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Sima's Undergarments for Women: A Novel - Ilana Stanger-Ross



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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:06 pm
Anyone else read this?

Sima's Undergarments for Women: A Novel - Ilana Stanger-Ross

A heartwarming tale of an unlikely friendship amid love, loss, and lingerie

In the basement of her Brooklyn apartment, Sima Goldner welcomes women of all shapes and sizes with warmth, acceptance-and a bra that gives them the support and lift they need. But Sima, regretfully childless at sixty, and harboring a secret that has embittered her marriage, can't seem to do the same for herself. Then Timna, a young Israeli with enviable cleavage, arrives in search of a demi-cup and stays on to become the shop's seamstress. As they laugh, gossip, and sell lingerie, Sima finds herself awakening to hope and the possibility of happiness in this beguiling story of New York's underground sisterhood, and one woman's second chance.

Nestled in a tight-knit Brooklyn community, 65-year-old Sima Goldner’s discount lingerie shop is a prime business in her orthodox Jewish neighborhood, and, more importantly, it is also a haven for the many women who frequent her small basement store. Discontented with her marriage to a bumbling, retired schoolteacher named Lev, Sima pours herself into her business and her varied customers, many of whom use the privacy of her shop as a forum to ruminate about their relationships, families, and lives. Sima’s everyday routine is indelibly changed with the arrival of the young, vibrant Timna, an attractive Israeli expatriate who applies to work as a seamstress. As the relationship between Sima and Timna evolves, Sima finds herself confronting the realities of her infertility and the complexities of her past, long shrouded in shame and adolescent regret. Backdropped by the shop’s colorful patrons, Stanger-Ross’ engaging novel follows Sima as she struggles to find balance in navigating her newfound relationship with Timna while exploring the intense depths of personal reconciliation and redemption. --Leah Strauss -

This book is a rare little bird that should have a chance to spread its wings widely and at great distance. Sarah Weinman, Confessions of an Idiosyncratic Mind Blog

This is Ilana Stanger-Ross' first novel and she has certainly succeeded in writing a though-provoking and meaningful debut. I felt very invested in Sima and her feelings and hoped that she would overcome the hardships of her past and let Timna's influence prevail. I loved the sense of camaraderie that is almost tangible throughout the novel between all the women sharing the common bond and connection through Sima's shopÉThe book itself is incredibly charming and well-written. Bookopolis.blogspot.com

Sima's Undergarments for Women is a novel alive to the hidden stories all around us, from the bittersweet ambivalence of adulthood's first choices to the heartbreak and forgiveness that form the underwire of any long marriage. With grace, good humor, and a seamstress's eye for the way unconnected lives can become stitched together, Ilana Stanger-Ross pulls back the curtain on a world of intimacy many know well but no one has described so movingly.--Peter Manseau, author of Songs for the Butchers Daughter

You're in for a novel that's truly novel. Breaking new ground in graceful, unselfconscious, and very funny prose, Stanger-Ross explores the force of thwarted "mother-love" its power both to harm and to ultimately heal.--Ellis Avery, author of The Teahouse Fire

From Library Journal
Sima Goldberg, owner of a bra shop in Brooklyn, NY, is the kind of woman whom other women trust. Sima is privy to the thoughts and desires of her clientele as she custom-fits each one with undergarments that lift, correct, and enhance their female figures...all at discount prices, of course. But while her patrons bare their souls to Sima, she manages to keep the biggest secret to herself, one that has been a burden for over 46 years. It is only when Sima hires Timna, a young Israeli girl, to be her assistant that her secret is exposed. Timna is a free spirit who moves through Sima's life offering her the allure of love and adventure, yet when Timna flees, she leaves behind a wake of destruction. Debut novelist Stanger-Ross writes about the intimacy among women whose lives are defined by their Orthodox Jewish community. She deftly reveals just enough information about her characters to excite the reader's curiosity without making the story line predictable. In the end, this is a tale about appreciating one's life, and isn't that what life is about?
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studying_torah




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:37 pm
No , just read some reviews online. I am however wondering what on earth was the incident that happened when Sima was 16 that blocked her Fallopian tubes and left her infertile?
Did u read it, op?
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5mom




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:46 pm
Yes and I thought it was sweet.
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Amarante




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 1:47 pm
I don't remember as I read the book a few years ago. I am de cluttering this morning and ran across it.

I also found it touching and sweet as I felt for all the characters.
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Stars




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Jun 09 2015, 2:13 pm
I want to read this!
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