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    Sima's Undergarments for Women
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    Sima's Undergarments for Women
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    Sima's Undergarments for Women
    Audiobook8 hours

    Sima's Undergarments for Women

    Written by Ilana Stanger-Ross

    Narrated by Vanessa Hart

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

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    About this audiobook

    There are some life-long quests that all women have in common-meaningful work, true love, and a bra that doesn't leave red marks on your skin.

    In the comfort of her Brooklyn basement bra shop, Sima Goldner teaches other women to appreciate their bodies, but feels betrayed by her own. Shamed by her infertility and by a secret from her youth, she has given up on happiness and surrendered to a bitter marriage. But then Timna, a young Israeli with enviable cleavage, becomes the shop seamstress. As the two serve the colorful customers of their Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, Sima finds herself awakened to adventure and romance. Years after giving up on their marriage, Sima and her husband, Lev, must decide if what they have is worth saving.

    With a gracefulness evocative of Amy Bloom and Alice McDermott, prizewinning writer Ilana Stanger-Ross has created a secret underground NewYork sisterhood where women of every shape and creed can come to share their milestones, laughter, loves, and losses against a backdrop of discount lingerie.


    From the Compact Disc edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateFeb 3, 2009
    ISBN9781415963555
    Author

    Ilana Stanger-Ross

    Ilana Stanger-Ross is a Registered Midwife and novelist based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, she received a BA at Barnard College, an MA in Fiction at Temple University, where she held their University Fellowship, and a Bachelors in Midwifery from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Her novel, SIMA’S UNDERGARMENTS FOR WOMEN, was published by Overlook Press in 2009.

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    Reviews for Sima's Undergarments for Women

    3.5/5

    89 ratings21 reviews

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    • 1/5
      For This I Waited Over SIX (6) Months?

      Honestly, I have no idea what this book is suppose to be about, I don't see the point, I didn't care about or even like the characters....

      Sima: an older N.Y. Jewish woman selling quality undergarments out of the basement of her home to observant women. Married without children and about to get a comeuppance (thank-you Connie for retaliation....urging Sima to call *Timna's mother about Timna's alleged pregnancy... shit you just don't do that).

      Connie: Sima's best friend, now divorced (thank-you Sima for telling Connie in front of her husband that you sold her husband's secretary sexy lingerie) and on the verge of dating again.

      Lev: Sima's husband, a retired vice-principal, closed out of his marriage by Sima's secret past discretion.

      *Timna (a Variety of African Grey Parrot) JUST JOKING! Timna: a young Israeli woman who has left her home & boyfriend behind, who now works for Sima as a seamstress & selling undergarments... who just might be pregnant.

      So the story cuts in & out of these people's lives, back & forth between the past, the present... but all felt forced and shallow. All chopped up, nothing concrete to really let the reader get to know the characters, no warmth, no compassion......

