Marina LewyckaRecensioni

Two stars seemed unnecessarily harsh, so I've gone for three. This is quite an odd book. On the face of it, quite a cheery romp through the end of a marriage, and an unlikely friendship with an eccentric old woman. However, there are sub-themes of Middle Eastern history and politics and religious cults all bound together with the metaphor of glue. I read it willingly enough, but at the same time, I rather wanted to get it over with so I could get on with something more worthwhile.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. This did not affect my opinion of the book in any way.


It's not often you find a nice, satirical novel dealing with the complexities of modern life. This book provides just that. Ms Lewycka gives us insight on what life in modern London is like when you're just a normal person struggling between unemployment, health issues, an overly-complex love life... and of course, your everyday benefit fraud. When Berthold's mother dies, he is forced to take Inna, a complete stranger met at the hospital, home with him to impersonate his mother until he can transfer the tenancy of the small council house in his name. But Inna, with her eccentricites, Ukranian food and broken English might be just what Berthold needed to jump start his life again.

This book was really interesting in many respects. I enjoyed taking a look at Berthold's life and that of the people who shared his same situation. This book can boast an impressive cast of colourful characters, each more bizarre than the last, and they were truly a joy to read about. Inna in particular was a favourite of mine, with her weird view of the world and her adorably funny way of speaking. And while I have to admit I wasn't a big fan of Berthold's at the beginning (and throughout most of the book), he did kind of grow on me by the end, and I was happy to see him change so radically throughout. I also enjoyed Violet's storyline - the young, Kenyan girl who tries to make it and the big city, but soon has to decide between her integrity and her job. She is a tough character, trying hard to find herself and her path in the midst of chaos and definitely very admirable.

On the whole, this was a very enjoyable read. The only thing that disappointed me a little were actually my expectations of it: it was pitched as "hilarious", so I was expecting a lot more humor than I actually found in it. Sure, I smiled through most of it, but I never found it laugh-out-loud funny. Now this may totally be me not getting it, but it still left me slightly dissatisfied exactly because I was expecting a different thing. But if you like a good satire, it's definitely worth a read!½

I really enjoyed this story. I also found myself talking in a very bad Ukrainian accent to my husband and co-workers for no apparent reason.

THis was a surprisingly good read. While it is ostensibly the comic story of venal migrant's marriage of cconvenience, it actually tells us a lot about Ukraine's awful 20th century history and also portrays the largely hidden traumas of an apparently successful refugee migrant family's resettlement in the UK. You also get a good dose of tractor history for free!

40 pages in and so far love it.

Boring, didn’t finish it.

Interesting read. Love the entanglement, but easy to follow sun plots

Cảm nghĩ duy nhất về truyện này: đáng đời ông bố.

Well, this book was interesting.....
Two years after his wife's death, eighty four year old Nikolaj has fallen in 'love' with buxom bottle blonde thirty four year old Ukrainian Valentina. They subsuquently get married and Nikolai's daughters Vera & Nadezhda must join forces despite the arguements that have coloured their relationship for the last few years.
In some ways I enjoyed this book & in others I didn't.
I'm a real history buff so I found the backstory of WW2, the Russian civil war & the resulting fallout afterward which actually explains why most of the main characters were the way they were (ie, not likeable). I actually realised I didn't really like any of the main characters in the end. Nadia is ok, but a bit whiny (peace time baby) (plus did we really need to know all her thoughts? It just made her sound petty). Vera is so negative & cynical she makes Professor Snape look like a bag of rainbows & Nikolaj is just difficult, stubborn & at times just plain stupid which was a bit of an oxymoron considering he was a celebrated engineer in Ukraine. Testostorone, 'nuff said!
This story is pretty sad in a lot of ways as we learn about old family struggles through the war & the general chaos that comes after it. Old family grudges came into play too (I actually wondered if my sister sees me like Nadia sees Vera at times. I'm sure she doesn't lol)
The only real problem I had with the book though is the blurb on the back (& a couple of quotes) touted this as being 'extremely hilarious' which went right over my head as I don't see anything funny about elder abuse or family grudges & arguments. There were a couple of funny moments at the end but the rest of it, well.... I dunno.
*side note* Dad, if Mum pops her clogs first & I catch you doing naked yoga, that's it buddy. You're on you're own lol! Anyway, this book probably isn't for everyone but I think it warrants a re-read at some stage when I've worked out a bit more of the history of Ukraine & those exceedingly confusing Russian patronymics!

