IKE AND MAMA AND THE BLOCK WEDDING

by Carol Snyder ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 19, 1979

It's 1919 in the Bronx, only two days away from Rosie Weinstein's wedding to Arnold--a high-school graduate, from the Grand Concourse, even--but oy, oy, oy, with Mr. Weinstein just out of a job there's no money for a hall or a cake. Arnold and Rosie almost elope to save her family the expense, but Ike and the boys, positioned on the fire escape, turn the couple back--for the food-scooping hands of her Ikey's 13 friends have inspired Mama, the clothing maven of last year's Ike and Mama and the Once-a-Year Suit: Mama sends the boys from door to door for flour, sugar, eggs, and milk; holds the wedding on the street with a ""handful plan"" cake (""We wish for you, Rosie and Arnold, that your married life should be like this wedding cake--a sweet life, made from sharing""); and voila! Or should we say bless ma soul? Or Mither o' God? With Jewish, Italian, Irish, and black families all turning in, exuding warmth and togetherness, Snyder's schmaltzy humor might melt the hearts of East 136th Street's scattered progeny--but she takes an unrealistically cozy view of immigrant tenement life in 1919.

Pub Date: June 19, 1979

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1979

Categories: FICTION