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A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian
A Novel
by Marina Lewycka

A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian reviews


6.5

based on 19 reviews
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In this comedic debut novel, two feuding sisters team to save their father, an elderly Ukrainian widower (and author of a book on tractors) living just outside of London, from the very young, voluptuous Valentina, who is attempting to seduce him (and his money).

Penguin, 304 pages
03/17/2005
$24.95

ISBN: 1594200440

Fiction
General Literature & Fiction

All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...

The Economist

Thought-provoking, but also uproariously funny... [Lewycka's] dialogue, conducted between educated people who lack a common language, is a comic feast.

Daily Telegraph Helen Brown

Lewycka's hugely enjoyable and needling book is a marvellous dissection of the eastern European immigrant experience.

The Spectator Charlotte Hobson

[A] delightful first novel — with an understanding of history, a profundity, and yet a lightness of touch, that are a joy.

Daily Telegraph Jessica Mann

The plot is really a vehicle for social satire, some good jokes and an overdose of slapstick. It adds up to a clever, touching story.

San Francisco Chronicle Joel Whitney

An ambitious book that boils over with effortless joy and wisdom.

Washington Post Susan Adams

Charming, poignantly funny.

Village Voice Rachel Aviv

Their family problems become a cheery parody of the country's political dysfunctions.

Booklist Elizabeth Dickie

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. [1 Jan 2005, p.820]

Entertainment Weekly Bella Stander

''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.

Publishers Weekly

An unusual and poignant novel. [17 Jan 2005, p.33]

Los Angeles Times Askold Melnyczuk

A charming comedy of eros. [9 March 2005, p.E4]

Chicago Tribune Laura Ciolkowski

While the characters in Lewycka's novel are at times immensely entertaining, they never finally become fully three-dimensional, reminding us that, while caricature is part of the fun, especially in the face-off between Valentina and Nikolai, only fully drawn characters could succeed in telling the deeper, richer story of postwar Russia and the immigrant experience in the West that is at the heart of the Mayevskyj family drama. [20 March 2005, p.C4]

Boston Globe Amanda Heller

[An] awkward yet appealing polyglot farce.

Houston Chronicle Barbara Liss

Though well-intentioned, the brief passages of tractor history bring the story to a standstill.

The New York Times Book Review Boris Fishman

Lewycka is an awkward stylist, but the irony of Nadezhda's conversion is too obvious to miss. The parental silence that provided Nadezhda with a naive view of the tragic country to the east has also allowed her to shed the prejudices of that country.

The New Yorker

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 Independent Emma Hagestadt

Despite Lewycka's robust writing, the will-she-won't-she-stay element of Valentina's story is hard to sustain. The family ends up in court, but the outcome is predictable.

The Guardian Andrey Kurkov

The novel is not so much written as constructed, and the same can be said of the characters. Just about everyone portrayed in it inspires the sympathy of the reader except the Ukrainians, legal and illegal. What we see are caricatures.

The Independent Brandon Robshaw

Lewycka has a number of annoying stylistic tricks, such as making comments on the action in parentheses, or using one-line paragraphs to sum up a scene. The effect, sadly, is of over-obviousness; it's like being nudged in the ribs the whole time.

The average user rating for this book is 6.5 (out of 10) based on 19 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Elizabeth H gave it an8:
An emotional roller coaster encompassing giggles, empathy, annoyance and downright anger at the stupidity of the main character. Sibling rivalry was depicted in a humorous and superbly accurate way and the 'ding ding' of identifications bells will chime for many as they read this book.

Amanda W gave it a4:
I got frustrated with Nikolai because he was too blinded by Valentina's breasts to see the truth of the situation. Halfway through, I just wanted him to get rid of her. Other readers may have found this book funny, but all I got was a few chuckles from the over-the-top situations. I could see it was meant to be funny though, and I couldn't reconcile the "humorous" scenes with the tragic past of the family. This book tries too hard.

Kim S gave it an8:
I thought this was a fun book and enjoyable read. As a writer of Eastern European descent, I'm stunned at some of the negative reviews. It thought this was well-written and I felt her portrayal of the Ukraine and its people was full of warmth and compassion and that all the characters were multi-dimensional. Maybe some reviewers just like being cranky, but I thought this is one of the better books I've read this year.

Simon C gave it a7:
Disarmingly self-deprecating look at families under stress from external onslaughts and internal tensions. The humour sweetens the pill of the unveiling of a legacy so dark that it is never made explicit. An unpretentious but very effective style of humour.

David B gave it a10:
I happened to be in Ukraine on a business trip when I picked up a copy. I couldn't help but notice that so many others were reading it as well. Everyone seemed to agree, "what a great read".

Alex H gave it a0:
Poorly written bitter rant based on a real much more complicated story. Oh, and lots of factual errors about tractors and Ukraine. Another Oh -- attempts to show how immigrants speak English have failed abominally

C Bllad gave it a7:
This is an entertaining, lighthearted read where noone comes out well and noone badly. Many pointed issues are touched upon but they are not intednded to be taken too seriously. enjoy!

A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian A Novel by Marina Lewycka

A Short History Of Tractors In Ukrainian
A Novel
by Marina Lewycka