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Message: <br /><br /> If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/58966/full/58966/life-happens-inside-microcosm-of-brooklyn-lingerie-shop/ <br /><br /> <b>Life happens inside microcosm of Brooklyn lingerie shop</b> <br /> Thursday, August 19, 2010 | by yelena tsurkan <br /><br /><p>“Sima’s Undergarments for Women,” Ilana Stanger-Ross’ heartwarming debut novel, is centered on a homespun lingerie shop in Boro Park, Brooklyn, where women can escape the stresses of everyday life in their Orthodox community — and readers can get lost in warm, motherly love.</p> <p>Sima Goldner welcomes women of all shapes and sizes to her shop and offers the support they need — whether it means selling them a custom-made bra or engaging them in an advice-filled conversation.</p> <p><img alt="Asima" class="left" height="328" src="/images/uploads/y_photos_2010/s08_20_10/Asima.jpg" title="Asima" width="216" />With one look, Sima can estimate a customer’s size. “36-D,” she says. The shocked woman protests, “But I’m a 34. I’ve always been.” Little does she realize that it’s pointless to disagree with Sima’s educated guess. The regular patrons in this tight-knit Jewish community know better than to question Sima, and they always have a good laugh when a new customer comes in and dares to contradict her.</p> <p>It’s only with Sima’s husband, a retired schoolteacher, that the communication is broken. Before going upstairs to her apartment at the end of the workday, Sima yells to Lev that she is heading to the grocery store. When she returns home and apologizes for taking so long, Lev admits, “I didn’t notice you were gone.”</p> <p>Sima, 65, started feeling detached from Lev decades ago after finding out she could never have children. Ever since, she has carried the burden of knowing it was her fault, because of something that happened when she was an adolescent. Will she ever share her secret with Lev?</p> <p>Sima can’t wait for mornings to come so she can slip into her store and away from the emptiness she feels around Lev — a quiet man who keeps his sorrows to himself and maintains a “couldn’t care less” attitude.</p> <p>One morning, a gorgeous young Israeli woman walks into Sima’s store. After learning that Timna is staying in New York for a while, Sima hires her as the shop’s seamstress — and immediately embraces her as the daughter she never had. Timna also bonds with Lev; every morning before the shop opens, she goes upstairs to discuss the New York Times over a cup of coffee.</p> <p>The love between the two women is enviable and radiates from the pages. Reading this book is like calling your own Jewish mother for wholehearted advice, comfort and patient guidance.</p> <p>Like the stereotypical Jewish mother, however, sometimes Sima goes too far. At the same time she wants to be more like carefree, fun-loving Timna, Sima tries to protect the young woman from becoming like her: prudent and security-seeking. This tension brings their friendship to a breaking point. Sima even goes so far as to follow Timna home a few times because Timna’s behavior is worrying her.</p> <p>Slowly, with the help of their new “daughter,” Lev and Sima begin closing the gap in their marriage, realizing their love did not die along with their hope of having children, after all. “It’s been too late for so long, that time doesn’t matter anymore,” Sima reassures Lev, who is skeptical about whether they can fix their marriage.</p> <p>Timna, having promised she would not stay in New York long, continues with her travels. Saying goodbye after knowing her for only a few months, Lev and Sima feel like  parents sending their child off to college. “We knew all along that she was here for only a little while, but it still comes as a surprise to see her go,” a tearful Lev tells Sima.</p> <p>With Timna gone, Lev and Sima are inspired to embark on a healing journey of their own.</p> <p><strong>“Sima’s Undergarments for Women”</strong> by Ilana Stanger-Ross (336 pages, Penguin, $15)</p> <p> </p>

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