wildwhuck's review against another edition
I am in no rush to finish this book. Which is highly unusual for me since usually finish within a day or two. I can't stand how mean Sima is to her husband and i don't find the girl working for her (the name escapes me) engaging.
mandyherbet's review against another edition
2.0
Sima owns a lingerie store in Boro Park, a religious Jewish area of New York. She and her husband have never had children and her store is her life. One day, Timna, an Israeli backpacker, comes into the store and ends up working there for 9 months as a seamstress.
The blurb claims this is a heart-warming tale of friendship and second chances, but I found it quite bizarre and a little creepy how Sima begins to obsess about Timna's life and relationships, when it's really none of her business. I didn't find their relationships to be realistic or heart-warming at all and I honestly wanted to tell Timna to RUN FAR AWAY.
An easy read with a good concept that needed a lot more development work. Quite obviously a debut that probably should have had a few more rounds of editorial work.
The blurb claims this is a heart-warming tale of friendship and second chances, but I found it quite bizarre and a little creepy how Sima begins to obsess about Timna's life and relationships, when it's really none of her business. I didn't find their relationships to be realistic or heart-warming at all and I honestly wanted to tell Timna to RUN FAR AWAY.
An easy read with a good concept that needed a lot more development work. Quite obviously a debut that probably should have had a few more rounds of editorial work.
halloweenrose's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Pretty good book except I feel personally victimized that it wasn’t gay. From the first pages, I read Sima as very clearly having repressed same sex desires, and I think that was written intentionally. For Sima to never acknowledge that to herself was incredibly frustrating. I found this book pretty unsatisfying for that reason.
auntblh's review against another edition
2.0
This book was okay. I didn't really get invested in the characters. There were several story lines that were jumped between. Sometimes I wasn't sure if I was reading about the present time of the story or a flashback. It just felt jumbled but I guess life can be that way sometimes.
kirstena's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. As a friend noted, I've been reading a lot more non-fiction lately, and it was nice to sink into some characters and really feel their emotions.
heatherinjapan's review against another edition
I 100% want to read more Jewish literature. I just don't think I could read more subtle hints of the support of Israel over Palestine in the book.
whywelikereading's review against another edition
4.0
"Suma's Undergarments for Women" was a book that I picked up in a bargain bin at my school's book store for $1. It is possibly one of the best deals I have ever made. This novel is a small gem that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. The setting is a basement in a small Jewish community in New York City. Sima, the owner, is a shrewd woman who is able to tell a woman's bra size with just a glance. Sima lives a functional, if not dysfunctional, life with her husband Lev. In her mid-sixties, married at a young age, with really nothing going for her but her shop, and most important of all, childless, Timna, a young beautiful Israeli starts working in Sima's shop.
Stanger-Ross approaches would could prove to be a very delicate subject with finesse. Sima is unable to have children, and Stanger-Ross examines this. In today's modern world, a woman is more than just her body; she is a powerful individual and her gender is, or at least should be, irrelevant. However, in most cases, this is not true. The main difference between a man and a woman, is, well, their gender, or more importantly what their gender allows. A woman reproduces; throughout history reproduction is paramount to being a woman, and this is still true today.
Sima feels a failure as a woman and becomes bitter towards the world and her husband because of it. Timna is the picture of a modern woman, and everything Sima wants. She wants Timna to be her daughter, she wants to be Timna, and even desires her sexually. Timna acts as a foil for acerbic Sima, and the novel shows the progression of their relationship over 9 months, and how each woman changes the other.
Stanger-Ross approaches would could prove to be a very delicate subject with finesse. Sima is unable to have children, and Stanger-Ross examines this. In today's modern world, a woman is more than just her body; she is a powerful individual and her gender is, or at least should be, irrelevant. However, in most cases, this is not true. The main difference between a man and a woman, is, well, their gender, or more importantly what their gender allows. A woman reproduces; throughout history reproduction is paramount to being a woman, and this is still true today.
Sima feels a failure as a woman and becomes bitter towards the world and her husband because of it. Timna is the picture of a modern woman, and everything Sima wants. She wants Timna to be her daughter, she wants to be Timna, and even desires her sexually. Timna acts as a foil for acerbic Sima, and the novel shows the progression of their relationship over 9 months, and how each woman changes the other.
aquaintgalaxy's review against another edition
5.0
This book... oh goodness.
It makes me smile. It was my steak and gravy when i was in med hold at air force boot camp. It made me sad to close it. I had a lot of books in my posession during my time there but I never enjoyed any of them. This was the one i read cover to cover. This will always hold a warm place in my heart.
It makes me smile. It was my steak and gravy when i was in med hold at air force boot camp. It made me sad to close it. I had a lot of books in my posession during my time there but I never enjoyed any of them. This was the one i read cover to cover. This will always hold a warm place in my heart.
happy_hiker's review
2.0
I picked this book because it was on the “Don’t Miss List” – new at the local library. Sima (pronounced Simma) runs a lingerie shop in her Orthodox Jewish Brooklyn neighborhood. She hires Timna, a beautiful young Israeli to help out in the store as a seamstress. Sima is obsessed with Timna – annoyingly so, stalker-like even – trying to treat her as the child she never had and the savior to her lonely life. The book goes back and forth between Sima trying to figure out what is going on with Timna, and Sima’s own infertility and her failed relationship with her long-suffering husband, Lev. Would I recommend this book? Probably not. There was really nothing wrong with it, but there was nothing stunning about it either. I also didn’t really care for the narration.
msannapotter's review against another edition
4.0
Great setting... an interesting disussion about empowered women within a Jewish neighborhood of Brooklyn, aging, and infertility.