Vendre Dreaming of Oranges: An Unreliable Memoir by Thomson, Marcelline NEUF

Two young women, fresh out of an exclusive college in Westchester, thumb their noses at the conventions of marriage and middle class life to seek adventure. It is 1961. Inspired by Lawrence Durrells Alexandria Quartet, armed with charm, good looks and wit, they set off on a journey to the Middle East and find more than they bargained for.

They compete for the love of a handsome young Cypriot and become ensnared in a web of secrecy that will send them careening through the cloak and dagger world of the regions politics until forced to flee into the desert for safety. Their fraying friendship may not be enough to pull them through as they come to terms with loss of innocence, loss that characterized their country as America went from Camelot to the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Sirrine is a self-described Mediterranean type from the Midwest, Jean a blonde New York sophisticate--or so she seems on the surface. Their story is poignant, heartbreaking at times, but also told with comedy and flair. Reliable or not, this evocative "memoir" is totally engrossing.