Sima's Undergarments for Women

Vanessa Hart's tawny voice embodies the surprisingly sensual story of Sima, the frumpy 60-year-old proprietor of a lingerie shop in the basement of her Brooklyn brownstone, and Temna, a beautiful, free-spirited Israeli who comes to work for her as a seamstress. Through long conversations they become entwined in each other's lives, and, though their temperaments often collide, they work to serve the vivid cast of characters from the Orthodox Jewish community who frequent the shop. The pacing falters, however, when Hart fails to pause between present day events and flashbacks, and when her voice drops at the ends of sentences, forcing the listener to spend time rewinding and adjusting the volume to catch the whole story. E.V.B. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

September 29, 2008
In Brooklyn's Borough Park, Sima Goldner runs a bra shop from her basement while tolerating her oafish husband, Lev, who lords over the upstairs. But when young and beautiful Israeli expatriate Timna takes the gig as the shop's seamstress, Sima confronts some long-hidden feelings, fears and impulses, and her formerly small life opens up. From the very first page, this is an assured narrative with an even surer voice; readers will know that they are in the hands of a real storyteller as Sima and Timna forge a partnership. Neighborhood subplots bubble along nicely as Stanger-Ross charts Sima's awakening and shows how Timna's arrival and continued presence affect Sima. The bra shop works wonderfully as a stage and forum for the many ladies who tromp through it. This ends up being much more than a novel of female bonding—it's a subtly powerful treatise on friendship, trust and love, written with plenty of verve.