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Usually ships in 1 business days | | | 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 fathers 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 | | | |
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| | Product Details | | Author: | Marina Lewycka | | Paperback: | 304 pages | | Publisher: | Penguin (Non-Classics) | | Publication Date: | March 28, 2006 | | ISBN: | 0143036742 | | Package Length: | 8.0 inches | | Package Width: | 5.0 inches | | Package Height: | 0.6 inches | | Package Weight: | 0.6 pounds | | Average Customer Rating: |  based on 82 reviews |
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| | Customer Reviews | Average Customer Review:
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0 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Strange family saga Jun 02, 2008
I didn't really enjoy this book. Some parts were entertaining/humorous, but I found the book hard to pick up. It definitely did not capture my attention. The general consensus of our book club was that we would not recommend this book to our friends.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
A Short History of Cross-Cultural, Cross-Generational Mishaps May 11, 2008
The premise of this fun little novel is simple: An elderly Ukrainian widower in Britain falls in love with a voluptuous young Ukrainian woman and brings her over to the UK. Kanye West has told this story before -- Now I ain't sayin' she a gold digger, but she ain't messin' wit no broke . . . well, actually he is broke. And when she realizes the old man's pension won't provide the luxuries of the West, things get rocky. His two feuding daughters must then rescue him from her clutches, despite their mutual loathing.
I actually began the novel with some trepidation as it borders on Chick Lit, and I am a non-chick. Lewycka does include many conventions of the genre -- intra-familial drama, chatty narration, Dark Family Secrets, and feckless male characters. Nevertheless, her wit and comic timing rescue the novel, as does the genuinely interesting history she weaves into the narrative. Her treatment of Ukrainian emigre life and her characterization are also spot on. The Ukrainian characters all rang true with me -- the strong, matriarchal mother, the grasping, stilleto-heeled beauty and the cerebral, absent-minded "engineer" are types you often meet in Ukraine.
Much of Tractors coincides directly with my thesis topic, and I'm impressed with how well she drew in the history of Soviet Ukraine, World War II, and the plight of the Displaced Persons. If I have a quibble, it's in her overly dark view of modern-day Ukraine. But this is a tiny flaw in an otherwise enjoyable read.
 Touching and Amusing Feb 01, 2008
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is an engaging tale focusing on family dynamics. Anyone who has ever encountered sibling rivalry (read: anyone with a sibling) will relate to the interations between Vera and Nadia, the book's protagonist. The sister's father, Nikolai, is an 84 year old widow who has decided that the cure for his lonliness is to marry a big busted, bleached blond, Ukrainian with a penchant for furs, jewels, peach nail polish and satin underwear named Valentina so that she can immigrate to the UK. Hilarity ensues as the sisters struggle to move past their strained relationship in order to rescue their father, and his bank account, from the gold-digging Valentina. This book will tug at your heartstrings and make you laugh out loud at the same time.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Simply wonderful Nov 15, 2007
It didn't take too long for me to fall in love with this book. Beautifully written, carefully sculpted, full of wit and charm, very hard to put down. I have to limit myself to picking it up only when I'm tucked in for the night, otherwise I don't get anything accomplished during the day...just reading this wonderful book. I have recommended it to everyone I know who enjoys a good story.
2 of 6 found the following review helpful:
I had to force my self to finish... Oct 08, 2007
I had heard only praise for this book. I started with high hopes, but after about the second chapter I already hated it.
For me, perhaps the most annoying thing about the writing, is the authors usage of explanatory details in parentheses. She uses them a lot, way way too much. It becomes annoying and stupid when the same joke about a big breasted Ukrainian or how someone pronounces English appears every other page in parentheses
As for the book allegedly being funny, I don't think I laughed once. The jokes are childish.
In the end, I have no idea how this book has won so much praise.
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