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השושבין
מיכה, ישראלי לשעבר וכיום סופר צללים שחי בלוס אנג'לס, מקבל הזמנה מפתיעה להגיע לישראל. אדלה, שנישאה לפני שנים לדודו האהוב, שולחת לו כרטיס טיסה ומשריינת לו חדר במלון יקר, על חשבונה. מיכה היה בילדותו השושבין בחתונתם, וזוכר אותה רק כנערה ענייה ומרדנית שזכתה ליחס משפיל ממשפחתו הגדולה.
מיכה מגיע לישראל ונדהם למראה אדלה: בין היתומה הענייה ההיא לבין האישה שמחכה לו אין שום דבר משותף. היא מספרת לו את קורותיה, וזיכרונות עזים מעברו שבים אליו, אך דבר מכל אלו אינו מרמז על הגילוי המטלטל שצפוי לו בסוף הביקור.
בהשושבין יוצרת סביון ליברכט מפגש מהפנט בין דמויות כובשות, בין עבר נשכח להווה מפתיע, בין הספרות לבין החיים.
מיכה מגיע לישראל ונדהם למראה אדלה: בין היתומה הענייה ההיא לבין האישה שמחכה לו אין שום דבר משותף. היא מספרת לו את קורותיה, וזיכרונות עזים מעברו שבים אליו, אך דבר מכל אלו אינו מרמז על הגילוי המטלטל שצפוי לו בסוף הביקור.
בהשושבין יוצרת סביון ליברכט מפגש מהפנט בין דמויות כובשות, בין עבר נשכח להווה מפתיע, בין הספרות לבין החיים.
188 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2020
12 people are currently reading
257 people want to read
About the author
Savyon Liebrecht
25 books16 followersSavyon Liebrecht was born in Munich, Germany, in 1948, to Holocaust survivor parents. She studied philosophy and literature at Tel Aviv University and started publishing in 1986. She has received awards for two of her TV scripts, the Alterman Prize (1987), the Amelia Rosselli Prize for Mail Order Women (Italy, 2002) and the Maior-Amalfi Award for A Good Place for the Night (Italy, 2005); as well as Playwright of the Year for her successful plays, It's All Greek to Me (2005), and Apples in the Desert (2006). In 2009, she received the WIZO Prize (France).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
July 19, 2023
Encountering the right book at the right time requires a very subtle alchemy. When it occurs, the result is magic. That’s what happened with The Bridesman.
I hadn’t heard of Savyon Liebrecht before (more’s the pity) but we happened to be entertaining Israeli visitors. When they saw me pick up this book, they exclaimed with delight, “You’re going to love her work.” How right they were!
I was hooked by the very first page. A seasoned ghostwriter is invited to cross the ocean at the request of Adella, a young poor, and disfigured woman who married his beloved uncle years ago. In his profession, he has learned that the details of a tale are dependent upon what he is told. As a result, it is nearly impossible to distinguish between fact and fabrication. How will he straddle the gap between the facts as he remembered them as a young boy and the way these same facts were perceived by his close-knit, rigidly religious Persian family?
The facts he remembers is that an orphan from a boarding school, with coke-bottle classes and a noticeable limp, is identified as a potential wife for his kind uncle, who is victim to a disease with certain characteristics of Parkinson’s. She is much younger than her intended groom, and the family treats her with barely concealed disdain. All, that is, except for our narrator, Mischa. Adella chooses him to be the birdesman at the wedding.
Fast forward. Mischa is now in Los Angeles. Years have interceded. Adella is not at all the unpoised woman he met years ago. She seems to have a story she wants to share with him. But what is the import of the story? Why Mischa…and why now?
This slim novel is beautifully written and reveals a writer who is at the top of her craft. I was immersed in the sights, the sounds, the smells, the trajectory of this book. Thanks once again to Europa Editions for enabling me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review. I wholeheartedly recommend this riveting book, wonderfully translated from the Hebrew by Gilah Kahn-Hoffmann.
February 4, 2024
מיכה, סופר צללים, ישראלי לשעבר החי בלוס אנג'לס, מוזמן לביקור בארץ ע"י אדלה, אישתו של דודו משה, כדי לשמוע את סיפור חייה. מיכה מתאר את זיכרונותיו מגיל 9 ועד גיל 15, ספציפית בהקשר להצטרפות של אדלה למשפחתם, עד שעזב בגיל 15 את הארץ ועבר לגור בלוס אנג'לס, ולאחר מכן את קורותיו בביקור בארץ ומה שאדלה - עכשיו אדל, אשת עסקים מצליחה - מספרת לו. בסוף גם נגלה לו סוד מפתיע.
ספר מצוין שקראתי בנשימה אחת - סאגה משפחתית עם מאפיינים מסוימים של סיפור בלשי. הכתיבה מעולה ומרתקת.
בתחילת הספר מיכה מתאר את המשפחה כרשת ביטחון עשויה פלדה, וככל שהספר מתקדם, מסתבר שמושג המשפחה הוא לאו דווקא כזה. קשרי המשפחה החזקים הולכים ומתרופפים, ואילו אדלה - יתומה ללא משפחה - מצליחה לברוא משפחה משלה במו ידיה.
מיכה מונה כשושבין של אדלה בחתונתה, ואכן הוא משמש כשושבין בחייה של אדלה לא רק בחתונה, אלא גם בהיבטים אחרים.