all of the blurbs on this very-british* copy of a short history of tractors in ukrainian say it is "extremely funny," and "a comic feast," and "hilarious." it even won a prize for comic fiction, i guess. the thing is, i didn't see this as a comedy in any way. i wondered what these people were talking about, so i looked at other reviews, reviews that mentioned "wacky, insane antics of eastern european immigrants" and "the senility of the old" and the like. aha, ha, ho, i get it now! funny! desperation and poverty and very real trauma IS hilarious! ho ho.

eh, i don't know -- the problem here is that the characters can be a little one-dimensional or stereotypical, even though i get the feeling that this is based very much in the real experiences of the author's family and/or country-people. but the things that happened to these characters, the way they feel about it, the difference in perception between two sisters, one born during war, one born right after, is very real and palpable here. i read this book feeling very sad, very annoyed with the main character, very much rooting for the "wrong" people. but even those people that we are not supposed to root for show insane depths every now and then. there's the "gold-digger" walking with the main character through the icy streets, both clinging to each other to stay upright. and i keep thinking of a father so consumed with hatred at his daughter and her supposed communist activities, which to any westerner would be viewed as run-of-the-mill 60's activism, that he packs his bags and tries to get a train from the UK to russia because he might as well not have left. or the way tractors, tools of agriculture, can be turned to purposes of war. to me, parts of this book can be beautiful, but there's not much funny there.

so, i don't know -- from my perspective, this was an intense family story that i could relate to in more than a few ways and which had characters that, though they weren't fully fleshed out people, had an impact on my brain and challenged some of my own perceptions.






*here in Poland, almost all books in english are imported from the UK, which doesn't really matter, except that they often have blurbs from different sources on the covers, and the cover designs are usually much much prettier, to my eyes.

Te jó ég, mennyire jó laptopon írni értékelést, nem pedig az okostelefont toszogatni! Belekábul az ember az örömbe, hogy nem csak azt a két vaskos hüvelykjét használhatja, hanem száguldhat mind a tíz ujj (no jó, csak uszkve négy-hat, a többi inaktív) a klaviatúra végtelen térségein... Nem cserélném el ezt az érzést három Szent Imrés könyvespolcra sem. De még arra a fiktív Szent Imre kórházra sem, amit a kedvemért könyvtárrá alakítanak át.

És most a regényről.

Úgy fest, kétféle bevándorló van. Az egyik már bevándorolt, ott ül a jó ölmeleg Angliában, viszonylagos létbiztonságban, és már csak rossz emlék neki, hogy egykor olyan ország polgára volt, ami rendszerszinten falta fel gyermekeit. A másik viszont még csak most akar bevándorolni, a perifériáról áttenné székhelyét a centrumba, hogy ott zsákmányolják ki. Igen, akarja, hogy kizsákmányolják, szar melót lőcsöljenek rá, olyasmit, amit a született angol a világ minden pénzéért sem végezne el, csak annyit kíván, hogy mindez helyileg az álmok földjén, a kapitalizmus bölcsőjében történjen. És hogy ezt elérje, semmiféle piszkos trükktől nem riad vissza.

Nagyezsda már szinte angol: angol férj, angol munkahely és többé-kevésbé angol mentalitás fémjelzi. Szüleivel és nővérével, Verával érkezett meg még a világháború utáni zűrzavarban Ukrajnából Britanniába, ahol sikerült is szépen betagozódnia. Csak hát frissen megözvegyült édesapja megbolondulni látszik: kinéz magának egy bögyös ukrán feleségjelöltet kamasz gyerekkel meg minden, és beleszeret. Ki akarja menteni a Szovjetunió szétesése után rohamosan gengszterizálódó Ukrajnából, be akarja kuckósítani maga mellé a családi lakba, ennek érdekében pedig nem is riad vissza semmitől. Megveszett az öregúr, megvezették, vagy csak magányos? Kit érdekel! A lényeg, hogy mindenféle élősködő kelet-európaiak ne piszkolják össze a családi harmóniát. Úgyhogy a két nővér összefog, és háborút hirdet a telt keblű és dúlt lelkű jövevény ellen.

