And the Bride Closed the Door

On the day of her wedding, Margie, a young bride, shuts herself up in her mother’s bedroom and declares that she won’t get married. Her family gathers at the locked door, not knowing what to do. Her mother, Nadia, has lost a younger daughter in circumstances that are not clear. Her grandmother, who is hard of hearing, seems to understand her better than anyone. Ilan, a cousin who likes to wear women’s clothes and jewelry, clings to his grandmother like a little boy. And then there is Matti, the despairing groom, trying to decipher his beloved’s silence and understand why she refuses to marry him. The problem is not solved by the arrival of the groom’s parents and a psychologist who specializes in brides that change their mind.

The harder they all try to reach defiant Margie, including bringing a high ladder belonging to the Palestinian Authority Power Company, the more Matti empathizes with her, and the more convinced he is that her refusal should be respected. But does that mean that she doesn’t love him? Perhaps she is actually rejecting social and family demands, a sort of female rebellion against the role that the world expects her to play.

A thought-provoking and enjoyable novella that will stay with the reader long after s/he has finished reading it.