ספר מצוין שקראתי בנשימה אחת - סאגה משפחתית עם מאפיינים מסוימים של סיפור בלשי. הכתיבה מעולה ומרתקת.
בתחילת הספר מיכה מתאר את המשפחה כרשת ביטחון עשויה פלדה, וככל שהספר מתקדם, מסתבר שמושג המשפחה הוא לאו דווקא כזה. קשרי המשפחה החזקים הולכים ומתרופפים, ואילו אדלה - יתומה ללא משפחה - מצליחה לברוא משפחה משלה במו ידיה.
מיכה מונה כשושבין של אדלה בחתונתה, ואכן הוא משמש כשושבין בחייה של אדלה לא רק בחתונה, אלא גם בהיבטים אחרים.
January 26, 2021
התגעגעתי לספר הזה... מבלי שידעתי.
April 24, 2025
huh wtf adella
May 29, 2023
Il testimone della sposa (E/O, 2023, traduzione di Alessandra Shomromi) è un breve romanzo che la scrittrice nata in Germania, ma ormai israeliana, Savyon Liebrecht, autrice di libri belli ed emozionanti, ci regala: è il caso di usare questo termine, per la leggerezza, la sensibilità con cui viene descritto il rapporto tra un bambino di dieci anni, Micha, e una diciottenne claudicante, molto miope, orfana, timidissima, che lui incontra in casa del nonno. La ragazza, che vive in collegio, potrebbe essere scelta come sposa dello zio Mose, unico dei fratelli rimasto in casa col padre, perché la sua condizione di salute non è buona.
Tra la solitaria e povera Adela, guardata dai fratelli dell’ipotetico sposo, quasi quarantenne, e il bambino ingenuo ma diretto, scatta una forma di tacita solidarietà e vicinanza, fortemente osteggiata dall’intera famiglia. Al bambino viene persino vietato di frequentare la casa del nonno dove la famiglia si riunisce ogni settimana per lo Shabbat.
Dopo molti contrasti e diverse altre proposte, Adela viene accettata e sposerà l’handicappato Mose, a patto che Micha sia il testimone di nozze della sposa. Durante il matrimonio un terribile affronto viene fatto ad Adela: una delle cognate le strappa gli occhiali, rendendola così incapace di vedere quanto avviene intorno a lei. La ragazza, disperata, chiede a Micha di riportarglieli, ma lui viene bloccato dalla madre.
Adela vivrà anni terribili in casa con il suocero vecchio, il marito fragile e incapace di difenderla dalla rapacità dei suoi fratelli, di cui è l’eterno succube.
Molti anni dopo Micha è un giovane uomo emigrato con la sua famiglia a Los Angeles. Ora è un ghostwriter affermato, si è sposato, poi separato, ha una figlia.
Un giorno riceve improvvisamente un invito a tornare a Tel Aviv, proprio da Adela, che gli chiede un incontro. Arrivato nella sua terra d’origine, per Micha vi saranno molte sorprese; l’albergo prenotato per lui da Adela è quello dove lei e Mose avevano passato la prima notte di nozze. Ma Adela ha cambiato nome, adesso si chiama Adel, che è anche il titolo della seconda parte del romanzo.
Una sorpresa per Micha, ma anche per noi lettori, la storia che la donna, ormai cinquantenne e divenuta bella e ricca, racconterà al suo testimone di nozze.
Grande narratrice di storie intriganti, Savyon Liebrecht, abile nel tratteggiare la psicologia di una ragazza sfortunata, ma tenace e determinata che saprà rivoltare il suo destino con la forza della disperazione.
Lingua affilata e precisa, quella di cui si serva la scrittrice, per raccontare una storia dura ma anche amorosa e piena di profondità nascoste.
La famiglia ebrea di stretta osservanza religiosa è un recinto di mostri, da cui però la giovane Adela non si farà schiacciare, restituendo la sua dolorosa storia di vincitrice all’unico essere umano che aveva provato a capirla e apprezzarla.
Micha è un ghost writer e vive ormai da decenni negli Stati Uniti. Per questo è sorpreso quando la moglie dello zio, Adela, lo invita a sue spese in Israele, dove è vissuto da ragazzo. La prima parte del romanzo di Savyon Liebrecht si incentra sulla reminiscenza delle circostanze che hanno creato il rapporto particolare fra Micha e Adela in una vita passata che sembra ormai remotissima. Micha era ancora un bambino la prima volta che incontra Adela durante una riunione per lo shabbat con l’intera famiglia allargata. Fratelli, cugini, zii, tutti fortemente legati all’interno di una tradizionalissima famiglia di ebrei persiani. È per la sua origine persiana che anche Adela è lì: la famiglia cerca una sposa per lo Zio Moshe, ormai di mezza età e con una menomazione, e Adela, seppure giovane, è orfana, zoppa e porta occhiali spessi, e potrebbe per questo prendere in considerazione questo matrimonio. È quindi invitata, ma quando arriva, fradicia e intirizzita, viene abbandonata in un angolo, su una poltrona, sola in mezzo a un gruppo di sconosciuti che la ignorano altezzosamente non ritenendola degna. Solo Micha le rivolge una parola gentile, ed è così che inizia il loro inusuale rapporto in mezzo alle beghe di una famiglia ostile e chiusa nelle sue dinamiche. Adela però si rivela inaspettatamente originale e determinata. Rimane però un mistero che è al centro della seconda parte del romanzo e che si svolge nel presente: perché Adela ha invitato Micha dopo tanti anni?
