This is not a book for young teens, although it is about a young girl. It is a fasinating story right from page one. I found it very hard to put down. Even the size of the book is comfortable. The story of a young girl who is going to American as a mail order bride, going thru the "inspection" of becoming worthy of being ordered. She ends up with someone who is much older than herself and has two sons. She then becomes attracted to a stepson who is closer to her age. In the confinement of winter and with the heartache of disire for a step son and the gratitude owed to her husband whom she does not love, this story takes on a question of the heart verses what you "owe" another. Excellent read.
I can't remember the last time I read a book as beautifully written as The Little Bride. The writing is just exquisite!
The story, while fiction, is based upon real events I knew nothing about, the settlement of the west by pioneer Jews from Russia. I knew there were Jewish peddlers (that's how Goldwater's Department Store started) but I knew nothing about actual Jewish farming settlements. So that information was quite interesting. In fact, many small parts of the story were from the author's family history or historical records she had researched.
The plot is not the most important aspect of this book. The story itself isn't a large one, but if you let the writing envelop you, it is perfectly told. It is the story of Minna, the main character, that is being related, and how people handle difficult circumstances. The other major players are not as well developed, but that does not detract from anything. The weather is a major aspect of the story, and it is especially here that the author excels.
So for those of you who enjoy excellent writing, an interesting plot, and seeing how people work out their problems, I highly recommend this book.
The story, while fiction, is based upon real events I knew nothing about, the settlement of the west by pioneer Jews from Russia. I knew there were Jewish peddlers (that's how Goldwater's Department Store started) but I knew nothing about actual Jewish farming settlements. So that information was quite interesting. In fact, many small parts of the story were from the author's family history or historical records she had researched.
The plot is not the most important aspect of this book. The story itself isn't a large one, but if you let the writing envelop you, it is perfectly told. It is the story of Minna, the main character, that is being related, and how people handle difficult circumstances. The other major players are not as well developed, but that does not detract from anything. The weather is a major aspect of the story, and it is especially here that the author excels.
So for those of you who enjoy excellent writing, an interesting plot, and seeing how people work out their problems, I highly recommend this book.
A beautifully written love story, but I didn't
like the ending at all!
like the ending at all!
