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More copies of this ISBN:This title in other formats:A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian: A Novelby Marina Lewycka
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:With this wise, tender, and deeply funny novel, Marina Lewycka takes her place alongside Zadie Smith and Monica Ali as a writer who can capture the unchanging verities of family.
When an elderly and newly widowed Ukrainian immigrant announces his intention to remarry, his daughters must set aside their longtime feud to thwart him. For their father's intended is a voluptuous old-country gold digger with a proclivity for green satin underwear and an appetite for the good life of the West. As the hostilities mount and family secrets spill out, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian combines sex, bitchiness, wit, and genuine warmth in its celebration of the pleasure of growing old disgracefully. Review:"The premise of Lewycka's debut novel is classic Viagra comedy: a middle-aged professor's aging and widowed father announces he intends to marry a blonde, big-breasted 30-something woman he has met at the local Ukrainian Social Club in the English town where he lives, north of London. It is clear to Nadezhda and her sister, Vera, that the femme fatale Valentina is only after Western luxuries — certainly not genuine love of any kind. Smitten with the ambitious hussy, their father forges ahead to help Valentina settle in England, spending what little pension he has buying her cars and household appliances and even financing her cosmetic surgery. In the meantime, Nadezhda, a socialist, and Vera, a proud capitalist, confront the longstanding ill will between them as they try to save their father from his folly. Predictable and sometimes repetitive hilarity ensues. But then Lewycka's comic narrative changes tone. Nadezhda, who has never known much about her parents' history, pieces it together with her sister and learns that there is more to her cartoonish father than she once believed. 'I had thought this story was going to be a knockabout farce, but now I see it is developing into a knockabout tragedy,' Nadezhda says at one point, and though she is referring to Valentina, she might also be describing this unusual and poignant novel. Agent, Bill Hamilton. (Mar. 7)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"Drawing on her own family, Lewycka has created a funny, tender, and intelligent novel that is as much social history as family saga. It is a delight." Booklist Review:"Not enough here to reinvigorate an old, old story." Kirkus Reviews Review:"'There's no fool like an old fool' appears to be the theme here, but Lewycka skillfully teases out a more complex story, underpinned by Ukraine's horrors under Stalin and Hitler. (Grade: B+)" Entertainment Weekly Review:"A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is a mischievous and smart book, casting a penetrating eye on the human predicament.... Review:"The narrator's voice carries us along for a ride that, despite the bumps and curves in the road, never feels anything less than jaunty. While the plot drives the story in zany circles, an intriguing lesson drawn from the tragedies of the past emerges." Los Angeles Times Review:"An amusing, astonishing debut...about how a family learns to let go of the past and live and love in the present." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Review:"In the midst of these machinations — which include long-winded letters to solicitors, venomous gossip, and all-out spying — Lewycka stealthily reveals how the depredations of the past century dictate what a family can bear." The New Yorker Review:"This fine novel is funny, rings true, and teaches a lot about the origin and development of farm equipment — but its best bit concerns the narrator's dawning awareness of what makes people who they are." Philadelphia Inquirer Review:"Lewycka...displays a terrific comic eye here. Her story resembles a zany British sitcom; her characters' manic encounters with the stolid British bureaucracy are especially hilarious." Houston Chronicle Synopsis:This wise, tender, deeply funny novel is about an eccentric elderly Ukrainian widower in England and the struggles of his two feuding daughters to thwart the voluptuous young gold-digger from the old country who sweeps him off his feet. Synopsis:"An amusing, astonishing debut . . . about how a family learns to let go of the past and live and love in the present." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution With this wise, tender, and deeply funny novel, Marina Lewycka takes her place alongside Zadie Smith and Monica Ali as a writer who can capture the unchanging verities of family. When an elderly and newly widowed Ukrainian immigrant announces his intention to remarry, his daughters must set aside their longtime feud to thwart him. For their father's intended is a voluptuous old-country gold digger with a proclivity for green satin underwear and an appetite for the good life of the West. As the hostilities mount and family secrets spill out, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian combines sex, bitchiness, wit, and genuine warmth in its celebration of the pleasure of growing old disgracefully. "A charming comedy of eros... A ride that, despite the bumps and curves in the road, never feels anything less than jaunty." Los Angeles Times "Lewycka is a writer with a fundamentally optimistic vision of the future and a healthy curiosity about the past." Chicago Tribune "Charming, poignantly funny." The Washington Post Book World About the AuthorMarina Lewycka was born of Ukrainian parents in a refugee camp at the end of World War II and grew up in England. In the course of researching her family roots for this novel, she uncovered no fewer than three long-lost relatives. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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