PAPER), MAX LIEBERMANN (1847–1935)/HAMBURGER KUNSTHALLE, HAMBURG, GERMANY/THE BRIDGEMAN ART LIBRARY; WOMAN © AYAL ARDON/TREVILLION IMAGES; SHIP © INTERFOTO/ALAMY • AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPH BY DOUG ANDERSON
Also by Pam Lewis
Perfect Family
Speak Softly, She Can Hear
We hope you enjoyed reading this Simon & Schuster eBook.
* * *
Join our mailing list and get updates on new releases, deals, bonus content and other great books from Simon & Schuster.
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP
or visit us online to sign up at
eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com
Simon & Schuster Paperbacks
A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com
Copyright © 2011 by Pamela Lewis
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information address Simon & Schuster Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.
First Simon & Schuster trade paperback edition June 2012
SIMON & SCHUSTER PAPERBACKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.
Designed by Davina Mock-Maniscalco
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Lewis, Pam, 1943–
A young wife : a novel / Pam Lewis.
p. cm.
1. Young women—Fiction. 2. Married people—Fiction. 3. Deception—Fiction. 4. Drug dealers—Fiction. 5. Kidnapping—Fiction. 6. Children—Crimes against—Fiction. 7. Netherlands—Fiction. 8. Argentina—Fiction. 9. New York (N.Y.)—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3612.E974Y68 2011
813′.6—dc22
2010053374
ISBN 978-1-4516-1272-1
ISBN 978-1-4516-1273-8 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4516-1274-5 (ebook)