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emilywv's review against another edition
70 pages in: A Jewish immigrant flees Ukraine, circa 1924, after her family and friends are brutally killed in a Russian pogrom. In New York's Lower East Side, she works in the garment industry and finds security, if not love, in the arms and apartments of a Yiddish Theatre star who prefers men, and, later, in the arms of his father.
Not a terrible read; just not enough going on, plot- or style-wise, to earn any more of my precious pleasure-reading time. Plus, I just finished Everything is Illuminated, and I've had about as much heartbreaking-acts-of-Jewish-genocide literature as I can stomach just now.
Not a terrible read; just not enough going on, plot- or style-wise, to earn any more of my precious pleasure-reading time. Plus, I just finished Everything is Illuminated, and I've had about as much heartbreaking-acts-of-Jewish-genocide literature as I can stomach just now.
smudpu's review against another edition
5.0
A lovely epic tale that is under 300 pages. I loved the way she wove the story.
lizaroo71's review against another edition
4.0
this is an interesting book.
the cover is quite deceptive in giving the impression that we will be dealing with some idyllic situation of a young immigrant girls transition in america circa 1925.
not so.
lillian leyb's family is murdered in a raid on jewish homes in her native turov. she saves her daughter from the slaughter, but is unable to find her once the savagery has ended. her aunt tells her to go to her cousin in new york to start life over. and so she does.
but lillian's life is anything but normal. she becomes a seamstress for a theater company, but she is not very good at her job. no matter, as the star actor, meyer burnstein, is quite taken with her. he puts her up in an apartment and she lives there to be his mistress. but meyer has some secrets of his own.
lillian begins a love affair with meyer's father. lillian leads this lifestyle and is quite comfortable with her surroundings until an opportunistic cousin visits from her hometown and informs her that her daughter, sophie, is still alive.
thus begins an unforgettable journey across america, into canada and to the bering strait.
the writing is clean and bloom is always sure to complete a thread she has started for all of the characters we meet.
the second half of this book has a very different tone from the first half, i felt, and i'm not so sure i like the difference. but i do like lillian's tenacity and her fight for love. she begins her journey on nothing but faith. and you root for her to be reunited with sophie.
the cover is quite deceptive in giving the impression that we will be dealing with some idyllic situation of a young immigrant girls transition in america circa 1925.
not so.
lillian leyb's family is murdered in a raid on jewish homes in her native turov. she saves her daughter from the slaughter, but is unable to find her once the savagery has ended. her aunt tells her to go to her cousin in new york to start life over. and so she does.
but lillian's life is anything but normal. she becomes a seamstress for a theater company, but she is not very good at her job. no matter, as the star actor, meyer burnstein, is quite taken with her. he puts her up in an apartment and she lives there to be his mistress. but meyer has some secrets of his own.
lillian begins a love affair with meyer's father. lillian leads this lifestyle and is quite comfortable with her surroundings until an opportunistic cousin visits from her hometown and informs her that her daughter, sophie, is still alive.
thus begins an unforgettable journey across america, into canada and to the bering strait.
the writing is clean and bloom is always sure to complete a thread she has started for all of the characters we meet.
the second half of this book has a very different tone from the first half, i felt, and i'm not so sure i like the difference. but i do like lillian's tenacity and her fight for love. she begins her journey on nothing but faith. and you root for her to be reunited with sophie.
missjenm's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the writing style and every so often would come across the most beautiful phrase in the perfect spot. These moments are what made the book for me- the so-so plot and characters were really elevated by Amy Bloom's style.
pattydsf's review against another edition
3.0
I feel like I missed something in this book. It has been very popular at our public library and we even have a talk tote for book groups. I knew when I started it that the main character, Lillian Leyb, had an incredible journey in front of her. I knew this was historical fiction which I usually like. And there were parts I liked - a lot. Some of the characters were well drawn; some of the action in New York was interesting.
I just kept expecting something more. If I have reason to read this again, I will listen to it. That may help. However, as much as I didn't dislike this, I hope I don't need to read it again. I won't recommend it to any of my book groups.
I just kept expecting something more. If I have reason to read this again, I will listen to it. That may help. However, as much as I didn't dislike this, I hope I don't need to read it again. I won't recommend it to any of my book groups.
caseykd's review against another edition
1.0
This book was incredibly difficult to read. She jumped around and it was very hard to follow the story.
dahlface's review against another edition
2.0
This book was a big disappointment. The first third was tedious. The second third was over the top and the end was the best part and left you wondering why the hell it took her so long to find her voice. Amy Bloom seems to lack a certain emotional connection with her characters that a good novel demands. I never felt a deep compassion or love for Lillian and when I spend three days of my life with a character, I want to either love them desperately or hate them fiercely. I just didn't care. This novel will make me leery of picking up another work by Amy Bloom.
stellaphent's review against another edition
3.0
Wow... this book surprised me. It was a very good story, I read it in five days, but I did not expect the amount of sex that there was in this book. I expected a heart-touching story about a mother's loves, which is there, but not as strongly as I expected it to be.
I was also a bit let down by the ending, wasn't the ending I wanted. But I am not at all saying it was a bad book. I am quite glad I read it and enjoyed the story.
I was also a bit let down by the ending, wasn't the ending I wanted. But I am not at all saying it was a bad book. I am quite glad I read it and enjoyed the story.