Scan barcode
andrew_j_r's review against another edition
3.0
Odd to say, but I bought this book ages ago simply because it was the second book by an author I had never heard of, and I liked the cover of the first book!
Anyhow, this book is billed as "hilarious" on the front cover, but that is the one thing it is not. It is hard to get into, because the narrative switches between two characters, one whose story is told in the first person and the other whose is told in the third, plus a couple of other oddities such as letters home telling the story of a third character and even brief moments told from the point of view of a stray dog!
When you get past that, the story is actually very dark. It is about exploited Eastern European workers who come to the UK because a simple job, like picking strawberries, pays better then many jobs in their own country. But it is tinged with a horrible darkness as well. There are two characters (known as Chinese Girl One and Chinese Girl Two) who are sent to Amsterdam for a life of prostitution, and once they leave the story you never know what happens to them. It is realistic - if you were in a group of people controlled by people smugglers and someone left you probably never would know what happens to them - but the thought of then being repeatedly raped for money is quite shocking.)
Although the story is not that great - it is essentially about a group of strawberry pickers who have to make their lives work after the jobs vanish, wondering around aimlessly trying to make ends meet - the author does do a very good job of making the familiar (England) seem very alien from the eyes of these people. And it is thought provoking, because we all know this kind of thing happens, possibly is even happening to people we pass on the street every day. But it loses points because although you want to care about these people, it is hard to really empathise with them, because they keep making bad decisions in order to find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, which experience should have told them by now is just not there.
Anyhow, this book is billed as "hilarious" on the front cover, but that is the one thing it is not. It is hard to get into, because the narrative switches between two characters, one whose story is told in the first person and the other whose is told in the third, plus a couple of other oddities such as letters home telling the story of a third character and even brief moments told from the point of view of a stray dog!
When you get past that, the story is actually very dark. It is about exploited Eastern European workers who come to the UK because a simple job, like picking strawberries, pays better then many jobs in their own country. But it is tinged with a horrible darkness as well. There are two characters (known as Chinese Girl One and Chinese Girl Two) who are sent to Amsterdam for a life of prostitution, and once they leave the story you never know what happens to them. It is realistic - if you were in a group of people controlled by people smugglers and someone left you probably never would know what happens to them - but the thought of then being repeatedly raped for money is quite shocking.)
Although the story is not that great - it is essentially about a group of strawberry pickers who have to make their lives work after the jobs vanish, wondering around aimlessly trying to make ends meet - the author does do a very good job of making the familiar (England) seem very alien from the eyes of these people. And it is thought provoking, because we all know this kind of thing happens, possibly is even happening to people we pass on the street every day. But it loses points because although you want to care about these people, it is hard to really empathise with them, because they keep making bad decisions in order to find that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, which experience should have told them by now is just not there.
sarahanne8382's review against another edition
3.0
Who knew that a book about the plight of migrant farm workers could be so funny? Apparently if I had read Lewycka's first novel A Short History of Tractors in Urkrainian, I would have had an idea.
The books covers the story of a team of strawberry pickers on a British farm. The story switches around to show each character's point of view and it was neat how each character had a very distinctive voice. There's Irina, the idealistic Ukrainian girl who's here to work her way across Britain before starting University in the fall; Yola, the middle aged Polish single mother and team leader who understands the importance of sexual harmony on a strawberry picking team; her pious niece Marta, who at 30 is clearly not very attractive if she is still single; the men include Vitaly the constant schemer; Andriy a Ukrainian trying to escape his family's mining past; Emmanuel, a young African who remains cheerful despite his tragic childhood; and Tomasz, another Ukrainian and aging hippie devotee of Bob Dylan.
There are a lot of interesting little details to this book, but for me the combination of serious and funny made it feel more like a watered down Grapes of Wrath. Still it was enjoyable, and I could think of a lot worse things to read. If nothing else it was interesting to read about migrant workers that weren't Mexicans in the Southwester United States.
The books covers the story of a team of strawberry pickers on a British farm. The story switches around to show each character's point of view and it was neat how each character had a very distinctive voice. There's Irina, the idealistic Ukrainian girl who's here to work her way across Britain before starting University in the fall; Yola, the middle aged Polish single mother and team leader who understands the importance of sexual harmony on a strawberry picking team; her pious niece Marta, who at 30 is clearly not very attractive if she is still single; the men include Vitaly the constant schemer; Andriy a Ukrainian trying to escape his family's mining past; Emmanuel, a young African who remains cheerful despite his tragic childhood; and Tomasz, another Ukrainian and aging hippie devotee of Bob Dylan.