Moltissimi scrittori israeliani hanno scritto saghe familiari, fra loro autori molto conosciuti anche all’estero, come Amos Oz con l’opera autobiografica Una storia di amore e di tenebra, e Scatola Nera, un romanzo di fantasia. Di famiglie tratta anche l’apprezzato e recentemente scomparso scrittore Abraham B. Yehoshua, col bellissimo Un divorzio tardivo. Il fascino che gli scrittori israeliani provano per le biografie è probabilmente connesso con la peculiare realtà del paese. Fra gli anni Cinquanta e gli anni Novanta del Novecento moltissimi ebrei si sono trasferiti in Israele da altri paesi, portando con loro tradizioni dalle comunità della diaspora, per ritrovarsi in un paese nuovo, in rapido cambiamento e in un continuo dibattito fra tradizione e modernità. Le saghe diventano così il modo di trattare, nel microcosmo del nucleo familiare, gli enormi cambiamenti della società. Spesso appaiono personaggi che hanno vissuto in un altro paese e tornano a riesaminare dinamiche e ricordi in un’autopsia su rapporti spezzati, errori commessi e una società piena di contraddizioni. Parte di quello che rende la novella di Liebrecht interessante è la capacità di calare il lettore all’interno di scene al contempo vivide e simboliche. Come osservare il vecchio nonno persiano e toccare la poltrona di velluto verde su cui siede Adela.
Tra la solitaria e povera Adela, guardata dai fratelli dell’ipotetico sposo, quasi quarantenne, e il bambino ingenuo ma diretto, scatta una forma di tacita solidarietà e vicinanza, fortemente osteggiata dall’intera famiglia. Al bambino viene persino vietato di frequentare la casa del nonno dove la famiglia si riunisce ogni settimana per lo Shabbat.
Dopo molti contrasti e diverse altre proposte, Adela viene accettata e sposerà l’handicappato Mose, a patto che Micha sia il testimone di nozze della sposa. Durante il matrimonio un terribile affronto viene fatto ad Adela: una delle cognate le strappa gli occhiali, rendendola così incapace di vedere quanto avviene intorno a lei. La ragazza, disperata, chiede a Micha di riportarglieli, ma lui viene bloccato dalla madre.
Adela vivrà anni terribili in casa con il suocero vecchio, il marito fragile e incapace di difenderla dalla rapacità dei suoi fratelli, di cui è l’eterno succube.
Molti anni dopo Micha è un giovane uomo emigrato con la sua famiglia a Los Angeles. Ora è un ghostwriter affermato, si è sposato, poi separato, ha una figlia.
Un giorno riceve improvvisamente un invito a tornare a Tel Aviv, proprio da Adela, che gli chiede un incontro. Arrivato nella sua terra d’origine, per Micha vi saranno molte sorprese; l’albergo prenotato per lui da Adela è quello dove lei e Mose avevano passato la prima notte di nozze. Ma Adela ha cambiato nome, adesso si chiama Adel, che è anche il titolo della seconda parte del romanzo.
Una sorpresa per Micha, ma anche per noi lettori, la storia che la donna, ormai cinquantenne e divenuta bella e ricca, racconterà al suo testimone di nozze.
Grande narratrice di storie intriganti, Savyon Liebrecht, abile nel tratteggiare la psicologia di una ragazza sfortunata, ma tenace e determinata che saprà rivoltare il suo destino con la forza della disperazione.
Lingua affilata e precisa, quella di cui si serva la scrittrice, per raccontare una storia dura ma anche amorosa e piena di profondità nascoste.
La famiglia ebrea di stretta osservanza religiosa è un recinto di mostri, da cui però la giovane Adela non si farà schiacciare, restituendo la sua dolorosa storia di vincitrice all’unico essere umano che aveva provato a capirla e apprezzarla.
Micha è un ghost writer e vive ormai da decenni negli Stati Uniti. Per questo è sorpreso quando la moglie dello zio, Adela, lo invita a sue spese in Israele, dove è vissuto da ragazzo. La prima parte del romanzo di Savyon Liebrecht si incentra sulla reminiscenza delle circostanze che hanno creato il rapporto particolare fra Micha e Adela in una vita passata che sembra ormai remotissima. Micha era ancora un bambino la prima volta che incontra Adela durante una riunione per lo shabbat con l’intera famiglia allargata. Fratelli, cugini, zii, tutti fortemente legati all’interno di una tradizionalissima famiglia di ebrei persiani. È per la sua origine persiana che anche Adela è lì: la famiglia cerca una sposa per lo Zio Moshe, ormai di mezza età e con una menomazione, e Adela, seppure giovane, è orfana, zoppa e porta occhiali spessi, e potrebbe per questo prendere in considerazione questo matrimonio. È quindi invitata, ma quando arriva, fradicia e intirizzita, viene abbandonata in un angolo, su una poltrona, sola in mezzo a un gruppo di sconosciuti che la ignorano altezzosamente non ritenendola degna. Solo Micha le rivolge una parola gentile, ed è così che inizia il loro inusuale rapporto in mezzo alle beghe di una famiglia ostile e chiusa nelle sue dinamiche. Adela però si rivela inaspettatamente originale e determinata. Rimane però un mistero che è al centro della seconda parte del romanzo e che si svolge nel presente: perché Adela ha invitato Micha dopo tanti anni?
