Join us on Tuesday, November 22 at 6:30 when we'll discuss A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka. Books are available at the Circulation Desk.
Online Holmes Public Library Evening Readers Book Club. Can't make face-to-face meetings because you're busy or on the other side of the world? Chime in through the comments! Discussion is open to all readers of the monthly selection.
Tractors in Ukrainian--
ReplyDeleteThis is a terrific book! It has a lot of fascinating topics. The commentary about the history of tractors held my interest throughout the book. I particularly liked the recipes for Toshiba Apples and boil in bag company dinners.
Although the books has been promoted as a comedy, there is a darker under current of family discord and elder abuse. The author has done a good job of dealing with these topics and tying up loose ends at the conclusion of the novel.
This book is the winner of the Orange prize for fiction. The prize celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in women's writing from throughout the world. I think this book was well deserved for this award. It was extremely well written and tackled tough issues with sensitivity. Quite a lot of the reviews say that the book is funny, Hilarious and laugh out loud so when I chose the book for book club I was expecting a different sort of read. I did not think the issues in the book were the least bit funny. However I was pleasantly surprise by my wonderful peers in book club who show me how to appreciate outstanding writing and to look on the lighter side of life(especially in book club) As always it was an evening of a few laughs with a good discussion and great people
ReplyDeleteOkay, 'tried commenting as "anonymous", hoping to encourage shy other book club members to air their coments fearlessly. My typing skills are sub-sub par, too (ZERO eye-hand coordination, and a tendency to seem dyslexic-perhaps part-truth),and my desire for the impossible to reach goal of perfection causes s-o-o-o many retypes and corrections, it seems to take forever to enter a post! The end result is , yeah, I love books, writing, and the valued support of the Holmes Library Staffers! As for a Short History of Tractors in Ukraine, I, too found some laugh out loud incidents, particularly in the exchanges between sisters. There is definitely darkness in the individual character's miseries of life experiences. Look at it this way; Life can be tough,but some humans manage to survive, intact,and move forward, some sharing poignant memories which serve as encouragement in our lives,whatever our experiences are. "Tractors" is one learning tool about life.. It deserves rewards!
ReplyDelete