There are a lot of interesting little details to this book, but for me the combination of serious and funny made it feel more like a watered down Grapes of Wrath. Still it was enjoyable, and I could think of a lot worse things to read. If nothing else it was interesting to read about migrant workers that weren't Mexicans in the Southwester United States.
sebbie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
adelinade's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
shaetea's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
readacorn's review against another edition
2.0
Die Abenteuer einer Truppe ausländischer Erdbeerpflücker in England. Sie kommen aus Polen, der Ukraine, Afrika und China, haben alle gänzlich verschiedene Lebenswege und sehr bestimmte Ansichten darüber, was im Leben wichtig ist. Irina ist eine Tochter aus gutem ukrainischem Hause, will ihr (hervorragendes) Englisch verbessern und die große Liebe mit einem romantischen Engländer finden. Andrij kommt aus einer ganz anderen Ukraine: Er ist der Sohn eines Bergarbeiters und will keinesfalls so enden wie sein Vater. Dann sind da die Polen: der Bob-Dylan-Fan Tomasz, dessen Turnschuhe bald zu einer Geißel für seine männlichen Kollegen und Mitbewohner werden, Jola, die erfahrene Pflückerin mit der üppigen Figur, und ihre religiöse Nichte Marta, die so erstaunlich gut kochen kann. Dazu zwei Chinesinnen und Emanuel, ein Teenager aus Malawi, der in England seine Schwester suchen will und mit großen Augen diese merkwürdige Welt bestaunt. Doch die ist voller Gefahren, in Gestalt von erpresserischen Arbeitgebern, regelwütigen Behörden und bewaffneten Gangstern. Als dann der ausbeuterische Erdbeerfarmer überfahren wird, ergreift die ganze Mannschaft in einem klapprigen Wohnwagen die Flucht. Was sie bei ihrer Fahrt durch England erleben, kann sich so nur Marina Lewycka (oder vielleicht das Leben) ausdenken ...
Die nicht angezeigten und auch nicht kapitelweise sondern willkürlich mittendrin wechselnden Perspektiven erschweren die Lektüre teilweise. Zu Beginn des Buches, also etwa die ersten 100 Seiten, habe ich beim Lesen häufig geschmunzelt und stellenweise sogar gelacht. Leider wich das Humorvolle dem Vulgären in zunehmendem Maße, bis hin zum Ekelhaften, so dass ich Mitte des Buches ernsthaft erwog, abzubrechen. Hierbei ging es nicht nur um die angewandte Sprache der Protagonisten sondern auch beispielsweise die genaue Schilderung der Arbeit in einer industriellen Hühnerfarm aber schlimmer noch, was für brutale 'Spiele' die Arbeiter nach Feierabend mit den überlebenden Tieren anstellen. Mir ist schon klar, um welches Milieu es geht und auch, was es für ausbeuterische Machenschaften gibt aber man hätte das auch anders als hier vorliegend vermitteln können.
Schade.
Die nicht angezeigten und auch nicht kapitelweise sondern willkürlich mittendrin wechselnden Perspektiven erschweren die Lektüre teilweise. Zu Beginn des Buches, also etwa die ersten 100 Seiten, habe ich beim Lesen häufig geschmunzelt und stellenweise sogar gelacht. Leider wich das Humorvolle dem Vulgären in zunehmendem Maße, bis hin zum Ekelhaften, so dass ich Mitte des Buches ernsthaft erwog, abzubrechen. Hierbei ging es nicht nur um die angewandte Sprache der Protagonisten sondern auch beispielsweise die genaue Schilderung der Arbeit in einer industriellen Hühnerfarm aber schlimmer noch, was für brutale 'Spiele' die Arbeiter nach Feierabend mit den überlebenden Tieren anstellen. Mir ist schon klar, um welches Milieu es geht und auch, was es für ausbeuterische Machenschaften gibt aber man hätte das auch anders als hier vorliegend vermitteln können.
Schade.
lavoiture's review against another edition
3.0
Very meh. I really liked her first book, A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, and the father does put in a very depressing appearance here, but overall, I found Two Caravans to be pretty boring. I skimmed the last half of the book. And the dog bits--I AM DOG I SMELL GOOD I LIKE MAN--what? Why? Anyway, overall pretty disappointing. I would rather give it 2.5 stars.
bethglover's review against another edition
4.0
I had tried to read this book a couple of years ago but for some reason I couldn’t get into to it! However, this time I did really quickly and throughly enjoyed the story. Although it took me a bit to get used to, I really liked how every chapter was from a different character’s perspective. It really helped build an all rounded picture of what was going on in the story. I found this book even more poignant than I properly would have done previously due to know the war taking place in Ukraine.
ruthlemon08's review against another edition
4.0
The political commentary in this book has particular poignancy at the time of reading.
I loved A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian and loved the little Easter egg of that book in this one. She’s a talented comedic writer but also addresses important issues, specifically with regards to the exploitation of migrant workers and the grey areas surrounding immigration and seasonal working.
The character of Irina is pleasingly naive and innocent in many ways, while Andriy is kindhearted and pragmatic. I loved Emanuel’s letters and Dog’s monologues which were fun interludes to the main narrative.
I loved A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian and loved the little Easter egg of that book in this one. She’s a talented comedic writer but also addresses important issues, specifically with regards to the exploitation of migrant workers and the grey areas surrounding immigration and seasonal working.
The character of Irina is pleasingly naive and innocent in many ways, while Andriy is kindhearted and pragmatic. I loved Emanuel’s letters and Dog’s monologues which were fun interludes to the main narrative.