Review: Sima’s Undergarments for Women

Sima’s Undergarments for Women – Ilana Stanger-Ross

From the book jacket -

For years, Sima Goldner has watched women of all shapes and sizes come in to her Brooklyn shop in search of the most intimate garments. Sima has become an expert at finding the perfect fit for her customers just from a look, but it’s her knack for doling out a different kind of support to the lovelorn and unconfident that’s made her shop a Mecca for women from Brooklyn and beyond to gather and kibitz. When Timna, a young Israeli with enviable cleavage, becomes the shop’s seamstress, Sima finds herself drawn into the girl’s life of romance and adventure. Stuck in a bitter marriage of nearly fifty years and harboring a secret from her youth, Sima must try her own advice on for size to find out if it’s not too late to turn her life around. 

Sima’s Undergarments for Women is as much a love letter to the diverse characters found in New York’s most populous borough as it is a story of one woman’s journey to bring love back into her life. Stanger-Ross has an eye for the extraordinary stories to be discovered at the crossroads between traditional culture—in this case Brooklyn’s orthodox Jewish neighborhoods—and our rapidly changing modern world. This crossroads is located at Sima’s hidden shop, where word-of-mouth and local loyalty keep customers of all generations pouring in.

I really, really enjoyed reading this novel.  It is a book with a subtle plot but lots of character development and relationships.  I felt like I got to know Sima, and I really cared about her and felt for her… I truly wanted things to go her way, I wanted her to be happy and satisfied with her life.  I had so much empathy for Sima, especially once I got to understand her “secret” from her past and why she was keeping it for all those years, I wanted so badly for her to be able to tell her husband, Lev, and move on with her life.  Timna was another story… I felt she added a lot of depth to the story and I liked the way the relationship between Sima and Timna was written, but I felt that she was sort of one-dimensional.  I think the main reason that I felt that way was because the book was written from Sima’s perspective – the reader never gets a chance to understand Timna’s thoughts and feelings.  I wanted Timna to be more appreciative of Sima’s “mothering” her, but at the same time I had no idea what was going through Timna’s head, why she acted the way she did… and the reader never does figure out if Timna has any secrets of her own (the fact that she does is hinted at) or what those secrets might be.  I think the book would have been VERY interesting had it been written from both perspectives, like maybe alternating chapters or something.  Still, I liked the dynamic between the two women and I thought it was written very well.  I also enjoyed reading about the strained relationship between Sima and Lev… it was clear that Lev was in pain and was hurting just as Sima so obviously was, yet he never explained, never tried to reach out to her, which truly made me feel sympathy for him too.  Overall, the relationships were very well-written in the book, and I loved reading about them.

One thing that totally bugged me about this novel though – the ending was SO abrupt.  The last chapter was a page, and completely unnecessary, in my opinion.  I think she could have ended the book with the second to last chapter, instead, and it would have been much less sudden of an ending.  Anyone else that’s read this – thoughts on the ending?

Another thing that I didn’t like… I received this book from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewer’s program, and it was in PDF form.  Which meant I read the entire thing on the computer.  Although I loved the book, this is something I’ll never do again.  I literally had to force myself to sit at the computer to read it … after sitting in front of the computer all day at work, then coming home and blogging for a bit, checking email, etc… the last thing I want to do is read a book on the computer.  I want to curl up on the couch or in bed and read that way.  So, much as I liked the book, I will not be reading ebooks in the future.

But anyways.  I really enjoyed reading this book.  If you like books focusing on the characters and the relationships, especially about women, then Sima’s Undergarments for Women is definitely a book you’ll like.  I highly recommend it and I’m glad I got the opportunity to review it.

 

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