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The Bride
What really happened that long night Liza hid in a neighbor's haystack?"What had she done, what was her crime?Was this a hiding place for a human being who, whatever the incomprehensible reason, was no longer a human being in the world?"
In a small Slovak town, it was no laughing matter to be an old maid. There was no denying that tongues wagged behind Liza's back. She was getting on in years. Then one day in 1942 everything changed.Liza would never be the same again. The Nazis announced a "registration" of all unmarried Jewish girls. A shy boy willing to play groom and a make-believe wedding ceremony planned to save her from the Nazis add up to an ironic fulfillment of Liza's long-frustrated dreams.
In a small Slovak town, it was no laughing matter to be an old maid. There was no denying that tongues wagged behind Liza's back. She was getting on in years. Then one day in 1942 everything changed.Liza would never be the same again. The Nazis announced a "registration" of all unmarried Jewish girls. A shy boy willing to play groom and a make-believe wedding ceremony planned to save her from the Nazis add up to an ironic fulfillment of Liza's long-frustrated dreams.
113 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1970
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 18, 2019
I read this book after seeing the film version (The 17th Bride). I felt the film had more drama and I liked the end better. I’m very interested in turning this into an opera. As a piece of literature, its average at best, but there are great possibilities in the bare bones that are here.
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August 23, 2015While I enjoyed reading about the traditions and rituals of the Jewish community of this book. I didn't build any empathy for the characters. Though many were richly described at least regarding their physical appearance, the motivations, the longings, and hopes of most are not revealed. The lead character, Liza, has behaviors that are cryptic and left for the reader to discern. Many are inscrutable.
Of course, The authorities' plan to register Jewish women is sinister, and there is empathy toward the community faced with that plan. I found the most interesting thing about this, though, was the portrayal of the townspeople's dismissal of doomsaying and their undying hope that the "registration" was a mere formality and not, as history has told us, to our perpetual grief and rumination, yet another step toward their extermination.
Hope seems to be an eternal human trait, even when to have it and express it, appears folly, irrational, tragic.
Of course, The authorities' plan to register Jewish women is sinister, and there is empathy toward the community faced with that plan. I found the most interesting thing about this, though, was the portrayal of the townspeople's dismissal of doomsaying and their undying hope that the "registration" was a mere formality and not, as history has told us, to our perpetual grief and rumination, yet another step toward their extermination.
Hope seems to be an eternal human trait, even when to have it and express it, appears folly, irrational, tragic.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews