A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian | 
so-soI have rarely been so misled by reviews and marketing. Absolutely nothing about this book ist funny. It's a rather tragic family story, the family scarred by several conflicts and ideologies of both East and West. The loss of home and connection, the devide between generations as a result and the cost of survival are portrayed realistically without being too explicit. But hilarious? What about this would be? Also super weird bra-seize obsession 😒
@julieclair you #book2book arrived a few days ago. Thank you! And I got your card and stickers @KadaGul , thank you! Another fun book exchange 🙂📚.
pickI chuckled my way all the way through this book, which captured so well the exasperation that adult children often feel when dealing with each other and with aging parents. These characters all felt so real! But despite the lighthearted tone, this book deals with some very emotional and poignant subjects, including the turbulent history of Ukraine. Written in 2005, but very timely for our world today.
This was my #ReadOrDonate selection for May.
This morning‘s word is from A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian. I might have to share another one tonight from my Tolkien reading.
perspicacious: (adjective) having a ready insight into and understanding of things
#WeirdWords #WeirdWordWednesday
pickThis book is an interesting mix of an older parent trying to find new happiness in the face of loss, family dynamics, immigration (to England), and Ukrainian history. It‘s definitely got some dark humor while also delving into realistic family issues. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
#1001books #Ukraine #ReadAroundTheWorld #ReadTheWorld #ReadingTheWorld
Sourdough pan pizza and broccoli salad for supper tonight! Now to enjoy a few more pages of this book.
#ReadAndEat
so-soLike a 90 Day Fiancée storyline but I found it surprisingly weighty: 2 estranged sisters come together to unentangle their father from a younger woman‘s clutches. Their frustration with their horny, hapless, selfish father is palpable. Running beneath this deceptively madcap plot (the prose is airy but the events touch on grim) is a story about grief and reckoning with your family‘s past and own immigrant journey.
pickVera and Nadezhda face a battle of wills against their elderly father‘s young new wife Valentina. What follows is a story that is in turns darkly funny, a little bit crazy, terribly sad, and then also hopeful. The history of Ukraine and issues of immigration and memory weave through what is at heart a family story (confession: I skipped the excerpts about the tractors).
Not the usual type of #conveyances, but they do convey hay!
#200pnpcovers #standwithukraine @CrowCAH @mabell
pickI loved this book! Comic-tragedy, dark farce, however you want to categorize it, I felt the MC‘s frustration, and yet loved her father. Hated what Valentina was doing to Nikolai and yet could laugh at her expectations (“not-peasant-cooking not-electric cooker”!) Highly recommended! #doublespin @TheAromaofBooks
My two latest thrift store finds. Loving both of them.
pickOctogenarian widower Nikolai informs his estranged daughters he plans to marry Valentina, a divorcée 50 years his junior with superior Botticellian breasts. They must put a stop to this madness! Tragedy? Comedy? Farce? Let's call it a tragi-comic farce. It's funny on top but serious beneath. There is backstory but she doesn't make a three course (boil-in-bag!) dinner of it. The tone is bang-on and the prose moves at quite a clip. Much to enjoy!
pickI‘m not sure I found it champagne-and-books-and-a-pig funny (the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize, which it won in 2005) but it was a fairly entertaining read. I‘d recommend A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian for when you want your multi-generational epic compacted, and served with a spoonful of sugar. My full review here: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/a-short-history-of-tractors-in-ukrainian-ma...
pickInitially picked this up because it‘s on the #1001Books list. I might not have otherwise but glad I did! It seems deceptively simple— a dark comedy about a younger woman bamboozling an elderly man into marriage, and his two adult daughters try to step in. But also looks at issues such as elder abuse, immigrants wanting better lives at any cost, and family dynamics that feel familiar to many. Quite a book. Great #buddyread w/ @Lynnsoprano .
This made me chuckle...but also reminded me one reason why I haven‘t finished War and Peace (So many names!) 😆.
This novel was really good. Review coming soon!
pickHow to describe this book? Comic, but with dark undertones. Delightfully drawn characters. A study in family dynamics, and how family history varies by who is telling the tale. Relevant in light of current immigration discussions. Absolutely fascinating. Hard to put down. I can‘t wait to see @ValerieAndBooks review of our #buddyread. No pictures of Ukraine or tractors, but since most of the book is set in England, some English countryside.
