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Title details for And the Bride Closed the Door by Ronit Matalon - Available

And the Bride Closed the Door

by Ronit Matalon
Jessica Cohen
ebook
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A young bride shuts herself up in a bedroom on her wedding day, refusing to get married. In this moving and humorous look at contemporary Israel and the chaotic ups and downs of love everywhere, her family gathers outside the locked door, not knowing what to do. The bride's mother has lost a younger daughter in unclear circumstances. Her grandmother is hard of hearing, yet seems to understand her better than anyone. A male cousin who likes to wear women's clothes and jewelry clings to his grandmother like a little boy. The family tries an array of unusual tactics to ensure the wedding goes ahead, including calling in a psychologist specializing in brides who change their mind and a ladder truck from the Palestinian Authority electrical company. The only communication they receive from behind the door are scribbled notes, one of them a cryptic poem about a prodigal daughter returning home. The harder they try to reach the defiant woman, the more the despairing groom is convinced that her refusal should be respected. But what, exactly, ought to be respected? Is this merely a case of cold feet? A feminist statement? Or a mourning ritual for a lost sister? This provocative and highly entertaining novel lingers long after its final page.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    October 1, 2019

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781939931788

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781939931788
      • File size: 2825 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Kirkus

      August 1, 2019
      On her wedding day, a bride locks herself in her bedroom. Margie and Matti are supposed to be getting married, but Margie has locked the door to her bedroom and won't respond to anyone who tries to speak with her. Matti and his parents gather outside along with Margie's mom, Nadia, her cousin, Ilan, and her grandmother. "Well," says Arieh, Matti's father, "not to worry. So she won't talk. She doesn't have to. The bride does not have to talk, as far as I recall." But Margie won't unlock the door, either, and the hours are passing. The caterer keeps calling, and soon the wedding guests will begin to assemble. Matalon (The Sound of Our Steps, 2015, etc.), an award-winning Israeli writer who died in 2017, describes Margie's situation with great humor as well as pathos. At first, Matti is desperate to get that door open. "Margie!" he shouts. "Do you even care what I'm going through with this whole mess you've made?" But as the hours pass, Matti himself starts to feel more and more ambivalent about their wedding. Margie slips an ambiguous poem under the door, but it does little to clarify things--in fact, throughout the book, Margie is the one character who remains silent. Everyone else, meanwhile, is in an uproar. The chaos is reminiscent of My Big Fat Greek Wedding, but Jewish, and backwards: This bride doesn't want to go through with things. Matti's parents call an organization known as "Reluctant Brides," which sends over a psychologist. Darker undertones become visible; apparently Margie had a younger sister, Natalie, who disappeared years earlier. Matalon's last novel is a whirlwind of family chaos and comedy, humor but also great feeling. If the comedy occasionally slips too far into caricature, there's enough charm here to make up for that, and more besides. Family secrets bubble to the surface in this deeply felt comedy.

      COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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