Synopses & Reviews
When 16-year-old Minna Losk journeys from Odessa to America as a mail-order bride, she dreams of a young, wealthy husband, a handsome townhouse, and freedom from physical labor and pogroms. But her husband Max turns out to be twice her age, rigidly Orthodox, and living in a one-room sod hut in South Dakota with his two teenage sons. The country is desolate, the work treacherous. Most troubling, Minna finds herself increasingly attracted to her older stepson. As a brutal winter closes in, the family's limits are tested, and Minna, drawing on strengths she barely knows she has, is forced to confront her despair, as well as her desire.
Review
"An epic tale immigrant tale set on the Dakota prairie. . . . In this mythic rendition of the American immigrant narrative, Solomon's quirky prose finds the wondrous in the ordinary and vividly depicts the complex collisions between the old and new world."
-More
"In her emotionally honest debut novel, The Little Bride, Anna Solomon draws on an 1880s U.S. homesteading movement called Am Olam. Jewish newcomers were encouraged to settle out west as pioneers. The result wasn't some cheerful "little shtetl on the prairie," as Solomon's heroine discovers. Impoverished Minna Losk is a 16-year-old Jewish mail- order bride from Odessa and one of the more realistic pioneers depicted in recent historical fiction. Suffering hasn't hewn her into a plucky stereotype. Instead, she is someone the reader instantly empathizes with. She wants love, and ends up with a husband twice her age. She craves comfort, and ends up in a South Dakota one-room sod hut. A fascinating if sometimes bleak page turner."
-USA Today
"An engrossing slice of history. . . . The Little Bride offers a precious glimpse of the wondrously strange story of Jewish immigration evoked by Anna Solomon in her debut novel. Like other talented young Jewish-American novelists Jonathan Safran Foer and Dara Horn, Solomon fruitfully imagines faraway times and climes in The Little Bride - Europe's Odessa and America's Dakota Territory in the late 19th century, specifically - and creates a winning 16-year-old heroine in Minna Losk. . . . [A] moving debut."
-The Miami Herald
"This is a very intensely imagined book, an elegantly written pocket of forgotten history."
-Audrey Niffenegger, author of the New York Times-bestselling The Time Traveler's Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry
"Evocative of Alice Munro, Amy Bloom, and Willa Cather, but fueled by Anna Solomon's singular imagination, The Little Bride is a masterful debut. This tale of a Jewish mail-order bride's homestead experience on the Great Plains is embroidered with sage, beautiful writing on every page and marks the start of a long, fine, and important career."
-Jenna Blum, author of Those Who Save Us
"Anna Solomon has created a singular heroine whose story of dashed dreams and eventual triumph is a wise and timeless wonder. Intense and gorgeous, The Little Bride gives us an unparalleled snapshot of the West."
-Jennifer Gilmore, author of Golden Country and Something Red
"The Little Bride is a love story. An immigrant's story. But most important: a story of hope and courage in the face of overwhelming odds. Anna Solomon has written a heart-wrenchingly good novel, with vivid characters and an epic frontier landscape that will haunt you long after you've turned the final page."
-Hannah Tinti, author of The Good Thief
"An affecting tale of 19th century Jewish settlers who find their America not on the noisy streets of the Lower East Side, but on the boundless, desolate Dakota Plains. A stirring love story and an unsettling, original portrait of the New World."
-Sana Krasikov, author of One More Year
Review
"An epic tale immigrant tale set on the Dakota prairie. . . . In this mythic rendition of the American immigrant narrative, Solomons quirky prose finds the wondrous in the ordinary and vividly depicts the complex collisions between the old and new world."
Review
"In her emotionally honest debut novel, The Little Bride, Anna Solomon draws on an 1880s U.S. homesteading movement called Am Olam. Jewish newcomers were encouraged to settle out west as pioneers. The result wasnt some cheerful "little shtetl on the prairie," as Solomons heroine discovers. Impoverished Minna Losk is a 16-year-old Jewish mail- order bride from Odessa and one of the more realistic pioneers depicted in recent historical fiction. Suffering hasnt hewn her into a plucky stereotype. Instead, she is someone the reader instantly empathizes with. She wants love, and ends up with a husband twice her age. She craves comfort, and ends up in a South Dakota one-room sod hut. A fascinating if sometimes bleak page turner."
Review
"An engrossing slice of history. . . . The Little Bride offers a precious glimpse of the wondrously strange story of Jewish immigration evoked by Anna Solomon in her debut novel. Like other talented young Jewish-American novelists Jonathan Safran Foer and Dara Horn, Solomon fruitfully imagines faraway times and climes in The Little Bride - Europes Odessa and Americas Dakota Territory in the late 19th century, specifically - and creates a winning 16-year-old heroine in Minna Losk. . . . [A] moving debut."
Review
"This is a very intensely imagined book, an elegantly written pocket of forgotten history."
Review
"Anna Solomon has created a singular heroine whose story of dashed dreams and eventual triumph is a wise and timeless wonder. Intense and gorgeous, The Little Bride gives us an unparalleled snapshot of the West."