Moltissimi scrittori israeliani hanno scritto saghe familiari, fra loro autori molto conosciuti anche all’estero, come Amos Oz con l’opera autobiografica Una storia di amore e di tenebra, e Scatola Nera, un romanzo di fantasia. Di famiglie tratta anche l’apprezzato e recentemente scomparso scrittore Abraham B. Yehoshua, col bellissimo Un divorzio tardivo. Il fascino che gli scrittori israeliani provano per le biografie è probabilmente connesso con la peculiare realtà del paese. Fra gli anni Cinquanta e gli anni Novanta del Novecento moltissimi ebrei si sono trasferiti in Israele da altri paesi, portando con loro tradizioni dalle comunità della diaspora, per ritrovarsi in un paese nuovo, in rapido cambiamento e in un continuo dibattito fra tradizione e modernità. Le saghe diventano così il modo di trattare, nel microcosmo del nucleo familiare, gli enormi cambiamenti della società. Spesso appaiono personaggi che hanno vissuto in un altro paese e tornano a riesaminare dinamiche e ricordi in un’autopsia su rapporti spezzati, errori commessi e una società piena di contraddizioni. Parte di quello che rende la novella di Liebrecht interessante è la capacità di calare il lettore all’interno di scene al contempo vivide e simboliche. Come osservare il vecchio nonno persiano e toccare la poltrona di velluto verde su cui siede Adela.
May 2, 2024
You never know what "hidden gem" you will find while browsing through hoopla. This was an understated book that came with a surprise twist near the end of the story. Well written and translated, the author captures the culture, food, and family dynamics.
May 8, 2024
Quick read- only 160 pages. Enjoyed the story. Knew the twist at the end by the middle of the book. Still enjoyed it.
April 6, 2024
This was a well written short story about Miche who is invited back to Israel to visit his aunt Adela years after being a Bridesman for her and uncle Moshe. Memories and revelations of family dynamics are revealed. Enjoyed the ending.
April 29, 2024
I read it in Hebrew so I don't know how the translation is.
As far as the story: Savyon Liebrecht knows how to write a captivating story. Her description of Micha's childhood memories are beautiful gems full of what makes up memories: smell, touch, voices and especially eyes that always speak on their own. Adella, the orphaned girl, and main character may have impaired eyes , yet she is the one that sees the true nature of her new family. And while they all have strong legs and she is the one with a bad limp, it's Adella that realy moves forward in life while they are stuck.
As far as the story: Savyon Liebrecht knows how to write a captivating story. Her description of Micha's childhood memories are beautiful gems full of what makes up memories: smell, touch, voices and especially eyes that always speak on their own. Adella, the orphaned girl, and main character may have impaired eyes , yet she is the one that sees the true nature of her new family. And while they all have strong legs and she is the one with a bad limp, it's Adella that realy moves forward in life while they are stuck.
June 3, 2023
Una storia piena di rivelazioni e sconvolgimenti di due vite che si rincontrano dopo ventiquattro anni, facendo riaffiorare un passato dimenticato da troppo tempo, che cambierà il corso della loro esistenza. Soprattutto ci rivela come i legami familiari che ci danno sicurezza a volte rappresentino una prigione da cui è meglio evadere. Personaggi ben caratterizzati e definiti
Molto interessante la rappresentazione del mondo ebraico.
Molto interessante la rappresentazione del mondo ebraico.
April 18, 2025
My first foray into Liebrecht’s novel-length fiction (or technically novella-length) and it feels like an extended short story. :P
I think this has to do with how confined her subject matter is. Told in two parts, this is the tale of Micha and Adella-turned-Adel (but really we mostly view her as Adella.) The first part takes place in the 1980s—I only know because there’s a reference to Sharansky’s repatriation to Israel. There may be a couple of other current event references I don’t remember, but most of the story is insular enough to take place in a white room. Anywho, in this timeline Micha is about 9 and Adella is 18.
The second part of the story takes place roughly 25 years later. Adella sends for Micha, now living in the United States, to return to Israel. He finds a much-altered woman. The young adult he remembers was meek and of low social standing; she was an orphan with a limp and myopia. She’s brought into Micha’s family to marry his uncle, Moshe, who is almost twice her age and has his own, un-named developmental disabilities.
Adella, in essence, is expected to be a glorified housemaid, more to do the whims of her in-laws than her similarly meek husband. But it turns out, even from the start, Adella has some steel to her. She wants more from life than to be someone else’s puppet. She opens up to Micha, and even demands that he be her “bridesman” (yanno, think bridesmaid) because he was kind to her.
Twenty-four years later and it seems like these dreams are realized. A stunning and largely confident Adella explains to Micha the long battle she waged against her in-laws to take control of her own life and finances. She’s now owned a couple businesses as well. Many of the family members are now dead or dying (poor Moshe seems to have dementia.) Adella attributes most of her success to her son, Elisha, who was born shortly after Micha and his immediate family emigrated to the States.
