Status
Series
Genres
Collections
Publication
Description
It hasn't been easy for Ruth Rothwax, the proprietor of a successful letter-writing business, to branch out into a new greeting-card line. Her father, Edek, is driving her crazy at the office. Other women, who she thought would be supportive, are being catty and competitive, behavior Ruth swears that she will never imitate. But then Zofia arrives to turn Ruth's aspirations of sisterly solidarity--and her life--upside down. Fresh off the plane from Poland--a buxom, sixty-something femme fatale with a talent for making meatballs--Zofia wants to open a restaurant. And Edek, Zofia's most passionate admirer, wants his daughter to finance the enterprise. But Ruth knows that gleam in Zofia's eye only too well . . . and she knows it means big trouble for all of them.… (more)
User reviews
An amusing, light and slightly implausible story of 2 immigrant women and a 90 odd yr old man succeeding at setting up an unusual restaurant in New York and making their lives interesting. Great New York flavour
In the earlier novel New Yorker Ruth Rothwax, the daughter of two Auschwitz survivors, persuades her father, Edek, to visit
Now in the second book Edek has moved to New York City from Australia and "helps" his daughter with her successful letter-writing and greeting card business. Mostly he just gets in the way, and Ruth tries to persuade him to get involved in some activity outside her office. Then suddenly he does, and Ruth becomes more frustrated by his absence than she was when he was purchasing office supplies she didn't need.
The explanation, she learns, is that Zofia and her quiet friend Walentyna have migrated from Poland and moved in with her father. Ruth had thought she was rid of Zofia when they left Poland, but now she is back in their lives, apparently to stay.
Zofia, in her late 60s and about 20 years younger than Edek, turns out to be a terrific cook and a bundle of energy. Zofia, Edek and Walentyna come up with a plan to open a meatball restaurant in an unpromising part of New York City. Edek promises to support the project financially, but since Ruth supports Edek, that means her money will be needed to open the restaurant. She's convinced it can never succeed, but unable to say no to her father, she loans them the money anyway.
While all this is going on, Ruth is trying to start a group for middle-aged and older women to meet and talk about topics, like sex, they might not otherwise talk about, although from the conversations reported in the novel, women of all ages talk about these topics all the time with or without a support group. But if Ruth is so committed to supporting women, why does she have such negative feelings toward Zofia, whom her father obviously adores? Everyone else, including her husband, her children, her friends and her work associates, love Zofia and think the restaurant is a great idea. So why does Ruth feel she must protect her father from her?
Reading the first of these autobiographical novels helps us understand the second. Ruth still blames the Polish people, all of them, for what happened to her family members at Auschwitz. She must somehow soften the deep-seated biases that conflict with her love for her more forgiving father and her wish for his happiness.