Product Description

A field of strawberries in Kent ...And sitting in it two caravans - one for the men and one for the women. The residents are from all over: miner's son Andriy is from the old Ukraine, while sexy young Irina is from the new: they eye each other warily. There are the Poles Tomasz and Yola, two Chinese girls and Emanuel from Malawi. They're all here to pick strawberries in England's green and pleasant land. But these days England's not so pleasant for immigrants. Not with Russian gangster-wannabes like Vulk, who's taken a shine to Irina and thinks kidnapping is a wooing strategy. And so Andriy - who really doesn't fancy Irina, honest - must set off in search of that girl he's not in love with.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2373 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Synopsis
A field of strawberries in Kent ... And sitting in it two caravans - one for the men and one for the women. The residents are from all over: miner's son Andriy is from the old Ukraine, while sexy young Irina is from the new: they eye each other warily. There are the Poles Tomasz and Yola, two Chinese girls and Emanuel from Malawi. They're all here to pick strawberries in England's green and pleasant land. But these days England's not so pleasant for immigrants. Not with Russian gangster-wannabes like Vulk, who's taken a shine to Irina and thinks kidnapping is a wooing strategy. And so Andriy - who really doesn't fancy Irina, honest - must set off in search of that girl he's not in love with.

From the Back Cover
`Her last book was entertaining, but this one is better...Very buoyant, witty and informative' The Sunday Times

`A great romp...with considerable heart and winsomeness' Literary Review

`Another black comedy masterpiece...an extraordinary, surprisingly funny tale' Easy Living

'Lewycka's heartfelt and funny novel packs as big a punch as any hard-hitting political polemic' Daily Mail

`Another winner from the author of A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian' Woman and Home

`Marina Lewycka has pulled off another story with a big heart' Daily Express

`Lewycka's heartfelt and funny novel packs as big a punch as any hard-hitting political polemic' Daily Mail

`An extremely funny book' Times Literary Supplement

About the Author
Marina Lewycka was born of Ukrainian parents in a refugee camp in Kiel, Germany, at the end of the war, and grew up in England. She is married, with a grown-up daughter, and lives in Sheffield.

Customer Reviews

Great start ruined by a very disappointing second half
I really enjoyed the first half of this book and found it unputdownable but the second half monumentally lost it's way. Parts of the second half were so depressing I almost had to give up reading the book.

Characters who were intriguing that I had engaged with suddenly disappeared never to be heard from again, the plot became tenuous and unbelievable. New characters were introduced who were never properly explained before disappearing just as quickly. Incidents that appear to be about to be developed into plot twists also tail off into nothing.

The ending is also unsatisfying and confusing - this really is one of those books you throw at the wall because the ending is so frustrating - especially if like me you've stayed up very late to finish it!

Interestingly I noticed in the acknowledgements that the author thanks friends for helping her through a 'difficult time'. Without them she says the book would not have been finished and that does make me wonder if this affected the second half of her book.

I wouldn't reccommend this book but I'm looking forwards to Lewycka's next offering hoping she regains her sparkle.

Two Caravans
We made the mistake of buying this book and strawberry fields. They are identical except for the title

One of the best books I've read this year
I enjoyed 'A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian', but this was way better. Parts of it made me laugh out loud, and others had me on the verge of tears. To achieve that and to contain enough truths [some of them very uncomfortable] to make the reader think as well takes a very talented writer.

Andriy's attempt to track down 'Vagvaga Riskegipd' was a stroke of pure genius. Despite being a Russian-speaker, I was halfway through the book before it dawned on me why an English girl would have such a daft name!

Absolutely brilliant, and I recommend it without reservation.