      Meh!
    • 4/5
      I wish Sima's ability to fit a bra was available to all women. I've had my fair share of uncomfortable bras (even after a fitting.) But, Sima was such a whiner! At least at the end of the story, she realized that Lev wasn't the slug she thought he was. She was fortunate that he stayed with her considering her disrespectful treatment of him. For Lev, the arrival of Timna was a blessing. For Sima and Lev, her departure was when they were able to see each other again through love's eyes.
    • 3/5
      Sima runs a lingerie shop in the basement of her Brooklyn home. She has a knack for making women feel good about themselves by choosing the right pieces. Upstairs is her husband Lev. Childless because of a teenage mistake, the couples has grown apart. When Sima hires a beautiful young seamstress, the girl's enthusiasm and young love cause Sima to look back on her life.
    • 2/5
      I just don't know what to say about this book. The main character (Sima)'s obsession with her new assistant (Timna) is just plain weird. She starts following Timna home, rummaging through her purse, calls Timna's friend Shai because she suspects Timna is pregnant??? Sima is so obsessed with Timna's body to the point where it is just plain creepy. While I understand her longing for having a child of her own, there is something completely bizarre about the way Sima latches on to Timna.The book just did not hold my interest because the parts about Sima's "relationship" (read=obsession) with Timna were just not believable, and even if it was, it's borderline psychopathic. I mean, if my boss were to follow me home from work, dressed up in a disguise no less, I think I would be very freaked out...While the book highlights some interesting aspects about Brooklyn's Hasidic community, that's about the only interesting thing going on. The storyline has no point...
    • 4/5
      I thought this was going to be a lesbian book, but it wasn't. That's ok! It was a sensitive and interesting story, and I enjoyed it.
    • 4/5
      "Sima's Undergarment's for Women" tells the story of Sima, who owns a small lingerie shop in Boro Park, Brooklyn. Sima has been serving the needs of her mostly conservative Jewish customers for years, helping them to feel pretty with lingerie and giving them guidance in their own lives. Despite her cheerful demeanor and her helpfullness with her customers, Sima has a secret that has made her life a sad and lonely affair. When Sima hires a new assistant, Timna, she is forced to reexamine her life and why she has closed herself off as she has. Although this novel focuses on it's protagonist, Sima, I like to think of this book as a heartfelt everywoman's tale. Sima encounters women from all walks of life in her trade, and as she counsels them, the novel explores how women deal with the complexities of love, marriage, parenting, and friendships. Sima's story by itself is compelling, but the lives of all of the women she encounters, including Timna, give this novel an extra dimension.
    • 4/5
      Sima owns a lingerie shop in the basement of her house in a Jewish neighbourhood in Brooklyn. Filled with regret for being unable to have a child of her own, Sima latches on to the young and beautiful Timna, an Israeli Sima hires as a seamstress. The reader discovers the rooys of Sima's heartache as her obsession with Timna grows.Sima's Undergarments for Women is a quick read but it is a multi-layered story that is at times funny and at others, incredibly sad. Sima has used her shop as a shield to protect herself from facing the pain she has collected throughout her married life and has caused her to push her loving husband Lev away. Timna's entry into her life forces Sima to address the pain she has caused herself and Lev, and to enter a new phase of her life. I enjoyed reading about the camaraderie of women in Sima's store and the gradual unraveling of Sima's past. Although Sima's obsession for Timna was at times a little too much, I enjoyed this novel alot. I would recommend Sima's Undergarments for Women for a delightful weekend read.
    • 3/5
      In the network of basement shops that serve Brooklyn's neighborhoods, Sima Goldner runs a lingerie shop renowned among locals for superior bra fitting. When Sima hires a young Israeli woman to be her new assistant, she begins an exciting new friendship. Timna, the new employee, reminds Sima of the opportunities and excitement of her youth. But these memories are not entirely welcome, and Sima is reminded of the disappointments of her own youth. Infertility left Sima and her husband childless, and their marriage distant. In Timna Sima sees the potential for everything she missed, and she becomes obsessed with engineering Timna's future. For Sima the relationship quickly moves beyond friendship to obsession. Her memories and her new friendship force Sima to face the problems in her marriage and her past. This novel is a study of how long problems can fester and how miscommunication can divide. Ultimately Sima's problems cannot be swept under the carpet, no matter how persistently she tries. For years Sima avoided her unhappiness by throwing her energies into her shop. When she foists her problems onto a living, breathing person, Timna, she is forced to come to terms with them. Sima herself is something of a trainwreck. The reader knows her actions are going to blow up in her face, and yet Sima is blind to the consequences. I couldn't help but cringe every time Sima berated her husband or obsessed about Timna, in this some of the reading becomes a bit uncomfortable. That said, this is a light, summer read. Despite some heavy themes, Sima is a bit to cartoonish to be a deep character. This was a quick read, and a reasonably enjoyable one.
    • 3/5
      It took me a long time to write a review after I finished this book, mostly because I didn't find the main characters (Sima and Timna) very likeable or interesting. Sima is a middle-aged woman who is very self-centered and doesn't appreciate the good things in her life (her business, a good husband, community, friends), choosing instead to focus on the fact that she was unable to have a child. I thought she was really nasty to her husband Lev, a retired teacher - nothing the poor guy did was right. Since the book is entirely from Sima's point of view, the reader does not learn enough about Timna to become interested in her. What made me give the book 3 stars was the wonderful descriptions of the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn where Sima lives and works, where shops are still located on the basement level of one's home. The neighborhood women are interesting as well. Unfortunately Sima is more of an observer than a participant in community life, just as she follows Timna around, observing her life.