The book is ostensibly about a Jewish Persian family centered in Israel, though none of that is over-stated. There’s occasional references to holidays and landmarks. The family itself is overbearing, bogged down by secrets and resentments. Most characters aren’t fully formed, but we get a glimpse into Micha’s mother’s, Michal’s mercurial nature. (Am I reaching too much to assume Adella changed her name to Adel because her two favorite family members have such similar sounding names? Almost definitely. :P)
The thing about this sort of family is you never know what’s real and what’s not. “Micha is in the business of ghostwriting, of crafting narratives from what he is told is true,” says my good friend, Kirkus. “But Adel's revelations make Micha revise his own memories of her and of his childhood, thus reminding readers to reexamine the stories we tell.” There’s a bit of a twist at the end that some GoodReads reviewers predicted (I dismissed it early because I thought it was too sensational. Bully for me!)
Relationships and ambitions are tense and layered over time. Estrangement is rampant and our main characters pick over half-formed realities. Adella is prickly and emotional, but also sympathetic (save perhaps for that twist at the end!) She is, as Lauren Gilbert phrases it in the Jewish Book Council review, “a marginalized woman chafing against her demeaned status in a patriarchal Israeli society.”
This is a writer’s book, something I find academically powerful for its craft. Kudos to Gilah Kahn-Hoffman for her engaging translation. But I wouldn’t say this is widely accessible to the reading public, especially with the twist being squicky and relying on more missed moments of communication. The patterns move ever on with these characters. I appreciate them, but I cannot love them. They’re still too hidden from me.
I think this has to do with how confined her subject matter is. Told in two parts, this is the tale of Micha and Adella-turned-Adel (but really we mostly view her as Adella.) The first part takes place in the 1980s—I only know because there’s a reference to Sharansky’s repatriation to Israel. There may be a couple of other current event references I don’t remember, but most of the story is insular enough to take place in a white room. Anywho, in this timeline Micha is about 9 and Adella is 18.
The second part of the story takes place roughly 25 years later. Adella sends for Micha, now living in the United States, to return to Israel. He finds a much-altered woman. The young adult he remembers was meek and of low social standing; she was an orphan with a limp and myopia. She’s brought into Micha’s family to marry his uncle, Moshe, who is almost twice her age and has his own, un-named developmental disabilities.
Adella, in essence, is expected to be a glorified housemaid, more to do the whims of her in-laws than her similarly meek husband. But it turns out, even from the start, Adella has some steel to her. She wants more from life than to be someone else’s puppet. She opens up to Micha, and even demands that he be her “bridesman” (yanno, think bridesmaid) because he was kind to her.
Twenty-four years later and it seems like these dreams are realized. A stunning and largely confident Adella explains to Micha the long battle she waged against her in-laws to take control of her own life and finances. She’s now owned a couple businesses as well. Many of the family members are now dead or dying (poor Moshe seems to have dementia.) Adella attributes most of her success to her son, Elisha, who was born shortly after Micha and his immediate family emigrated to the States.
The book is ostensibly about a Jewish Persian family centered in Israel, though none of that is over-stated. There’s occasional references to holidays and landmarks. The family itself is overbearing, bogged down by secrets and resentments. Most characters aren’t fully formed, but we get a glimpse into Micha’s mother’s, Michal’s mercurial nature. (Am I reaching too much to assume Adella changed her name to Adel because her two favorite family members have such similar sounding names? Almost definitely. :P)
The thing about this sort of family is you never know what’s real and what’s not. “Micha is in the business of ghostwriting, of crafting narratives from what he is told is true,” says my good friend, Kirkus. “But Adel's revelations make Micha revise his own memories of her and of his childhood, thus reminding readers to reexamine the stories we tell.” There’s a bit of a twist at the end that some GoodReads reviewers predicted (I dismissed it early because I thought it was too sensational. Bully for me!)
Relationships and ambitions are tense and layered over time. Estrangement is rampant and our main characters pick over half-formed realities. Adella is prickly and emotional, but also sympathetic (save perhaps for that twist at the end!) She is, as Lauren Gilbert phrases it in the Jewish Book Council review, “a marginalized woman chafing against her demeaned status in a patriarchal Israeli society.”
This is a writer’s book, something I find academically powerful for its craft. Kudos to Gilah Kahn-Hoffman for her engaging translation. But I wouldn’t say this is widely accessible to the reading public, especially with the twist being squicky and relying on more missed moments of communication. The patterns move ever on with these characters. I appreciate them, but I cannot love them. They’re still too hidden from me.
November 17, 2024
(3.75 rounded 4.0).
This story focuses on two periods in the life of Micha, an American Jew of Persian descent. We first meet Micha as a 40 yer old ghostwriter who has lived most of his life in L.A. He is invited to visit his aunt, Adella, in Tel Aviv with the intent to write her autobiography. Adella was an 18 yer old orphan with a limp from a short leg and extremely poor eyesight, when she is chosen as a bride for Micha’s uncle, Moshe, a 38 year old disabled man who lives with his father and helps out in the stores of two of his brothers. Moshe is dependent on his family’s charity and support but he is also completely ruled by their decisions for his life.
