La Marche nuptiale

by Elena Lappin

There are some short-story writers who seem too knowing, too eager to nudge the reader in the ribs with an authorial elbow. Others seem not knowing enough, as if they'd never quite gotten a purchase on their material. But in her first collection, Foreign Brides, Elena Lappin has already discovered the golden mean. Her tales of emigrant life--and more specifically, intermarriage among the tribes of Israel, Russia, England, and the United States--are unfailingly witty. Yet the author never keeps herself too far above the fictional fray, which ensures that the pain in these stories is no mere postmodernist construct but, well, painful.

In "Noa and Noah," for example, an Israeli bride finds herself hard-pressed to adjust to British life, even if her new husband does sport an Old Testament moniker and a kippa. In fact, Noah's charms have almost entirely evaporated after a year of marriage, and what once appeared to be endearments turn out to be a form of erotic cheerleading:

She had also by now finally deciphered and demystified her husband's sexy mumblings which invariably accompanied their lovemaking: the words Arsenal and Tottenham came up a lot, with very unsexy adjectives describing various players and plaintive remarks about their technique. When she had first grasped this remarkable fact, Noa simply asked Noah why he had to think and talk about football during sex. He had answered, without the slightest hint of embarrassment, that he thought about football all the time, and saying his thoughts out loud during sex helped him slow down.

It would be unfair to disclose Noa's response to her increasing disillusionment. Suffice it to say that it involves a neighborhood butcher and some very nonkosher behavior in the boudoir. Not all of Lappin's characters hit upon such delectable (and surprisingly low-fat!) solutions. In "Peacocks," a similarly distraught émigrée falls back on cab driving and a spot of extortion to maintain her mental health. "Bad Writing" features a German transplant, also a woman, who neutralizes the nastiness of her marriage by turning it into prose. Not every story in Foreign Brides quite clicks. But Lappin is a funny and formidable talent, and her next project--a novel with the intriguing, Gogolian title of The Nose--should be worth sniffing out as soon as it hits the shelves. --Anita Urquhart

Genres: Fiction

252 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actually hilarious stories, especially after heaving read Elena's auto biography "What language do I dream in".

[Petra X · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories in this book had about as much impact on me as being wacked over the head with a very large feather: a) absolutely none, and b) what was that for? With the exception of Noa and Noah, and The Gladstone Brothers, I just didn't get them. Nothing in the plot or characters got me emotionally-involved so I didn't even care that the meaning passed me by.

One star for the entire book except for the two stories mentioned. Three stars each for them.

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this on my quest to finish by too long physical TBR. I'm pretty sure my sister or mother bought this over 20 years ago, based on the store it was purchased at. i actually found the writing pretty decent and the book kept me engaged. That being said, I felt like every story kind of repeated itself and all the characters were basically the same. It was interesting at the start and then became predictable.

[Daisy (Natasha) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beevs and I read this together. Some were bloody hilarious, some so thought provoking and heart breaking. Great insights into being foreign and really helped us with all the decisions we're making now.

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ideal per a viatges en tren si no et fa vergonya posar-te a riure tot d'una! Relats curts i divertits molt entretinguts.

[Judi · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Margherita Dolcevita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mi aspettavo molto più.
E' un libro leggero, troppo, che oltre a non approfondire il tema del multiculturalismo non disegna nemmeno dei ritratti femminili meritevoli di essere ricordati. Alcuni pezzi sono anche piacevoli, ma niente di più.

[Jaim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of stories centering one women who are either foreigners or are marrying foreigners. It describes the isolation one often feels when they are pushed into an entirely different culture, especially without a support system. Really great stories and nice writing. Highly recommend.

[Tamara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this book for an education class, I wasn't really looking forward to it, but this book was really good.

[Tara Bianca · Rating 5 out of 5]

smart writing, funny plot twists, great beach book and especially poignant for me...a foreign bride...

[Kristel]

Des nouvelles comme ça, je les dévore. D'autres références du même genre à me conseiller?

[Jean-Xavier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Parfaitement anecdotique.