    • 2/5
      Got this book as a pdf file as part of LT's Early Review program, and it's possible that the format of the story influenced my reaction to it.I found the story mildly interesting but far too slow-moving; I couldn't make myself finish it. I have a rule that if a book doesn't grab me by page 50, I put it aside. And I did exactly that with this book.
    • 4/5
      I liked _Sima's Undergarments for Women_, although it felt generic at times. I'm not sure how else to describe it, other than it reminded me very closely of other books I'd read. Maybe it's just the young immigrant story or the dynamic of an older woman / younger woman friendship that felt so familiar... However generic it might have felt, I found the story compelling enough that I found myself going back to this book every chance I got. (It's a quick read, too.)
    • 5/5
      I love love love this book, I couldn't put it down! It's beautifully written, alternating the humor and the tragedy of lives lived. Stanger-Ross has crafted rich, genuine characters - I felt Sima's silent emotional struggle as though it were my own, while Timna felt like so many young women I have known.Sima is a local wonder in her tiny basement lingerie shop, where "in a glance she could see their size, the back and the cup combined. '36-D,' she'd say ... In vain the women protested, 'but I'm a 34. I've always been.' [But] when on her advice they slipped back on their shirts to evaluate the shape a new bra gave, they inevitably agreed." Her loyal customers rely on her to fit them, their sisters and their daughters with the perfect underwear while at the same time hearing their joys and sorrows and providing meaningul advice. This role has been Sima's for so long that she has completely forgotten how to think about her own problems, her own needs -- until Timna arrives, a breath of fresh air for the shop and the daughter that Sima and her sad husband Lev never had.Watching Timna explore New York and her own freedom and youth, Sima is forced to examine her own life and the secrets and shames she has held since adolescence - and ultimately to accept her husband and begin the task of rebuilding their love. With graceful, unselfconscious prose Stanger-Ross brings to life the hidden stories all around us. I give this book a rousing 5 stars -- read it and you'll want to share it with all the women in your life.
    • 4/5
      By all appearances, Sima Goldner has it all - a thriving business and a solid marriage, but she's missing the one thing she wanted the most - a child. When she didn't conceive early in her marriage to Lev, Sima went to a fertility specialist and discovered that her fallopian tubes were blocked because of a mistake she made as a sixteen year old. When a young Israeli, Timna, enters her life - first as a customer and then as an employee - things change for Sima. Sima is fascinated by Timna, almost to the point of obsession and comes to love her as if she were her daughter. While Timna is quite fond of Sima, and enjoys working at her lingerie shop, she doesn't feel the same way. Through all of their ups and downs, Sima and Timna teach each other a lot about life.I really enjoyed Sima's Undergarments for Women. Ilana Stanger-Ross does a marvelous job of developing the characters in the book, particulary Sima. The characters are flawed, but believable - most of us have known people just like them. I could sympathize with Sima and I was so afraid she was going to get her heart broken. The characters learned a lot about love, friendship and life from each other and ultimately become better people for having known each other.
    • 4/5
      This book goes so much further than the synopsis captures, though it is hard to say too much about that without spoilers. In the very beginning, it was hard to connect with Sima, but the narrative quickly reveals the depths of her pain and her tragedy. I though this would be a novel about friendship, but it isn't really- it is a story about love and loss and small decisions that have lasting consequences.Stanger-Ross has created a moving tale of one woman's battle with infertility, and as Sima's story unfolds, my heart ached for her. This is sad book, a picture of how easy it is to withdraw from life and love, and how hard it is to ever make your way back. I highly recommend this book; four strong stars.
    • 4/5
      This is the story of an older woman who runs a lingerie shop from her basement in NY. It is written in split narrative form : past and present .The woman has led a life with some regret and seems to take a motherlike interest in one of her employees. I enjoyed the fact that she was an imperfect/meddlesome character and found myself cheering her on or hoping that she wouldn't do something at times. This was an interesting read with a realistic portrayal of an older couple who have grown apart. I liked the use of the bra shop as a setting for the story as it allowed us to see a different aspect of even minor characters because of the nature of the business.
    • 4/5
      Sima Goldner owns the shop into which Timna, new to Brooklyn, wanders. Sima's seamstress is leaving and Timna needs a job, and a relationship is born. It's not a simple work relationship, though: Sima comes to love Timna as the daughter she was never able to have. Told from Sima's point of view, the story alternates between the present day and bits and pieces of Sima's past.I thoroughly enjoyed this book, polishing it off in less than 24 hours. Bit by bit, Sima's relationships unfold before you: with Timna, with Connie, Sima's best friend, and with Lev, Sima's husband. I felt so much sympathy for Sima as she mothered Timna and revisited her own youth. Her strained relationship with Lev, though, is the one that affected me most, and there's a touching lesson to be learned from them.The ending to the novel is a bit abrupt, but I found it a sweet note on which to end.
    • 4/5
      Thank you, Overlook Press for the advanced copy. Although I liked the book, I found it a little depressing. I felt Sima's pain, desire, loneliness, and final acceptance through the flashbacks woven into the present. I was also a little disappointed with Timna, especially towards the end. Overall, a good and quick read about a woman's long journey to seek forgiveness from her husband and her own acceptance of their life without children.
    • 4/5
      I have a bit of a love/like with this book. At first, this is what I said about the book:

      I feel like a mid-Victorian prude! I started reading Sima's Undergarments for Women and found the relationship between the two women more than a little creepy. It's not quite mother/daughter, not out-and-out lesbianism, but something a little more covert. I had to put it down and post the question: Should I read this? Have any of you read it, and can you shed any light?

      A friend of mine read the book and told me that I was all wrong on it, and that I should get past this odd beginning (she agreed that it was written with a creepy vibe at first) and get to the nitty gritty of the relationship between the older and younger women.

      I read on, and she was correct. Once I got past the initial reaction, I saw a terribly lonely, guilty and overbearing woman. I was so sorry for the way she handled her inability to have children, how it affected her marriage and her relationship with the younger Timna. She eventually pushed them away despite the fact that she needed them both. And the relationship that Timna and Lev forged with one another on the shared foundation of Sima was interesting. I also loved the Jewish element to the story. While I am not Jewish, I can imagine that this is exactly what many families of the faith are like.

      I found this to be a very real, heart-wrenching story of loss, regret, and almost-too-late second chances. The characters are real, the friendships are real and the neighborhood is real. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      “Sima’s Undergarments For Women” tells the story (past & present) of a woman overcome with guilt and regret from her inability to conceive a child. When beautiful, young Timna comes into Sima’s life, suddenly the void is filled and her life has meaning again. As Sima begins to grow close to the girl, we see conflicts arise between the two women. In the end, Sima is finally able to see that both she and Timna are afraid of letting others in. I found myself torn between feeling sorry for Sima and annoyed that she was always trying to meddle in Timna’s life. Overall, I enjoyed the book and was so happy to see that Sima and Lev worked things out and were able to start fresh together. It was an emotional ride, but one that I enjoyed. I think we can all learn something about regret and life from this well written story.
    • 4/5
      Sima Goldner owns the shop into which Timna, new to Brooklyn, wanders. Sima's seamstress is leaving and Timna needs a job, and a relationship is born. It's not a simple work relationship, though: Sima comes to love Timna as the daughter she was never able to have. Told from Sima's point of view, the story alternates between the present day and bits and pieces of Sima's past.I thoroughly enjoyed this book, polishing it off in less than 24 hours. Bit by bit, Sima's relationships unfold before you: with Timna, with Connie, Sima's best friend, and with Lev, Sima's husband. I felt so much sympathy for Sima as she mothered Timna and revisited her own youth. Her strained relationship with Lev, though, is the one that affected me most, and there's a touching lesson to be learned from them.The ending to the novel is a bit abrupt, but I found it a sweet note on which to end.
    • 5/5
      I really, really enjoyed reading this novel. It is a book with a subtle plot but lots of character development and relationships. I felt like I got to know Sima, and I really cared about her and felt for her… I truly wanted things to go her way, I wanted her to be happy and satisfied with her life. I had so much empathy for Sima, especially once I got to understand her “secret” from her past and why she was keeping it for all those years, I wanted so badly for her to be able to tell her husband, Lev, and move on with her life. Timna was another story… I felt she added a lot of depth to the story and I liked the way the relationship between Sima and Timna was written, but I felt that she was sort of one-dimensional. I think the main reason that I felt that way was because the book was written from Sima’s perspective - the reader never gets a chance to understand Timna’s thoughts and feelings. I wanted Timna to be more appreciative of Sima’s “mothering” her, but at the same time I had no idea what was going through Timna’s head, why she acted the way she did… and the reader never does figure out if Timna has any secrets of her own (the fact that she does is hinted at) or what those secrets might be. I think the book would have been VERY interesting had it been written from both perspectives, like maybe alternating chapters or something. Still, I liked the dynamic between the two women and I thought it was written very well. I also enjoyed reading about the strained relationship between Sima and Lev… it was clear that Lev was in pain and was hurting just as Sima so obviously was, yet he never explained, never tried to reach out to her, which truly made me feel sympathy for him too. Overall, the relationships were very well-written in the book, and I loved reading about them.One thing that totally bugged me about this novel though - the ending was SO abrupt. The last chapter was a page, and completely unnecessary, in my opinion. I think she could have ended the book with the second to last chapter, instead, and it would have been much less sudden of an ending. Anyone else that’s read this - thoughts on the ending?But anyways. I really enjoyed reading this book. If you like books focusing on the characters and the relationships, especially about women, then Sima’s Undergarments for Women is definitely a book you’ll like. I highly recommend it and I’m glad I got the opportunity to review it.