When Michael was 10 years old, the family decides Moshe should marry and the (only) choice is Adella. Immediately the women of the family (and their husbands and children) begin to make Adella’s life miserable. The only family member who shows any sympathy to her is 10 yer old Micha. So she chooses him as her bridesman (the person who escorts the bride to the alter). Following the wedding, Adella begins to upset her long term family arrangements and legacies. She questions why her oldest brother-in-law gets to approve all purchases she makes for the household and disapprove any personal expenses. Moshe and his father both get a monthly stipend from the government based on their disabilities but Moshe and Adella don’t even know how much it is and the family won’t tell Adella how much it is or even how much Moshe earns working in their stories. Adella begins to find ways to make money on her own while continuing to care for Moshe and his elderly father and hosts the weekly family dinners with no help—financial or otherwise—from the rest of the family. When Michael is 15 years old, he becomes ill with a high fever. He is cared for by Adella in their home. Micha’s mother has an antipathy for Adella and Micha’s illness brings it to a crisis level and he is sent to live with his father in L.A. Now nearly three decades later, he is invited back to Tel Aviv to consult with his aunt on a book based on her life. Adella (now Adel) has become a successful entrepreneur and a sought after fashion designer and manufacturer. As Adella and Michael explore the family dynamics, her rise in the fashion industry and his life in America, family secrets arise and questions are answered and unanswered leaving Michael to come to his own conclusions.
The novel is well written and Micha’s role as the narrator provides continuity between his life as a 15 year old and the grown up version of himself. The book makes the reader explore the relationship between truth and facts and stories and memories. The ending of the story is surprising if somewhat predictable. Altogether a very good story.
Recommend to readers of literary fiction, Jewish and Persian cultures and family dynamics.
This story focuses on two periods in the life of Micha, an American Jew of Persian descent. We first meet Micha as a 40 yer old ghostwriter who has lived most of his life in L.A. He is invited to visit his aunt, Adella, in Tel Aviv with the intent to write her autobiography. Adella was an 18 yer old orphan with a limp from a short leg and extremely poor eyesight, when she is chosen as a bride for Micha’s uncle, Moshe, a 38 year old disabled man who lives with his father and helps out in the stores of two of his brothers. Moshe is dependent on his family’s charity and support but he is also completely ruled by their decisions for his life.
When Michael was 10 years old, the family decides Moshe should marry and the (only) choice is Adella. Immediately the women of the family (and their husbands and children) begin to make Adella’s life miserable. The only family member who shows any sympathy to her is 10 yer old Micha. So she chooses him as her bridesman (the person who escorts the bride to the alter). Following the wedding, Adella begins to upset her long term family arrangements and legacies. She questions why her oldest brother-in-law gets to approve all purchases she makes for the household and disapprove any personal expenses. Moshe and his father both get a monthly stipend from the government based on their disabilities but Moshe and Adella don’t even know how much it is and the family won’t tell Adella how much it is or even how much Moshe earns working in their stories. Adella begins to find ways to make money on her own while continuing to care for Moshe and his elderly father and hosts the weekly family dinners with no help—financial or otherwise—from the rest of the family. When Michael is 15 years old, he becomes ill with a high fever. He is cared for by Adella in their home. Micha’s mother has an antipathy for Adella and Micha’s illness brings it to a crisis level and he is sent to live with his father in L.A. Now nearly three decades later, he is invited back to Tel Aviv to consult with his aunt on a book based on her life. Adella (now Adel) has become a successful entrepreneur and a sought after fashion designer and manufacturer. As Adella and Michael explore the family dynamics, her rise in the fashion industry and his life in America, family secrets arise and questions are answered and unanswered leaving Michael to come to his own conclusions.
The novel is well written and Micha’s role as the narrator provides continuity between his life as a 15 year old and the grown up version of himself. The book makes the reader explore the relationship between truth and facts and stories and memories. The ending of the story is surprising if somewhat predictable. Altogether a very good story.
Recommend to readers of literary fiction, Jewish and Persian cultures and family dynamics.
April 4, 2024
The 2 main characters in this novella are Adella and the narrator Micha, who both belong to the Persian-Jewish minority in Israel. An orphan with severe myopia and a clubfoot, Adella is in a weak position when it comes to choosing a husband. When a powerful family reluctantly picks her as the bride of 38-year Moshe, still single because he is handicapped, Adella nonetheless manages to set some conditions, one of them being that Moshe's 9-year old nephew Micha should act as bridesman to their wedding. The odd alliance between the boy and the young woman upsets Micha's mother, who tries her best to keep them apart. Love does blossom between Moshe and Adella, in spite of the cruelty and duplicity of Moshe's siblings who take advantage of the couple at every turn, and virtually turn Adella into a slave. One day at school, Micha is seized by a raging fever, and before collapsing entirely, asks to be taken to Moshe's house. When he is on his way to recovery, his mother promptly puts him on a plane to Los Angeles, where his father has long made a new home for himself. Micha embraces his new American identity with a vengeance, and forgets all about Adella. The book starts when Adella pays for Micha to visit her in Israel. Micha, who makes a reasonable living as a ghost-writer, is surprised to find that Adella has become a prosperous businesswoman. Having fixed her vision through laser surgery and her clubfoot with clever insoles, she exudes charm and confidence. Adella shows Micha a picture of her only son, born a few months after Micha emigrated, but is oddly reluctant to introduce the 2 men. Unfortunately, the reason for her reluctance became instantly obvious to me, so that the big reveal at the end was a bit of a wet firecracker as far as I was concerned. This is a nice, easy read with some atmosphere but nothing very special.
December 28, 2023
This 151-page novella provides an engrossing journey into the memory of a nine-year-old Israeli boy. Micah is now an almost 40-year-old who returns to Tel Aviv for the first time in almost 25 years.. When he became quite ill at 15, his mother moved him to the United States to live with his father. This is the first time he is back in Israel, and he believes it is because his aunt, Adella, wants him to ghost-write her autobiography.
