"Luda and Milena"

Lara Vapnyar, the author of “Luda and Milena,” emigrated from Russia to New York in 1994 and began publishing short stories in English in 2002. She lives on Staten Island and is pursuing a Ph.D. in comparative literature at CUNY Graduate Center. The story “Luda and Milena” is about two female Russian immigrants named Luda and Milena who partake in an English as a second learning class with other people of different countries. One man, Aron, about there age fancies these ladies throughout the weeks of class. However he only talks to one of the two ladies each week, and he decides who he talks to by which dish he likes better. Each week during the class everyone brings in a dish from their country to introduce what they have to bring to the United States. Aron ends up dieing because of either a dish Luda or Milena made when they brought the same thing. Luda was sad when they heard that news of Arons death, and Milena was indifferent. Vapnyar writing style demonstrates how she is an immigrant through her ideas about the United States culture. When the Chinese couple brought McDonalds to the pot luck because they wanted to show how American they are. She also uses her knowledge about different cultures to aid her in her writing since she can use different perspectives to enhance the readers read. For example when Luda views the cooking shows and the hostess who is usually petit compared to what she was used to in Russia. Vapnyar also includes blunt dialogue to signify a point. There is little literary merit with in the story since this story is not an extension of any other story I have read. It does not possess an underling story that can be retold throughout time, as does how Romeo and Juliet for example is retold through the story West Side Story. “Luda and Milena” is a simple narrative of two women who gain affection from a man by their cooking. However I enjoyed reading this story since it was an effortless read, and kept my interest throughout.