Lewycka nagyon jól érez rá az efféle családi tragikomédiák hangulatára. Amit leír, az persze egyfajta olvasat szerint felettébb mulatságos, de csak felületesen nézve az: valójában szánalmas csatározás, ahol az egyik oldalon a már betagozódottak vannak, a másik oldalon pedig szegény Valentina, aki egy talpalatnyi helyet, egy cseppnyi létbiztonságot akar kikaparni magának, bármi áron. Olyan küzdelem ez, aminek egész egyszerűen nem lehetnek győztesei, Lewycka pedig kiválóan mutatja be ennek az egész mocskos adok-kapoknak a dinamikáját. És miközben kifejezetten szakszerűen interpretálja az első és második generációs bevándorlók lehetőségeit és motivációikat, még arra is jut ideje, hogy betekintést nyújtson az olvasónak a vérzivataros ukrán történelembe*. Sokrétű, érdekes könyv, nem annyira vicces, mint inkább a szekunder szégyenünkre apellál, de Lewyckának arról az oldaláról sikerül megközelítenie a migráció kérdését, ahonnan - azt hiszem - előtte nem nagyon szemlélte még senki.

* Mondjuk a második világháborús szál számomra valahogy idegen test maradt a szövegben.

It is a serious book with a healthy dose of humor, healthy dose of tragic human history, healthy dose of facts on tractor history, and a healthy mix of Ukraine and England. The aftertaste is quite somber actually, about the strange phenomenon called human life and whether past should be left in past.

Because of recent events in the Ukraine, I found myself looking for Ukrainian fiction translated into English. My search uncovered this book by a British novelist of Ukrainian background. Its quirky title appealed, and I discovered it appeared on the 2005 Booker Prize longlist and Orange Prize shortlist.

The novel is narrated by Nadia whose 84-year-old widowed father Nikolai has fallen in love with Valentina, a 36-year-old Ukrainian divorcee. Nadia has been estranged from her older sister Vera but the two join forces to stop the marriage and, when that doesn’t work, to have Valentina deported. Nikolai is infatuated with the glamorous woman with “superior breasts,” but they believe Valentina has married Nikolai for the money she believes he has, so she can remain in Britain, and so her teenaged son can receive a good education. The sisters’ visits to their family home show Valentina physically and psychologically abusing Nikolai who finds comfort in writing his history of tractors, passages from which are interspersed throughout the narrative.

Many reviewers have commented on the humour in the book. There is humour: Nikolai describes his marriage to Valentina as a matter of balance, like finding the correct ratio between lift and drag in the design of an aircraft wing, and Nadia comments that Valentina “’has plenty of uplift but she’s a bit of a drag.’” But I didn’t find the book side-splittingly hilarious because of the serious overtones. There is some comedy in Nikolai’s being besotted with a much-younger woman, but Valentina’s treatment of Nikolai can only be called elder abuse. The arrival of Valentina also brings “to the surface a sludge of sloughed-off memories, giving the family ghosts a kick up the backside.” These memories of life in Ukraine in the first half of the 20th century are not in any way humourous. I think one of Nadia’s comments is apropos: “I had thought this story was going to be a knockabout farce, but now I see it is developing into a knockabout tragedy.”

Nikolai arrived in England after World War II as a refugee. His memories of life in Ukraine include several events in Ukraine’s history: Stalin’s purges, the Holodomor, Babi Yar, and Nazi occupation. There is not a great deal of detail but sufficient to convey the nature of each catastrophe and to inspire readers to seek further information in non-fiction sources. Certainly, one becomes aware of the complicated relationship between Ukraine and Russia. Through the course of the novel, Nadia learns more about her parents’ history and comes to understand how they were shaped by history and how Vera’s pessimistic views of people’s natures originated in her experiences as a War Baby.

What is impressive about the characterization is that though none of the main characters are likeable, they do arouse some sympathy. For instance, Vera describes Valentina as “’a tart. And a criminal. But still, I had to admire her.’” Nadia admits that Valentina is a complex person: “slaving long low-wage shifts in the nursing home, behind the bar at the Imperial Hotel, toiling in my father’s bedroom. Yes, she is greedy, predatory, outrageous, but she is a victim too. A source of cheap labour.” Valentina resorts to criminal activity to get comfort and security for her son but “’Women have always gone to extremes for their children. . . . Wouldn’t Mother have done the same for us, Vera? If we were desperate? If there was no other way?’”