Review
"The Little Bride is a love story. An immigrants story. But most important: a story of hope and courage in the face of overwhelming odds. Anna Solomon has written a heart-wrenchingly good novel, with vivid characters and an epic frontier landscape that will haunt you long after youve turned the final page."
Review
"An affecting tale of 19th century Jewish settlers who find their America not on the noisy streets of the Lower East Side, but on the boundless, desolate Dakota Plains. A stirring love story and an unsettling, original portrait of the New World."
Synopsis
Anna Solomon's new novelLeaving Lucy Pearis available now from Viking Books
A Boston Globebestseller
When 16-year-old Minna Losk journeys from Odessa to America as a mail-order bride, she dreams of a young, wealthy husband, a handsome townhouse, and freedom from physical labor and pogroms. But her husband Max turns out to be twice her age, rigidly Orthodox, and living in a one-room sod hut in South Dakota with his two teenage sons. The country is desolate, the work treacherous. Most troubling, Minna finds herself increasingly attracted to her older stepson. As a brutal winter closes in, the family's limits are tested, and Minna, drawing on strengths she barely knows she has, is forced to confront her despair, as well as her desire.
Evocative of Alice Munro, Amy Bloom, and Willa Cather, but fueled by Anna Solomon s singular imagination, The Little Brideis a masterful debut. This tale of a Jewish mail-order bride s homestead experience on the Great Plains is embroidered with sage, beautiful writing on every page and marks the start of a long, fine, and important career. Jenna Blum, author ofThose Who Save Us"
Synopsis
From the award-winning author of Leaving Lucy Pear, an unflinching, lushly imagined love story set against the backdrop of the epic frontier Anna Solomon's new novel Leaving Lucy Pear is available now from Viking Books
When 16-year-old Minna Losk journeys from Odessa to America as a mail-order bride, she dreams of a young, wealthy husband, a handsome townhouse, and freedom from physical labor and pogroms. But her husband Max turns out to be twice her age, rigidly Orthodox, and living in a one-room sod hut in South Dakota with his two teenage sons.
The country is desolate, the work treacherous. And most troubling, Minna finds herself increasingly attracted to her older stepson. As a brutal winter closes in, the family's limits are tested, and Minna, drawing on strengths she barely knows she has, is forced to confront her despair, as well as her desire.
A Boston Globe Best Seller
"Evocative of Alice Munro, Amy Bloom, and Willa Cather, but fueled by Anna Solomon's singular imagination . . . a masterful debut . . . embroidered with sage, beautiful writing on every page . . . marks the start of a long, fine, and important career." --Jenna Blum, author of Those Who Save Us
"Minna is a terrifically complex heroine: a little snobby, a little selfish and wholly sympathetic." --The New York Times
"Like...Jonathan Safran Foer and Dara Horn. A] wondrously strange story of Jewish immigration." --Miami Herald
"This mythic rendition of the American immigrant narrative...finds the wondrous in the ordinary and vividly depicts the complex collisions between the Old World and the New." --More
Synopsis
From the award-winning author of The Book of V., an unflinching, lushly imagined love story set against the backdrop of the epic frontier
When 16-year-old Minna Losk journeys from Odessa to America as a mail-order bride, she dreams of a young, wealthy husband, a handsome townhouse, and freedom from physical labor and pogroms. But her husband Max turns out to be twice her age, rigidly Orthodox, and living in a one-room sod hut in South Dakota with his two teenage sons.
The country is desolate, the work treacherous. And most troubling, Minna finds herself increasingly attracted to her older stepson. As a brutal winter closes in, the family's limits are tested, and Minna, drawing on strengths she barely knows she has, is forced to confront her despair, as well as her desire.
A Boston Globe Best Seller
"Evocative of Alice Munro, Amy Bloom, and Willa Cather, but fueled by Anna Solomon's singular imagination . . . a masterful debut . . . embroidered with sage, beautiful writing on every page . . . marks the start of a long, fine, and important career." --Jenna Blum, author of Those Who Save Us
"Minna is a terrifically complex heroine: a little snobby, a little selfish and wholly sympathetic." --The New York Times
"Like...Jonathan Safran Foer and Dara Horn. A] wondrously strange story of Jewish immigration." --Miami Herald
"This mythic rendition of the American immigrant narrative...finds the wondrous in the ordinary and vividly depicts the complex collisions between the Old World and the New." --More
Synopsis
Inspired by the little-known real history of the Jewish settlement of the Great Plains, The Little Bride is an elegantly written tale of a sixteen-year-old Russian mail-order bride stranded on the South Dakota prairie, married to a man twice her age, and falling increasingly in love with her nineteen-year-old stepson.
Synopsis
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About the Author
Anna Solomon���is the author of The Little Bride. She���received her MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, One Story, The Georgia Review, and elsewhere, and has twice been awarded a Pushcart Prize. Formerly, she produced and reported award-winning features for National Public Radio's "Living on Earth." She lives in Providence, RI.