Ki akarja menteni a Szovjetunió szétesése után rohamosan gengszterizálódó Ukrajnából, be akarja kuckósítani maga mellé a családi lakba, ennek érdekében pedig nem is riad vissza semmitől. Nikolai's daughters Vera and Nadehzda (the first-person narrator) are appalled, and set about rescuing their father from this scheming vixen, burying their running feud about their mother's legacy temporarily. Invent a bunch of lovably eccentric types - a VERY lovably eccentric yet exasperating yet LOVABLE father is recommended, everyone likes one of those. How does Nadia struggle with the dissonance between being an immigrant herself and trying to deport an aspiring one?

But make sure your readers know that this isn't just a trivial make-fun-of-the-daft-immigrants farce by adding in some DARK FAMILY HISTORY which since this is all about Ukrainians might well be pretty dark indeed. Along with the old man's story, I gathered considerable knowledge on the history of tractors in Ukrainian, and also an inkling of its political situation. Sisters Vera and Nadezhda must aside a lifetime of feuding to save their widowed, tractor-obsessed Ukrainian father from the voluptuous, wealth-obsessed Valentina. Blinded by three primary things, physical infatuation, his desire to have a son (Standinolov, her son, has come from Ukraine with Valentina), + his perceived obligation to save those from his country (Ukraine is still currently in communism rule, impoverished communities), their father continues alternating, sometimes simultaneously, proclaiming his love for her and/or expressing his fear that she will murder him. In fact, it is one of those book that I would love to read again, simply because I am going to miss this family a lot.Sisters Vera and Nadezhda must put aside a lifetime of feuding to save their UmigrU engineer father from voluptuous gold-digger Valentina.

Valentina non è esattamente il massimo dell’accortezza, si muove come un caterpillar, come un trattore (ma non è certo peggio delle due legittime eredi, Vera e Nadia): ripulisce il conto in banca di Nikolaj, divorzia, e lo ricopre di buffi epiteti e ingiurie in un buffo mix delle due lingue, la sua d’origine e quella che sta cercando d’acquisire (con incerto risultato): “moscio floscio” e avanti di questo passo. Moving back in time to war-time Europe, we’re given insights into what faced inhabitants of occupied countries; the horror of camps, of having loved ones torn from your side and the constant fear that becomes a part of life – fear of loss, of dreams unfulfilled and so much more.A másik viszont még csak most akar bevándorolni, a perifériáról áttenné székhelyét a centrumba, hogy ott zsákmányolják ki. But overall, 'Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian' is less wacky then the blurb on the cover would let you believe and it is, essentially, a simple family tale. It is the story of a Ukrainian family of four that emigrated to England after the end of the second world war. It is such a quick easy read but despite dark corners of subject matter remains light and was considered a comic novel I believe.

There are also characters who are not even given this most basic, two-dimensional personality, they only exist as their name and function - like the completely superfluous narrator's husband. I did raise my eyebrows, however, at the predominance of Russian names in the family of the supposedly Russian-hating man, a mistake that a woman raised in Ukrainian family should not make. Of course, the subject of immigration to the UK is always of some relevance and it was interesting for me to see an Eastern European angle on it. Now, brought together by their father’s apparent second adolescence, they conspire to oust the newcomer and preserve the sanctity of their mother’s home and garden. Sisters Vera and Nadezhda must aside a lifetime of feuding to save their émigré engineer father from voluptuous gold-digger Valentina.The other one is, of course, its quirky title - I just couldn't pass a book titled like that, even though I profess absolutely no knowledge of even the most rudimentary Ukrainian.

In case that bastard Paul Bryant reviews your novel on Goodreads, namecheck his home town to put him in a good mood. With her proclivity for green satin underwear and boil-in-the-bag cuisine, she outmanoeuvres the sisters at every turn.I’ve found that writing is a strange process—you don’t really know your characters at the outset of a book any more than the reader does. Giovane donna piacente che arriva dall’Europa dell’est – in questo caso né badante né a servizio – la prole si agita e preoccupa, in difesa del genitore che dalla sua invece sta nascendo a nuova vita, e ancor più a salvaguardia del patrimonio familiare. Igen, akarja, hogy kizsákmányolják, szar melót lőcsöljenek rá, olyasmit, amit a született angol a világ minden pénzéért sem végezne el, csak annyit kíván, hogy mindez helyileg az álmok földjén, a kapitalizmus bölcsőjében történjen. Very clever really, in its light and highly readable treatment of so many subjects, from the frailty and vulnerability of elderly parents and the generational chasm, to the economics and consequences of communism and immigration of questionable legality.