Pelican Girls

French novelist Malye’s epic and nuanced U.S. debut portrays the travails of 90 women plucked from La Salpêtrière, a Parisian asylum, for an arduous voyage to Louisiana in 1720, where they will be matched with Frenchmen to help populate the colony. Among the passengers is Charlotte, an orphan whose only home has been the hospital; the savvy Geneviève, who was committed after she was caught providing abortions; and the largely silent Pétronille, whose wealthy family abandoned her for committing the indiscretion of carrying on an innocent friendship with the family gardener. In Louisiana, having survived scurvy and pirate attacks on the long voyage, Charlotte marries a boat guide, Geneviève a fur trapper, and Pétronille an exporter. The story stretches into the next decade as the women rely on their bonds with each other. After Charlotte is widowed, she moves into Geneviève’s house to work as a nanny for her children. Meanwhile, Pétronille again draws ire for an improper friendship, this time with a Natchez woman who tutors her in healing arts. Though Malye’s wide lens can sometimes make for an unfocused narrative, each of the three principal characters are richly drawn, and the author displays a formidable grasp on her historical setting. It adds up to a well-crafted story of women finding ways to survive against forbidding odds. (Mar.)