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A review by katykelly
The Lubetkin Legacy by Marina Lewycka
4.0
4.5 stars
Lewycka creates a very British comedy here, one with a multi-national cast but a setting so utterly British (actors in Waiting for Godot, corner shops, flats and social workers) that it feels familiar and somehow homey.
Berthold Sidebottom is an out-of-work actor, aggrieved at the success of another better-known actor, born on the same day - George Clooney. His mother dies unexpectedly in hospital, he has been living with her for years after his divorce and fears that new bedroom taxes and the flat they share being in his mother's name, he will be forced to leave.
What would you do in these circumstances? Invite the lady in the next hospital bed to impersonate your dead mother and move in with you? That's a coincidence - just what Berthold decides to do!
Inna is Ukranian, with a wobbly but rather funny grasp of English (I love what she renames the parrot!), and takes to her new role as Bertold's flatmate/mother. It can get confusing though, when Bertold falls for the beautiful young Kenyan neighbour who has begun working nearby, and tries to get involved with her attempts to stop the shared cherry tree garden outside from being torn down to make way for luxury apartments.
Violet has her own story here, not only part of Bertold's, but I found this secondary, though it adds to the tone of greed, corruption and 'I'm alright Jack' mentality that Lewycka reminds us is not uncommon at the moment. Violet's new job involving making the rich richer at the expense of the poor doesn't connect too well with Bertold's but could have been a book in itself.
Bertold's story of course involves Suits, people who come knocking and threaten his carefully constructed plans to keep his flat, and when acting jobs only come up that involve him dressing up as a coffee bean, you can see why he is so desperate.
Lots of small plots get skipped over, there's a neighbour who's legless (Legless Len), called in for a meeting about his benefit (and his spare bedroom), a single father lawyer with a son forever on his mobile phone, and later Violet's story concludes in a very rushed way with a connected but new-feeling corruption plot that really needed more time to conclude.
I did thoroughly enjoy this, mainly for Bertold's story rather than Violet's, which could have been left out, put into another book, and not been missed. Inna reminds me of characters from 'A Shorter History' from the same author, Bertold's story has the same whiff of the lower classes struggling along hoping for good luck, and a screwball plot may just tip the balance in their favour.
It feels very British, looks at relevant and current topics, it does feel like it tries to squeeze too much in, but also manages to be very charming at the same time, and ends with warmth and the same humour seen throughout.
Not quite her best, but a great read, and speaks loudly of community and family.
With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.
Lewycka creates a very British comedy here, one with a multi-national cast but a setting so utterly British (actors in Waiting for Godot, corner shops, flats and social workers) that it feels familiar and somehow homey.
Berthold Sidebottom is an out-of-work actor, aggrieved at the success of another better-known actor, born on the same day - George Clooney. His mother dies unexpectedly in hospital, he has been living with her for years after his divorce and fears that new bedroom taxes and the flat they share being in his mother's name, he will be forced to leave.
What would you do in these circumstances? Invite the lady in the next hospital bed to impersonate your dead mother and move in with you? That's a coincidence - just what Berthold decides to do!
Inna is Ukranian, with a wobbly but rather funny grasp of English (I love what she renames the parrot!), and takes to her new role as Bertold's flatmate/mother. It can get confusing though, when Bertold falls for the beautiful young Kenyan neighbour who has begun working nearby, and tries to get involved with her attempts to stop the shared cherry tree garden outside from being torn down to make way for luxury apartments.
Violet has her own story here, not only part of Bertold's, but I found this secondary, though it adds to the tone of greed, corruption and 'I'm alright Jack' mentality that Lewycka reminds us is not uncommon at the moment. Violet's new job involving making the rich richer at the expense of the poor doesn't connect too well with Bertold's but could have been a book in itself.
Bertold's story of course involves Suits, people who come knocking and threaten his carefully constructed plans to keep his flat, and when acting jobs only come up that involve him dressing up as a coffee bean, you can see why he is so desperate.
Lots of small plots get skipped over, there's a neighbour who's legless (Legless Len), called in for a meeting about his benefit (and his spare bedroom), a single father lawyer with a son forever on his mobile phone, and later Violet's story concludes in a very rushed way with a connected but new-feeling corruption plot that really needed more time to conclude.
I did thoroughly enjoy this, mainly for Bertold's story rather than Violet's, which could have been left out, put into another book, and not been missed. Inna reminds me of characters from 'A Shorter History' from the same author, Bertold's story has the same whiff of the lower classes struggling along hoping for good luck, and a screwball plot may just tip the balance in their favour.
It feels very British, looks at relevant and current topics, it does feel like it tries to squeeze too much in, but also manages to be very charming at the same time, and ends with warmth and the same humour seen throughout.
Not quite her best, but a great read, and speaks loudly of community and family.
With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.