Why She Married Him

Written by Myriam Chapman

324 pages

Published by Other Press

Review by Thomas Scott

Receives:

Why She Married Him is a fascinating story about a Jewish young woman who immigrates to Paris from Russia during the early 1900s. The young woman, Nina, has married Abraham Podselver, a good man she does not love. The circumstances of her life have brought her to make choices that may not have been the path her heart wanted her to take. In this backwards-flowing narrative, we delve farther and farther back into Nina's past to see how the circumstances she has lived through have shaped her. When she lives in Tsarist Russia as a child Nina witnesses pogroms and experiences exile. She falls in love with Sasha, but he leaves her for America, the Promised Land. In Paris she lives in the slums and struggles to rise above her circumstances. As the story unfolds, we understand why Nina resigned herself to marrying Abraham and what her decision may have cost her.

The period details in this novel are evocative and vivid. We can easily see Nina and the world that surrounds her. We can see the clothing, taste the food, and imagine the characters' pain as they experience one difficulty after another. The times depicted in this novel are not often depicted in literature, and it is good to see a strong narrative bring this period in history alive.

In the Author's Note at the end of the novel, Chapman notes that the inspiration for the story came from her own grandmother, a Russian immigrant to France. Chapman came across a manuscript written by her grandmother and decided to fill in the blanks about her grandmother's life, saying, “I wondered what my grandmother had not had the courage to say about her life and decided to say it for her.” To me this is fascinating historical fiction, taking a story from the past and creating resonance and meaning so that the story stands as true today as it did a century ago.

This is a great effort for a first novel. Dense with detail and well told, this is an entertaining read that will educate its readers about a period in history we need to hear more about. ______________________________________________________________

Thomas Scott is a freelance writer from Los Angeles, California. He lives with his wife and their three daughters.