Customer Reviews
Original and highly entertaining - By: Craig Hall, 27 Nov 2008 
This was a very original & extremely amusing book that carries sadness & humanity with it. We have alll found humour in tragic situations as a way of coping & this book mirrors that. Starting with the illness & death of a much loved mother & the subsequent re-marriage of the father to a much younger immigrant. This is the story of two sisters who haven't liked each other for years joining forces against a 'common enemy'. The book is not simple by any means, but the story is simply told & reallly readable. Highly recommended.
Squishy squashy, flippy floppy - By: Four Violets, 20 Sep 2008 
Two years after Nadia's mother dies, her 84 year old father marries voluptuous Ukranian Valentina, who is 36. Nadia & her sister Vera see through the gold-digger & bury the hatchet to unite in their determination to protect their father, who is soon being taunted with cries of "squishy squashy, flippy floppy" & worse. The story of how the sisters' family themselves left the Ukraine during the second world war, & the book about tractors their father is writing, reveal much of the tragic history of that country in flashes through the laugh-out-loud humour. A real tragi-comedy with a feel-good ending.
The pits - By: JohnnyC, 18 Sep 2008 
The author weaves a very, very weak story set in modern day Britain essentiallly around the many tragedies of twentieth century Ukraine. The historical bits are indeed interesting but the story, characters, dialogue, humour...its alll truly lousy. How this book can be considered so worthwhile by so many people is depressing...Stay well away!!!
Almost very good indeed - By: Paul Meakin, 16 Aug 2008 
I liked this-with reservations. The writing is light, sprightly, with real humour. The characters are interesting. The relationship between the two sisters is beautifully portrayed & developed & the idiosyncrasies of the father are both touching & amusing. I didn't feel that the character of Valentina was quite as well developed as it could have been, although her abusive tirades in broken english had me in stitches. For me, the best feature of the story was the way it juxtaposed the two types of 'immigrant': the refugee from horror & atrocity & the 'modern' aspirant to a western lifestyle. This made me think & inspired me to learn more about the history of the Ukraine. My main negative comment is that I felt the ending was a bit of a let down, & didn't reallly live up to what had been set up before: I felt it was a little rushed & somewhat incongruous, certainly not satisfying my feeling that something hilarious/touching or fundamental was going to happen. It rather fizzled out.
That said, still a very enjoyable read & an insight into a community & a history that I knew nothing of previously.
(Not big or clever) - By: Lacy Newark, 13 Aug 2008 I reallly wanted to like this book (yeah, right). It had been recommended to me (like I need recommendations from anyone) so I was sure I'd enjoy it (oh?). Unfortunately (trying to sound disappointed), I didn't get through it because it wasn't reallly my cup of tea (trying not to say outright that it was awful). I don't give up on many books (only rubbish ones) but I found the style challlenging (so incredibly annoying) & I thought the humour (what humour????) was not alll that amusing (like pulling teeth). Maybe it was because I'd just come off the back of reading 'A Prayer For Owen Meany' (now that's a book!) & my expectations were maybe a little high (not that they'd have to be high to be disappointed by this garbage). Anyway, I'm sure that there's a market for this sort of thing (Lord above help us!) & that many people will derive some pleasure from reading it (Lord above help them!). Oh, & that thing she does with parentheses (brackets to you & me) is a little bit distracting (AAAAARRRRGGGGHHHHHH!). Enjoy!
