Oasis

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, to others a refuge, and to still others a home worth fighting for. Lili stumbles into the centre 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 literary fiction at its finest - part love story, part mystery, but entirely a rapturous read. Laureen Vonnegut's debut is a timeless tale of one woman's struggle to overcome her life of captivity and call the world her own.

Genres africafiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1,2006

This edition

Format: 208 pages, Hardcover
Published: September 12, 2006 by Counterpoint
ISBN: 9781582433608
ASIN: 1582433607
Language: English

About the author

laureen vonnegut

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.