Nikolai has not always behaved admirably in the past, but Nadia comes to realize that he did what was necessary to survive. Her father can be seen as a dirty old man, but it is impossible to ignore his loneliness and desire for happiness: “I had thought there was a happy story to tell about my parents’ life, a tale of triumph over tragedy, of love overcoming impossible odds, but now I see that there are only fleeting moments of happiness, to be seized and celebrated before they slip away.”
When newscasts bring only catastrophic news from Ukraine, there are elements in this book that resonated. I see Ukrainian refugees crossing into Poland at Przemysl where Nikolai and his family crossed as well. I see the Ukrainian flag everywhere: “two oblongs of colour, blue over yellow – yellow for the cornfields, blue for the sky.” Were Nikolai to add another chapter to his book, he’d undoubtedly write about ploughshares being turned into swords again as war refugees once again flee Ukraine. Please let there be more Peacetime Babies than War Babies.

Though it may be advertised as a comic book, this novel shows how history affects people.

Note: Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).½

Some very interesting and insightful passages on Ukrainian history and principally on why some people tend to gravitate towards socialist ideas and some don't.
The older sister who had had more life experience rejected it and her younger sister tended away from it the more her opinions were tempered with experience.
Socialism is a delusion which is based on a faulty view of human nature ( that human nature is benign ), the more one has to interact in the real world the more this becomes apparent.
The war baby wasn't lumbered with ideas about the perfectibility of human relations, she understood something her peacetime sister only caught glimpses of.
The more one realises that they have something they need to protect, the less sense socialism makes as it opens up our existence to interference from all.
Socialism in the middle class West is a position held by people who never had to stand up for anything significant and take civilization for granted.
There are some good moments of humor, but overall its comic value plays second fiddle to the deeper themes.

I bought A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian from a charity shop because the title made me smile. It’s an easy to read story with humorous characters who exhibit a down to earth display of real people. The story is unpredictable, with twists and turns that keep you gripped to the next page. I read it in a single day sat on the train.

The writing style is easy to follow, the only places I skipped ahead were the non-fiction parts about tractors littered throughout the story. I enjoyed how the multiple storylines mingled together giving depth to each of the characters individually. The context of the story was educational and eye opening for me, whilst still being familiar and believable. The story came across as well planned, each part added to the plot and the development of the characters whilst keeping a relaxed, enjoyable pace.


Light-hearted, humorous book well worth a read.

This book has been on my radar for a while now. It features in the '1001' books list and has also won a few prizes, when I spotted it was available for £3 from my local Waterstones I decided I shouldn't leave without it.

The story revolves around the battle 2 sisters have trying to save their father who is in his 80's from a woman he is to marry who is in her early 30's. It quickly becomes obvious that the woman, Valentina does not have good intentions and that the old man is besotted by the notion of rescuing her from a life in Ukraine. He also is quite clear a boobs man. :giggle: Along the way the family past is revealed and the two sisters attempt to settle their differences.

There is a lot of quite dark humour throughout the book and for me this was it's saving grace. I can't say that I didn't like the book but it never really moved me aside from the laughs. Valentina is quite an amusing caricature as far as her description goes and her loose command of the English language leads to some quite amusing exchanges.

None of the characters are particularly likeable, neither Nadezdha or Vera moved me in any way. They are presented as polar opposite personalities but I just found them to be fairly wooden at times. I also found the plot a bit... all over the shop. It's not that it was hard to follow it just felt very messy.

It is a very easy book to read though, I read most of it in one leisurely Sunday which is not something I can say for many books. It is easy to dip in and out of I just feel that a stricter editor would have improved the book somewhat. This review may sound very negative but it is not a bad book, it just didn't move me. Perhaps that fact that I have read some great books recently didn't help it.

One final word of warning, the old man poops himself a lot

Lewycka blev født i en flygtningelejr i Kiel kort efter anden verdenskrig og voksede derefter op i England. Det er altså let at se, at hun trækker på familiens historie i romanen, der blev en kæmpe succes, da den udkom i 2005. Desværre lykkes det ikke helt at forløse stoffet, og det skyldes i min optik, at hun har svært ved at vælge, hvad det er for en historie, hun vil fortælle.

Da historien tager sin begyndelse, er fortælleren Nadja i åben konflikt med søsteren Vera. De har ikke talt sammen siden moderens død, hvor det ifølge Nadja lykkedes Vera at tiltuske sig mere af arven, end hun var berettiget til.