When he first med Adella, she was an impoverished girl of 18, raised in an orphanage residence for girls. She had a severe limp and coke-bottle glasses and had been brought to a family gathering to meet Moshe, the handicapped youngest brother of the boy's large Persian-Jewish clan.
A Bridesman is someone asked to give a bride away at her wedding. Micha became that at Adella's wedding to Moshe, at her request. he had been the only one at the family meeting who was kind to Adella, giving her some candied almonds.
A beautifully written piece of literary fiction, The Bridesman will involve you emotionally with a large, close but dysfunctional family. The story develops over the course of two days Micha spends in Israel with Adella, now successful businesswoman Adel. It is a fascinating and engrossing piece of writing whose ending will stun and surprise you. Savyon Liebrecht is someone whose earlier works I will now look up and read.
I received this book as a gift from Europa Editions for which I am very thankful and appreciative.
When he first med Adella, she was an impoverished girl of 18, raised in an orphanage residence for girls. She had a severe limp and coke-bottle glasses and had been brought to a family gathering to meet Moshe, the handicapped youngest brother of the boy's large Persian-Jewish clan.
A Bridesman is someone asked to give a bride away at her wedding. Micha became that at Adella's wedding to Moshe, at her request. he had been the only one at the family meeting who was kind to Adella, giving her some candied almonds.
A beautifully written piece of literary fiction, The Bridesman will involve you emotionally with a large, close but dysfunctional family. The story develops over the course of two days Micha spends in Israel with Adella, now successful businesswoman Adel. It is a fascinating and engrossing piece of writing whose ending will stun and surprise you. Savyon Liebrecht is someone whose earlier works I will now look up and read.
I received this book as a gift from Europa Editions for which I am very thankful and appreciative.
March 20, 2024
Set in Israel amongst a Persian-Jewish family who immigrated to the country in 1950, this short novel tells the story of Micha, who at the age of nine was chosen to be the bridesman at his Uncle Moshe’s wedding. The bride was a young orphan, an outwardly timid girl whom the family had chosen as she seemed to fit the bill for their disabled brother. She would be biddable, they thought. A few years later, Micha and his family emigrate to the US and have little contact with the rest of the family. Then 25 years later Micha gets a call from Adella, now transformed into Adel and nothing like the girl he remembers. Micha is now a ghost-writer and Adel wants him to write her memoir. As she starts to divulge all that happened after Micha’s departure, Micha is confronted with a past very different to the one he thought he knew and has to readjust his own memories. It’s a vivid portrait of a traditional Jewish family, caught between their home customs and the new demands of a secular state. There’s a twist at the end, which I didn’t find totally convincing, but in the context of the rest of the novel I was willing to suspend my disbelief. I very much enjoyed the book, finding it well-written, well-paced and insightful about family relationships and the possibility of challenging and changing one’s destiny. A great read.
April 13, 2024
Micha was nine when he met Adella, the fifteen-year-old girl who would marry his beloved and disabled 40yo uncle Moshe. Orphaned, poor, but extraordinarily bright, Adella was at first rejected then grudgingly accepted by Moshe’s family. Years later, after Micha moved to Los Angeles and became American, Adella invites him back to Israel so she can tell him her story.
This book was, for lack of a better word, a quiet story. Micha and Adella are rich, imperfect characters and although there is an extensive cast of additional characters, they aren’t as well drawn. It’s mostly told to Micha or observed by Micha; there isn’t a lot of action or a compelling plot to drive the story forward. That said it is very readable and there is a certain je ne sais quoi that keeps the reader engaged. When I put it down I didn’t feel compelled to come back to it, but when I was reading, I didn’t want to stop. Interesting
This book was, for lack of a better word, a quiet story. Micha and Adella are rich, imperfect characters and although there is an extensive cast of additional characters, they aren’t as well drawn. It’s mostly told to Micha or observed by Micha; there isn’t a lot of action or a compelling plot to drive the story forward. That said it is very readable and there is a certain je ne sais quoi that keeps the reader engaged. When I put it down I didn’t feel compelled to come back to it, but when I was reading, I didn’t want to stop. Interesting
July 26, 2025
A novella about an Orthodox Jewish family that is looking for a bride for their disfigured uncle--a difficult task. They end up with the only "taker," a woman who has a limp and a strong personality that grates on the family. This is Adella. After the nuptials she is put to work with little appreciation or compensation. But Adella is smart and talented. And she finds a way to fulfill her own life and prosper, with a surprise, if not a little unsettling, ending to this story.
"But I knew Adella from childhood, and this was the first time that I could straddle the gap between the facts as I knew them and the way they were perceived by others. Things I saw in her with my own eyes as a boy were revealed to me now as I looked back, and I was astonished:: sparks that were hidden within her thne, how they were able to extinguish themselves and die, and how, like a dormant volcano reawakening, they could erupt and demolish their surroundings."
"But I knew Adella from childhood, and this was the first time that I could straddle the gap between the facts as I knew them and the way they were perceived by others. Things I saw in her with my own eyes as a boy were revealed to me now as I looked back, and I was astonished:: sparks that were hidden within her thne, how they were able to extinguish themselves and die, and how, like a dormant volcano reawakening, they could erupt and demolish their surroundings."