“...in her new three-roomed concrete-built apartment on the other side of the city.”
This brings back so many memories. When we lived in Prague, we were on the 6th floor of a Communist era concrete high rise, with an elevator that worked maybe 50% of the time. The kids shared a bedroom with twin beds head to foot. And when the person who ran the boiler went on holiday, we had no hot water. I can relate. #buddyread
Nobody else would think it‘s cool, but by South Florida standards we have a bit of a break in the heat and humidity. Taking advantage after a crazy morning of running errands to bring my #buddyread out to the patio. @ValerieAndBooks I am laughing at the insults and names Valentina keeps coming up with. And I hear it in an Eastern European accent in my head. It‘s taking me back to listening to Czech friends speak English.
Page 106. This is exactly what I was thinking as I got to this point. It‘s kind of obvious that things won‘t go well if an 84 year old is conned into marriage by a 36 year old wanting permanent residency — but it‘s turning into darker tones now. What do you think @Lynnsoprano ?
“Into the soup, when it was simmering, she followed teaspoons of halushki-a paste of raw egg and semolina, beaten together with salt and herbs -which fluffed up into dumplings that crumbled on your tongue.”
Hubby‘s family background is Ukranian, and my MIL made halushki, but hers included grated raw potato and were definitely not fluffy. They were incredibly heavy, but very filling, and delicious. #buddyread
Oh, those are apples! So much for my plan to use tomatoes as a prop 😂. @Lynnsoprano ‘s cover is much more eye-catching. We‘re embarking on our third annual #buddyread with this novel.
It took us a while to get it together this time, but @ValerieAndBooks and I are about to embark on our third annual #buddyread. I‘ve been meaning to read this for a while; I bought it for @Alisnazzy two years ago at Heffers in Cambridge. It also has one of the most intriguing covers I‘ve seen. I here I go!
pickWhat to do when your recently-widowed, 84-year old father takes up with a voluptuous, much younger woman? Oh, the hijinks that take place. I really enjoyed this. It was sweet, light, and told a story that was interesting and at times very funny. It was never super sad, which is what I needed right now.
I retrieved this from @Ambrosnazzy ‘s library. The friend who recommended it and was with me when I bought it has asked me several times if I‘ve read it. Hopefully I will soon be able to answer “yes.”
There‘s nothing like Litsy mail to cheer you up when you‘re ill! Thank you so much @TrishB for the letter & book! I‘m really looking forward to reading it! My mum came round to help out and asked to borrow a book and choose your one! Before I had chance to get a photo! don‘t worry, I know where she lives and she always gives books back! She‘s loving it so far!! I hope you don‘t mind! 😬
pickQuite an interesting book. It dealt with the issues adult children have in dealing with aged parents making foolish decisions. Certainly has some humour but more serious than comic.
pickThis book had so much heart and tenderness, and was also really funny, and taught me a lot about immigration law, and tractors. Small and perfectly formed
I don‘t know much about this one but I saw it on the #1001books list and was intrigued!
pickA hilarious account of clash between two different set of immigrant families, coveting unrequited desires and the chasm between the east and west Europe. I wish the characters were a bit less stereotypical but it is a fabulous debut nonetheless.
An #bookcrossing release at St Michael‘s church in Framlingham, #Suffolk. http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/14768364/
So this “thanks post” is about a week late, but I had a very intense trial this week that took all my time and energy. But... @Lynnsoprano and my dad got me a book while on their England trip AND a legit keyboard for my apartment so I can stay home and get all my anxieties out. I‘m so happy!!! I needed this so badly! #BestParents 💖
panI read this for my book club but didn't find it funny or enjoyable. Didn't like any of the characters and it felt like it dragged on.
Time for @Cinfhen 's #RockinMay
Day 1. Immigrant Song.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, & find it strange that I've never taken to any of Lewycka's other books
#riotgrams #coolspines I love the spines on all of my old leather bound dickens collection and any other old book. But these always stand out from their friends and neighbours 📚💞
The $5 book sale of English books at the Tokyo book store is almost over!
A selection from the TBR pile which is otherwise known as my house. 😂😂