Nu bliver de imidlertid nødt til at samarbejde, for deres far Nikolaj har besluttet sig for at blive gift med den meget yngre Valentina. Hun prøver ihærdigt at undslippe det postkommunistiske Ukraine for at skabe en bedre fremtid for sin søn, og vejen går altså over et ægteskab, der kan sikre hende permanent opholdstilladelse. Søstrene ser hende selvfølgelig som en golddigger, og når man læser, hvor nedladende og følelseskoldt hun behandler faderen, er det ikke helt ved siden af. At Valentina kun kan varme posemad og kaster sig i armene på først den ene, så den anden mand, gør ikke billedet mere sympatisk.

Mens døtrene hurtigt bliver stålsatte på at få smidt Valentina ud, så er faderen mere i tvivl. Han er begejstret for Valentinas bryster, men først og fremmest er han ensom, og fordi Valentinas (eks)mand er rektor på en polyteknisk skole hjemme i Ukraine, er han villig til at strække sig langt. Nikolaj er stadig i dyb sorg over tabet af moderen, og det mærkværdige forhold til Valentina bliver sammen med realiseringen af en længe næret drøm om at skrive traktorens historie en vej tilbage til livet.

Til gengæld bliver den fælles fjende en anledning til forsoning mellem Nadja og Vera, og lillesøsteren får endelig klarhed over nogle af de ting, der foregik under Stalin og under den nazistiske besættelse. Det er ikke en heltefortælling, men en deprimerende almindelig historie om en familieskæbne, der blev smadret af først den ene og så den anden totalitære magt. Det var bare heldigt, at det lykkedes at undslippe til vesten, da krigen endelig var slut.

Der er altså masser af gods i bogen. Årene i Ukraine ligger som en skygge hen over livet i England, søstrenes anspændte forhold er i selv interessant, og Valentinas ambitioner er såre menneskelige. Det lykkes bare ikke rigtigt at forløse historierne, fordi romanen vil det hele på én gang – den sidste del flirter oven i købet med feel-good folkekomedie.

I just needed something light. Life has been hectic and I needed some laughter. Well, this book served the purpose. I could pick it apart if I did wish to do it, but I have decided to take it at face value. It is light, it is fun. It does have aspects that I found more disturbing than comic - elderly abuse should not be taken unthinkingly – and the degree of family dysfunction gets to heights only seen in Greek tragedies. But, again, I stayed true to my own vow to just relax and enjoy it, without making great rationalizations. It worked.

I recommend it to anyone in need of stress relief, with the recommendation not to overanalyze it.

Plus a bit of a star. Well written and a comforting angle to some uncomfortable topics. The author has packed in some interesting takes on a whole lot of subjects - WWII, Irish troubles, Israel/Palestine, old age, teenage, middle age, housing - with some parallels drawn but not overdone. A light touch. I can see from other reviews that a lot of readers were disappointed but not sure what they are demanding. I enjoyed sharing the few hectic months with the protagonist that offered life changing potential and don't feel that tragedy or drama would have been a more fitting outcome than the one we were offered. And happy to share some optimism for a few hours.

Well written and the subject matter that tipped me into giving 4 stars. I guess I'm the right age group to enjoy it and the author has thrown enough plot into it to make 3 or 4 books - which I love. Needed to pay attention to follow it all.... Doncaster, communes, miners, economics, short selling, allotments, schools and reunions to name a few.

Nikolai de 84 años ucraniano, se enamora de Valentina 36 años venida del Este. Cuando habla a sus hijas de que pretende casarse con ella. Va contando la historia de la familia.

This is a tender and funny story.A great read.

This book was short-listed for the Orange Prize, and long-listed for the Booker in 2005. It's a fun, comic novel.

Our narrator, Nadezhda's father, a Ukrainian immigrant in England, meets and marries a much younger Ukrainian woman, who appears to be a floozy and a gold digger. Nadezhda and her sister Vera are barely speaking, but they join forces to protect their father. The book story is told with lots of humor, but I also learned a lot about the Ukraine and Russia, and also tractors.

I really adored this book and found it difficult to put down. She did a remarkable job with capturing the Ukrainian voice, not just in dialogue but in capturing the essence of humor, values, and trauma from World War II. The architecture of the story is really minimal, yet complex. It is told in pieces across various conversations and memories. Some chapters are just conversations, the story playing out in conversations about the action. I laughed out loud and was moved to tears over and over again. The relationship between the sisters was especially poignant-both having experienced trauma, but the older one actually remembering it, and the rift that causes between them. Just splendidly done.

Quirky, touching and thoroughly enjoyable. So many moments where I related it back to my own family and their "strange" habits. Must be a Ukrainian thing.