The Foreigners (2011)

In "The Foreigners," a young American woman travels to Argentina to live abroad in the glamorous, exotic city of Buenos Aires. Upon her arrival, she is introduced to an eclectic cast of characters, including a gay stripper / medical student, a lustrous and vibrant Argentinian woman, an Austrian high society girl, and a wealthy older man. The book wanders through various experiences that the main character has with both these people and with the city itself.

I chose to request this book solely based off of its setting. Buenos Aires is a city that I desperately want to travel to someday. Though I am unable to say exactly how accurate the author was, I certainly got a sense of her version of the city. I fell in love with the setting - or, the distinct flavor and atmosphere of the setting - more than any other aspect of the book.

My second reason for enjoying this book was that it was strange, atypical, and at times a bit dark, especially farther toward the end, as Daisy and her friend Leonora actively work to slowly bring about the psychological ruin of a normal older man - seemingly for no reason other than that of a coolly observed experiment.

As much as I enjoyed it, the story was not without its flaws. The book did not have much focus, and the writing was average. The characters were interesting and memorable, but not extraordinary. In the beginning, Swann sets up a storyline about the main character coming to Buenos Aires to investigate the failing of the water system, but this plot is later discarded and forgotten. One characters' happy ending was a bit too neat and unconvincing. And yet somehow, I absolutely loved this book. Somehow, with all its quirks and strangeness and periods of tedium (for example, lingering on the main character fixing a broken appliance), it added up to something beautifully lyrical and realistic.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. ( )

Having spent 4 months last year in Buenos Aires I was anxious to read this novel by someone who lived there. It was a major disappointment. There was no depth to any of the characters. Unless the 2 foreigners spoke perfect Spanish, I doubt that they would have moved so easily through Buenos Aires society. This story takes place after the Argentine debt default and the fall of the Peso, yet this reality does not find itself into the novel. She mentions You Tube which did not even exist when the novel took place. She actually spent 3 pages describing a flood in the apartment. No I did not see any major water theme being played out. 3 more pages about Isolde getting her hair colored or not. These added nothing to the story. It is okay for characters to not be likable but at least make them interesting. The ending with Isolde giving up her upscale ambitions for the simple life was a cliche. Cannot recommend this book. ( )

Essentially, this novel is narrated by an American woman, recently divorced, named Daisy. Her name isn't really that important, however, and is really only rarely mentioned, in passing - she is a nameless American, going through a hard time, who has escaped to Buenos Aires to hopefully regain a sense of self. She meets some interesting people, such as Gabriel, the gay prostitute who has dropped out of med school and tells her she should "try everything."

Two people, in particular, are focused on, however - the Argentine native Leonarda, and the Austrian immigrant Isolde.

Both Leonarda and Isolde help our heroine/protagonist/American character through providing glimpses into different lives, providing friendship, and expanding Daisy's horizons.

I really enjoyed this novel, despite its' rather aimless feel, and the fact that it doesn't really go anywhere. At the end of the novel, there is no grand epiphany, but the journey of the novel is an interesting, intelligent one.

One of the odd things about this novel is that the author Maxine Swann is from America, herself, yet the novel has the feeling of a novel that has been translated. There is a murkiness to the story. The words are all discernible, but the manner in which they are put together, while coherent, brings forth a slightly fuzzy picture in the readers' mind. I liked this quality, personally, but can see it proving irritating to some readers.

Another quality which did not particularly bother me, but that might bother the reader, is that, overall, I'm not entirely sure the characters are likeable.

Overall, I enjoyed reading this novel, a copy of which I was lucky enough to receive an uncorrected proof.

I had a hard time getting into this book because it seemed to read like a memoir. And I am not a big fan of memoirs. I mostly enjoyed the locale, I am always fascinated by countries in South America and Argentina sounded beautiful and amazing. I didn't connect as much with the characters as the history and culture. I wanted to love this book but it just didn't click with me. ( )

Buenos Aires is the real focus of this novel by Maxine Swann. Swann writes evocatively about this famous city’s contradictions--it’s glamor along with its seediness. Swann explores the city through the perspectives of two women: Daisy is an American looking to discovery a new adventurous spirit and Isolde is an Austrian looking for human connection. Both women undergo a journey of self-discovery. Although full of potential, Swann’s novel fails to deliver a compelling story. ( )