A tale of a group of migrant workers in a strawberry field never sounded as fabulous as this novel, the second book by Marina Lewycka (she also wrote A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian). Each immigrant (they’re all from around Eastern Europe) has their own story to tell, but the story definitely gets a kick start when all of the stories start to blend.
In a hilarious upswing of violence, berry picking, love and travel, Lewycka twirls her quirky characters along around England, first through language barriers and berry-stained fingers and then through acts of mistaken suspicion and hideout.
Follow the stories of Yola, the berry picking supervisor; Marta, her niece; two hardly identified quiet girls from China; Irina, the beautiful young Ukranian girl; Andriy, also Ukranian, but older; Tomasz, from Poland; Emanuel, the young boy from Africa; Vitaly, from Russia; and Dog, the dog. Often the story rotates between a few of these characters from their points of view. This may sound confusing, but it’s not.
Reading this book was very fun; it’s rare to read something with this much personality and charm, with it still being a smart, culture-identifying story.
After a good portion of the book is spent getting to know the characters and their roles on the strawberry field as well as their pasts, there is one night of fun that leads to a strange woman (who turns out to be the farmer’s wife) roaring into the picture, pretending an affair with a hopeless and confused Andriy and then effortlessly part-crushing the farmer with her car. And in the midst of it all, silently a scary man named Vulk captures the innocent Irina. It is then that they must all separate, make different lives for themselves, but simultaneously try to find one another in a quest of familial protection.
Whether it’s following the character quests, laughing at their mishaps, or the cute love that blooms between Irina and Andriy, it’s very hard to put this book down. Lewycka really gets into her characters through voice, mind and heart, and it shows. It’s definitely one to take to the beach, the cottage or simply your living room couch. It will rank high on your bookshelves!
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