The Imposter Bride by Nancy Richler
Lily Azerov is a refugee from World
War II in Europe. She makes her way to
Israel and brokers a marriage arrangement with Sol Kramer in Montreal. Upon her arrival in Montreal her fiancé takes
one look at her disembarking from her train and walks away. Thankfully for Lily, Sol’s brother Nathan
steps up and marries her. Soon after
their marriage a baby is on the way.
When their child, Ruth, is a few months old Lily goes out to get milk
and never returns. When Ruth is six
years old a rock comes in the mail from her mother. The family now knows she’s alive but has no
idea where she is or why she left.
Told in alternating chapters by Lily
and Ruth we slowly learn the story of both women. What happened to Lily in Europe? How does Ruth deal with being abandoned by
her mother? This book asks a lot of
questions, and while is answers most, I don’t think it completely answers the
most pressing questions brought up in the narrative.