June 20, 2024
Translated from Hebrew, this book by a well-known Israeli author is a quick and engaging read. Years after the fact, Micha is invited back to Tel Aviv by the wife of one of his uncles (he was a teenage bridesman at their wedding). At the time he seemed the only member of his Persian Jewish family who treated her for kindness, even though the family sought her out to marry a family member with a variety of disabilities. She herself had both very limited vision and a limp, but already showed herself capable of standing up for herself. Decades later, after her husband’s death, Micha finds her a very different person, one who has made herself independent and wealthy with her line of homemade clothing. But why has she invited Micha back? Is it to tell her story? And what does he really know of her? I admit I didn’t foresee the surprise revelation at the end.
March 17, 2025
enjoyed the writing style, especially in the first half of the story. for some reason this book took me forever to finish; i would get halfway through, put it down, and immediately forget about it. finally reread/finished it over st. patrick’s day weekend, and let me tell you…the final twist at the end had my eyebrow raised, and not in a good way. stars for prose and overall characterization but as far as the storyline…i’m uncomfortable. no spoilers, but it left me with the same feeling as when a friend tells you a “funny” story and you realize that that’s probably the reason why they haven’t been able to maintain a longterm relationship into adulthood.
would be interested to see what else the author has put out there, but would not be surprised if their other work left me with an equally slimy feeling.
would be interested to see what else the author has put out there, but would not be surprised if their other work left me with an equally slimy feeling.
August 22, 2024
Some books are deceptively simple. Take, for example, Sayon Liebrecht’s “The Bridesman” (Europa Editions). This evocative and poignant short novel – 151 pages – is narrated by Micha, an Israeli expatriate who is called back to visit Israel by his Aunt Adella after he’s lived in the United States for 24 years. Her purchase of a plane ticket and the reservation at a fancy Tel Aviv hotel makes him wonder what she wants in return. Micha is a ghostwriter and ponders whether she wants him to write the story of her life. This makes him think back to his aunt’s initial introduction to his formerly very close-knit family.
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/book...
See the rest of my review at https://www.thereportergroup.org/book...
May 10, 2025
unfortunately the twist ending was very predictable and i had guessed it long before the second part of the story. that meant that the books ending was lame and unsatisfying, because there was no release for the buildup.
that being said, i enjoyed the authors prose, so kudos to both the author and the translator. i kept thinking that it read sort of like a 1950s modern classic, so i was very surprised when i realized that this was published only a few years ago-- yes, even though the first part takes place during the 1980s, i know.
i was disappointed by the second act, but really, with a book this short, it's of little consequence. only that it soured the rest of it alongside it.
that being said, i enjoyed the authors prose, so kudos to both the author and the translator. i kept thinking that it read sort of like a 1950s modern classic, so i was very surprised when i realized that this was published only a few years ago-- yes, even though the first part takes place during the 1980s, i know.
i was disappointed by the second act, but really, with a book this short, it's of little consequence. only that it soured the rest of it alongside it.
February 25, 2024
A lyrical story about family (with all its complexity) and the importance of forging a path in life for oneself.
Adelle is a young girl that gets married into a Jewish family of Iranian descent in which women's voices don't have a seat at the table. Over many years, she is punished for her desire for independence. The only person in the family who is kind to her is Micha, who becomes her bridesman at the wedding. He later emigrates to Los Angeles.
The two are reunited decades later when Adelle is now Adel - a successful and wealthy designer and store owner.
Adelle is a young girl that gets married into a Jewish family of Iranian descent in which women's voices don't have a seat at the table. Over many years, she is punished for her desire for independence. The only person in the family who is kind to her is Micha, who becomes her bridesman at the wedding. He later emigrates to Los Angeles.
The two are reunited decades later when Adelle is now Adel - a successful and wealthy designer and store owner.
February 22, 2024
I really liked Liebrecht's stories and was excited to read a novel - she is prolific but not a lot has been translated into English.
This novel has a wonderful and slightly dark twist that I figured out right before the end. It's very slice of life (if you a Mizrahi Jew, that is) with just a tiny bit of creepiness. I thought it was delicious but YMMV.
This novel has a wonderful and slightly dark twist that I figured out right before the end. It's very slice of life (if you a Mizrahi Jew, that is) with just a tiny bit of creepiness. I thought it was delicious but YMMV.
September 28, 2024
Fantastic writing. The story was absorbing simply by being told-no need for hyped up suspense or verbal acrobatics. What a rare treat!!! The place and characters, for me, lived and breathed.
As for the story...hmmm...these things happen, I guess. But even that seems too flippant. It would be a different story if the sexes were reversed and maybe that is some of what she is exploring. IDK.
As for the story...hmmm...these things happen, I guess. But even that seems too flippant. It would be a different story if the sexes were reversed and maybe that is some of what she is exploring. IDK.
July 29, 2023
A short book, gentle, smart and unassuming. A great example that a story (and a book) can be excellent without being long
January 2, 2024
I found this to be a very enjoyable novel and a light read. The prose was easy and engaging and drew me into the story that the author effortlessly laid out before me. I would recommend this book.
January 6, 2024
This sweet, sad, charming, bizarre story is told in less than 150 pages. Perfect!
January 23, 2024
4.0 rating due to questions that are still left unanswered.
February 6, 2024
4.5 stars
February 7, 2024
Slim novel great to read while traveling- 6 hours on a plane and I roared thru it - very compelling read.
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