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“Isabelle S said: 3 stars
Play Book Tag Shelf wrote this review 6 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The first few sentences give you a summary of the story: "Two years after my mother died, my father fell in love with a glamorous blond Ukrainian divorcee. He was eighty-four and she was thirty-six. She exploded into our lives like a fluffy pink grenade, churning up the murky water, bringing to the surface sludge of sloughed-off memories, giving the family ghosts a kick up the backside."
The narrator is Nadezhda, a late-40s professor at a polytechnic university. She has a husband and a daughter and shops at Oxfam. Her sister Vera, ten years older, has two daughters and the spoils of three rather lucrative divorces, and carries Gucci bags. The sisters rarely speak, particularly after a row over the division of their mother's bequest. But the appearance of Valentina, she of the "superior, Botticellian breasts" and rapacious greed, unites the sisters against a common enemy.
This book is difficult for me to categorize. It's billed in several places as a comedy - "hilarity ensues." But while the saga of Nikolai and Valentina is written in many places as farcical, but for the most part to me the humor wasn't black, just grey and sad. Valentina's a grasping wench, but she's clawing her way out of "Ukraina' any way she can, wanting better for her pampered, self-important teenage son. Nikolai wants to pretend he's still young and vital and desirable, and if it's only for his money he's prepared to deal with that. But his daughters aren't, particularly when Valentina becomes abusive when the money isn't there.
Lewycka is great at writing family dynamics. I especially related to the way Nadia, as the baby of the family, finds herself reverting to a "bogey-nosed four year old" in her interactions with her perennially big sister. And perhaps because my own father is Nikolai's age and recently widowed, I was moved at how well Lewycka portrays the quandary an aging parent presents for an adult child - that mix of childhood hero, his own personal history and the infirmities (physical and sometimes mental) of the aging. Just when Nikolai is at his most illogical and childlike, Lewycka lets him read another short excerpt from his history of tractors, and insightful look at the economic, political and social impact of this simple machine on an entire country. Or Nadia uncovers another memory from the family's escape from Stalin-era Ukraine, and the dangers and deprivations faced by ordinary people just trying to survive. And I liked how she let Nadia come right up to some family truths, but didn't unpack and belabor them, just set them aside as Nadia (finally) matures a bit and decides what really matters.
The audio version is read by Sian Thomas, who does an incredible job with the Ukranian accents.
”
“The first few sentences give you a summary of the story: "Two years after my mother died, my father fell in love with a glamorous blond Ukrainian divorcee. He was eighty-four and she was thirty-six. She exploded into our lives like a fluffy pink grenade, churning up the murky water, bringing to the surface sludge of sloughed-off memories, giving the family ghosts a kick up the backside."
Isabelle S wrote this review 9 days ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
The narrator is Nadezhda, a late-40s professor at a polytechnic university. She has a husband and a daughter and shops at Oxfam. Her sister Vera, ten years older, has two daughters and the spoils of three rather lucrative divorces, and carries Gucci bags. The sisters rarely speak, particularly after a row over the division of their mother's bequest. But the appearance of Valentina, she of the "superior, Botticellian breasts" and rapacious greed, unites the sisters against a common enemy.
This book is difficult for me to categorize. It's billed in several places as a comedy - "hilarity ensues." But while the saga of Nikolai and Valentina is written in many places as farcical, but for the most part to me the humor wasn't black, just grey and sad. Valentina's a grasping wench, but she's clawing her way out of "Ukraina' any way she can, wanting better for her pampered, self-important teenage son. Nikolai wants to pretend he's still young and vital and desirable, and if it's only for his money he's prepared to deal with that. But his daughters aren't, particularly when Valentina becomes abusive when the money isn't there.
Lewycka is great at writing family dynamics. I especially related to the way Nadia, as the baby of the family, finds herself reverting to a "bogey-nosed four year old" in her interactions with her perennially big sister. And perhaps because my own father is Nikolai's age and recently widowed, I was moved at how well Lewycka portrays the quandary an aging parent presents for an adult child - that mix of childhood hero, his own personal history and the infirmities (physical and sometimes mental) of the aging. Just when Nikolai is at his most illogical and childlike, Lewycka lets him read another short excerpt from his history of tractors, and insightful look at the economic, political and social impact of this simple machine on an entire country. Or Nadia uncovers another memory from the family's escape from Stalin-era Ukraine, and the dangers and deprivations faced by ordinary people just trying to survive. And I liked how she let Nadia come right up to some family truths, but didn't unpack and belabor them, just set them aside as Nadia (finally) matures a bit and decides what really matters.
The audio version is read by Sian Thomas, who does an incredible job with the Ukranian accents. ”
“Sisters abet to help their father get past his marriage to a young Ukranian woman that is trying to get permanent residence. In the process, we learn about the history of tractors, the history of the family and the history of many Ukranians during WWII”
Jane H wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“I now know a lot more about the industrial revolution in Ukraine! A very witty book which is an easy and quite compelling read.
Chris H wrote this review 2 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
A quirky little story with strong characters, great snap-shot insight into their lives (past and present) and some rather unusual "personal habits".”“very amusing, although a quite serious subject”
sabine a wrote this review 3 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Chosen by Jan
Stirling Book Group wrote this review Saturday, November 28 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Score - 66 out of 100”“Cute and fun read...great book to read on a vacation...”
Natalie Y wrote this review Friday, November 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Chosen by Jan
Book Group wrote this review Friday, November 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
Score - 66 out of 100”
“im not to happy with this book i think that i went by the ccover cos i was in a rush and just bought it lol”
Joel Y wrote this review Wednesday, November 18 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
