Oasis

by Laureen Vonnegut

A Russian beauty, her dead Moroccan husband, and a tiny oasis of bizarre and untrustworthy characters conspire to make a fever dream of a novel in this rich debut The Western Sahara desert is to some a void, others a refuge, and still others a home worth fighting for. Lili stumbles into the center of this exotic world as she escapes a husband she never wanted, even as he lies gasping in the sand next to his expensive car, his gold chains ripped from his neck. But why have they come to this desolate place and why has she stood calmly by while he takes what must be his final breaths? Oasis is thrilling from page one, taking us from the cold of poverty-stricken Russia to the depths of the Bosphorus, the high-priced hotels of Morocco, and the sandy, sultry confines of a shimmering oasis, where Lili finally comes to rest long enough to unravel the lies that have driven her to this tiny outpost of humanity. Set against a political conflict that is tearing the Sahara apart under her feet, Oasis is women's lite

Genres: Africa, Fiction

210 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Laureen Vonnegut is an American writer living between Romania and Mexico. Prior residences include London, California, Holland, Bulgaria and Hungary. She enjoys travelling, skiing and a damn good adventure.

October 2006, her novel, OASIS, was launched in New York by literary press Counterpoint/ Perseus Books. Following the launch was a US book tour. June 2011, her novel, Twin Lies, was published by Skorpion Press and has been popular with book clubs from Alaska to Paris. She offers SKYPE author chats.

In the United States she has had over a dozen short stories published in five different states. In the UK, she has had a short story in the VIRAGO anthology: THE NERVE – BOOK OF WRITING WOMEN and two excerpts from her novel HANDS DO LIE. In addition to a short story in STAPLE magazine and a script, CROTCH PIT, published in EM3 magazine, she was shortlisted for the Ian St James Award.

She directed a series of video readings of OASIS which can be seen on YOUTUBE . She has also written and directed several short films: STUFF THAT BEAR!, CUCKOO AND ICE CREAM and DON’T SAY ‘I LOVE YOU’.
Her short film called STUFF THAT BEAR, was directed by Bruno Coppola. The film opened at the Cannes Film Festival 2003. The film showed in more than 70 festivals worldwide, winning 15 awards, in addition to accreditation for the Academy Awards.

Currently she is working on a series of short stories and her theater play, The Porcini Test.

Reviews

[Laureen Vonnegut · Rating 5 out of 5]

its my book...

[Rhonda Soukup · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting story of a young girl between a 10 year period during WW2.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fantastically interesting novel. Vivid to the point where you can feel the sand against your face in the desert wind. More than anything I found this book to be about diverse personalities. Personalities found only in an mediterranean setting. We learn alot about this unique cast of characters. Lili, The young protagonist who for some reason doesnt realize that she will only be used as a trophy by desert monarchs, unless she gets her russian tuchos into charm school and start getting date picky. The arab husband who doesnt seem to take a hint all the way down to the last minute seeming to believe women may just let the rape thing slide. The berber Midhat a more friendly yet protective and down to earth desert dweller type who seems to take a liking to Lili but doesnt seem to want to add her on to the roster along with his wives Fatima and Raja both with ostensibly colorful pasts. Gabriel the Spanish Indiana Jones looking for hidden silver treasure and a cast ripe with color and purpose. I found this book amusing yet captivating from beginning to end. A nice place to visit, It was a saharan adventure I highly recommend embarking upon.

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

My oh my, this novel is BIZARRE!!! The central character has a very interesting backstory - Russian girl sold into the sex-slave arena at an early age and sent to a Moroccan 'finishing school' for concubines before being sold to a local man. But this aside, the story is just plain weird!! I didn't get it at all. The characters are all pretty random, and the plot involves a murder, some Russians looking for land mines, and a lot of oddball characters who seem to trip over one another on every occasion. Also, not at all a good reflection of life (or people) in Morocco.

Not something I'd recommend, but interestingly I saw it through to the end. The bizarreness is compelling in it's own way, I suppose.

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

First, Laureen and I are friends, and I blurbed the book. I do think the book does a great job in putting the reader in the shoes of the protagonist, in this case a refugee from a high level European bordello. She is given/sold to an Arab who she dislikes immensely and escapes (in the desert) to another kind of imprisonment. A nice bit of cultural exchange and an interesting point of view.

[Ben · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book hasn't been as good as I had hoped. But I have to finish it considering I am halfway through it.

[Debs · Rating 2 out of 5]

Russian woman finds herself stranded in a desert oasis with a motley cast of characters. Didn’t like this one very much at all.

[Filip · Rating 4 out of 5]

really nice book with a good interesting story :) I really like it