The Little Bride
By Anna Solomon
The Little Bride, is about Minna Losk, 16 year old, living in Odessa, the old country. She wants to leave the old country for a better life in America, as a mail order bride.
When she is little her mother leaves the family, and her father works in the coal mines, where he eventually dies tragically. Minna is forced as a young child to work as a maid sevant.
She then decides to become a mail order bride. She dreams of a wealthy life, with a wealthy husband and a beautiful house.
But, when she arrives to America she is sadly mistaken. She arrives to be picked up by her to-be-husband teenage son, Jacob. When she meets Max, her to-be-husband, all her dreams are shattered. Max is a strict religious Jew, much older than her, penniless, and a shabby house.
She was hoping to be living in NYC, in a beautiful house, instead she is in a desolute plains of "Sodokata". Max, has signed a contract called the Am Olam. This is a movement of Jews go out of the crowded city of New York, and move west to become farmers.
When she arrives, she finds Max, has two strapping teen age sons, the same age as her. She is attracted to his son, Samuel.
After a few weeks she marries Max, and settles into the life, and accepts what happens to her.
But, when the winter arrives, she realizes the hardship, and difficulties she is against during the grueling winter.
My Thoughts: I wanted to like Little Bride, especially since I had communicated with her. I feel pretty bad, about this review, since I communicated with the author. I have heard from others, that they liked. But, everyone has different taste.
Unfortunately, I could not find anything I liked about it. I The novel felt like a romance novel I used to read years ago. The novel was predictable, I was hoping for a better story, with intrigue, and depth. Most books, I read I like to read something new. I hope to learn something.
When I was reading this, I was seeing the TV show, Little House on the Prarie. I wanted something original. I read a book, a few years ago called Away by Amy Bloom. In the beginning it reminded me of that same novel. The hardship the young girl goes through. But, that is where it ends. In Away, I cared about the characters, this story I did not like any of the characters, and I could not connect with the story or the characters. There was something missing.
There was one part of the book, some of the scenes were far fetched. One part of the story when Minna marries Max, she is hidden by a lace scarf through out the ceremony, and into the dinner. That is far fetched.
I recently went to my first Jewish orthodox wedding. It is true that the bride's face is covered. But, after the ceremony the lace covering is taken off.
In the book, it is covered the entire time, and she dribbled everything all over her. I think after that, I really lost it. Books, don't have to be entirely accurate for a historical novel, but it just lost it for me after.