Reviews
Living at the peak of the women's movement in the Roaring Twenties, Barbara is torn between following her dreams to study and perform opera and her love for a man. Choosing her love leads her to the other side of the world to the jungles of Siam where her husband serves as a missionary doctor for the local people. While she is there, Barbara learns what is expected of her as a missionary wife and falls in love with the people and their culture. She struggles to find purpose in her own life and to satisfy the sadness in letting go of her desire. The Moon In The Mango Tree is based on a true story that chronicles a woman's journey through her life trying to make all of the pieces fit, and to satisfy everyone, including herself.
THE MOON IN THE MANGO TREE is a sweet love story that will stay with you long after you place the book down. Young Barbara struggles with her desire to pursue a career and the desires of the heart with her husband. When she chooses to follow love, and ends up in the wild jungles of Siam, the toll that daily life takes on her heart emulates through the pages. You feel the oppressive heat of the jungle, the furious love between a man and a woman, and the feelings of loneliness from living with a man who is bound by duty to give his all to his patients while having little left to give at home. Placed in a time of fun, loud parties, and impressive party guests, THE MOON IN THE MANGO TREE makes you feel like you have stepped back in time, and right into the action. This book will leave an impression on your mind and an imprint in your heart. Pamela Binnings Ewen did an amazing job. Her Grandmother would be proud!
(Kathy Fisher, The Romance Reader's Connection)
It’s 1919 and a young bride questions herself as to whether or not she has made a mistake to come to Siam with her doctor husband. The Author, Pamela Binnings Ewen, tells a beautiful story in The Moon In The Mango Tree, a fictionalized version of her grandmother’s life. Starting in Philadelphia it takes us to the Jungle City of Siam which is Nan, to the more sophisticated city of Bangkok, then to Paris and Rome.
This novel is filled with the mysterious beauty of Siam, the flamboyance of Paris, and the easy, rolling life of Rome before World War II. It’s a love story filled with adventure and sacrifice. Ewen tells an interesting, well-written, and totally captivating story here. You can’t help but enjoy it.
(Rita Quinton, The Compulsive Reader)
...read the full review at The Compulsive Reader :: A Haven for Book Lovers
"In her rich and heartfelt sophomore novel, Ewen (Walk Back the Cat) bases the story line on her grandmother's life as a missionary's wife in the 1920s in what is now Thailand. Barbara is a gifted opera protégé who gives up her dreams when she marries Harvey Perkins, a medical doctor bound for Siam. Feeling stifled and afraid, she loses her comfortable Christian faith amid the rigid fundamentalism of the poverty-stricken mission in rural Nan. The couple returns home after Barbara has a nervous breakdown, but Harvey's zeal for his work soon lands them in Siam again. The love between the two is endearing, and Ewen skillfully portrays Harvey's inability to understand his wife's deepest needs and her inability to understand what drives him. Ewen's prose is laudably rich in specific and colorful detail, which becomes a problem when it slows down the pacing. Judicious cutting would have improved this overlong narrative. Barbara's questions of faith constitute the core of the book, as she struggles to define what makes up a meaningful life. Some readers will be disappointed by her final choice, while others will cheer at the ending. Ewen is a talented writer, and this is a strong addition to Christian fiction."
(Publishers Weekly - Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
This book is riveting, and an interesting study of a woman finding herself. I thought she ignored many chances to find some fulfillment and be happier, tho. Yes she ran into obstacles in Nan because of the stern people she encountered but I think a stronger woman would have overcome that. And I think she could have done some singing in Bangkok. And why the uncertainty in Italy? Nevertheless, this is an interesting study of a woman who has been stifled and her struggle to find herself.
(Romance Reviews)