"Foreign Brides"
(Reviewed by Judi Clark OCT 05, 1999)
This collection of twelve humorous short stories is mostly about women coping in foreign countries with foreign husbands. The book begins with the story of Noa who marries Noah after meeting him at a Tel Aviv disco. The mysteries of this man that so attracted her to him, disappear as she learns his language. Her impulsive action to start serving him non-kosher meat brings about a startling result.
Some of the other stories include one in which a Russian family who migrates to Canada assumed to be out of the mother's embarrassment (Black Train), an intelligent Russian mail-order bride who finds herself married to a less than ambitious butler in London (Peacocks), an unmarried American woman giving birth at Catholic hospital (Michael Farmer's Baby) and a woman who uses a technique learned from her grandmother to entice a man to meet her (Inhaling New York). The book ends with another story about Noa, this time on holiday in Israel.
These stories cross the borders of England, Israel, Germany, Russia, Canada and America. They are unforgettably original, smart and each has a surprising punchline like ending. One can't help but notice that it is not only the country which is foreign to many of these woman but the notion of being married as well. For me, the biggest surprise is the wholesome resolutions that the majority of these women (and men) come up with.
I enjoyed these stories because they are foreign, clever and well written. Although I admit that I felt the stories ended a little too suddenly, leaving me wanting to know more about these people and what happens after the story ends. Maybe her first full length novel will satisfy this need.
- Amazon readers' rating:
from 8 reviews
Read an excerpt from Foreign Brides at MostlyFiction.com
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Bibliography: (with links to Amazon.com)
- Foreign Brides (1999)
- The Nose (2001)
Edited by Elena Lappin:
- Jewish Voices, German Words: Growing Up Jewish in Postwar Germany and Austria (1994)
- Daylight in Nightclub Inferno: Czech Fiction from the Post-Hundera Generation (1997)
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Book Marks:
- Metroactive review of Foreign Brides
- Sidewalk New York on Foreign Brides
- The New York Times® review of Foreign Brides
- Another New York Times® review of Foreign Bride
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About the Author:
Elena Lappin was born in Moscow and grew up in Prague and Hamburg. She has lived in Israel, Canada, and the United States, and now lives in London. From 1994 to 1997 she was editor of The Jewish Quarterly. She is working on her first novel, The Nose. 
