Customer Reviews

Foreign Brides

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The common denominator for all the short stories in the book is that the main character is always a foreign bride.
To me there was something dull and unappealing in the stories. Perhaps because the first story set the tone: the bride is too young to know what she is doing, and marries the groom in a whim and then regrets is dearly. I must admit that the story was well written, because it transmitted the sense of defeat and despair that a young woman in a foreign country and a loveless marriage must feel.
One of the stories, Black Train, has an interesting passage: "All émigrés have the same basic story to tell: there is that small death when they leave their home country, there is that short-lived euphoria when it looks like they've been blessed with a chance to rewrite their scripts in a free society, and then comes the life-long sadness once they realize that they have made an irreversible choice to cut themselves off from their roots. They can appear successful and lead exciting lives - but they will always feel like second-class citizens, wherever they are. And that huge void inside will never, ever be filled."
This got me thinking, because i am an émigré, yet i don't subscribe to those thoughts. Maybe if i had left my country for political reasons, and could never go back, but in this day and age, where you can be on the opposite corner of the world in a matter of hours, where's the trouble? As time goes by, boundaries blur and distances shorten. This reminds me of a long-forgotten song, titled "My Country, my shoes".

Good, but not especially memorable stories of women who made foreign marriages: either Americans who married non-Americans, or non-Americans who married into American families. I read the book several months ago, and none of the stories remains clear in my mind. Worth a trip to the library, but don't bother to buy it.

I have a foreign bride, Jewish Ukrainian and I'm Jewish American, so I was drawn to the title. I found the writing quite good and stories sometimes hilarious. But any of the stories could be more developed into something a bit meatier. The first and last story are connected and cleverly done. I like her general attitude about marriage: it might be a bit haphazard, but it can be an anchor for our lives and fulfilling despite the apparent randomness of mate selection. I liked it.

This book is one of my favourites, it is gripping and immensely enjoyable

I was really looking forward to this book and was not "satisfied". The short stories were actually so short they didn't "pull" me in. I am not really sure what all the hype is about. Skip it.

I found the book to be quite beautiful. I couldn't put it down! It is so rare to get an international perspective on any topic these days. I appreciate a book that represents a variety of cultures and that is placed in foreign places...

I thought this book was absolutely wonderful. It is clever, beautiful, touching, and very well written. A fabulous read!!

this is an interesting fiction debut, but ultimately the author fails to deliver what she attempts to achieve. the characterisation is somewhat cliched in some of these short stories. although the first tale is clever in construction, the artifice becomes wearing as the book progresses.