A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian: Marina Lewycka (Penguin Essentials, 71)

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Vera convinced their mother on her death bed to alter her will to divide it between the grandaughters rather than her daughters; Vera, of course, has two on Nedezhda's one.

All of this does not exactly spell harmony, even without the addition of an oversexed buxom blonde who is clearly after a British visa and not as much after the charms of a man five decades her senior. Along with the old man's story, I gathered considerable knowledge on the history of tractors in Ukrainian, and also an inkling of its political situation. Many a farcical event ensues and some poignantly moving ones too in a swiftly moving and often funny story.

Go back to some scenes in the novel where she explains what she wants and defends her own actions against the accusations of Nadia and her sister. Concerned about Valentina's motives, Nadezhda and Vera are drawn back into contact with each other after a long period of estrangement. Parts of it when I read it just made me really sad and hurt when reading about the old mans struggle during the war and then with his new bride! It's funny, touching, humane, disturbing, interesting by turns and frankly, a story I was sad to finish and will read again.

His two feuding daughters realize they must unite to free their father from the clutches of Valentina, a Ukrainian bombshell and “boil-in-the-bag cook” with “superior” breasts and a “genius” son, whose demands on the elderly man only begin at marriage.Valentina, crass, tacky, and pushy, is the center around which all characters revolve in this novel. But at the end of the day, and despite her frenetic activity, it's not about Valentina, it's about Nikolay, Vera and Nadia; and their mother. But here it is for those who would like to read it as part of my review: "A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian was bestselling author Marina Lewycka's bestselling debut novel which has sold over one million copies worldwide. The secret to good satire is to make fun of your characters but to do it with affection and affection is sorely missing from Lewicka's narrative.