A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
Encyclopedia
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is a novel by Marina Lewycka
, first published in 2005 by Viking (Penguin Books
).
The novel won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize
at the Hay literary festival
, the Waverton Good Read Award
2005/6, and was short-listed for the 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction
, losing to Lionel Shriver's
We Need to Talk About Kevin
.
It is told in the first person from the perspective of one of the daughters, Nadezhda. After their father decides he is going to remarry after his wife's death, Nadezhda is outraged and worried, especially when she meets the wife-to-be: voluptuous gold digger Valentina. The hurricane on their lives that is Valentina serves to bring together the two daughters against a common enemy, as it becomes increasingly clear of the middle-aged divorcee's intents. The family's secret history is overturned as the troubles continue, and their father is gradually weakened and emasculated by his fiancée until the hold is finally broken.
Marina Lewycka
Marina Lewycka is a British novelist of Ukrainian origin, currently living in Sheffield, England.-Biography:Marina Lewycka was born in a refugee camp in Kiel, Germany after World War II. Her family subsequently moved to England where she now lives...
, first published in 2005 by Viking (Penguin Books
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a publisher founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane and V.K. Krishna Menon. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its high quality, inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence. Penguin's success demonstrated that large...
).
The novel won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize
Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize
The Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize is the UK's only literary award for comic literature. Established in 2000 and named in honour of P G Wodehouse, past winners include Paul Torday in 2007 with Salmon Fishing in the Yemen and Marina Lewycka with A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian 2005 and...
at the Hay literary festival
Hay Festival
The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales for ten days from May to June. Devised by Norman and Peter Florence in 1988, the festival was described by Bill Clinton in 2001 as "The Woodstock of the mind"...
, the Waverton Good Read Award
Waverton Good Read Award
The Waverton Good Read Award was founded in 2003 by villagers in Waverton, Cheshire, England, and is based on Le Prix de la Cadière d'Azur, a literary prize awarded by a Provençal village. Adult debut novels written by UK residents and published in the previous twelve months are eligible for...
2005/6, and was short-listed for the 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction
Orange Prize for Fiction
The Orange Prize for Fiction is one of the United Kingdom's most prestigious literary prizes, annually awarded to a female author of any nationality for the best original full-length novel written in English, and published in the United Kingdom in the preceding year...
, losing to Lionel Shriver's
Lionel Shriver
-Early life and education:Lionel Shriver was born Margaret Ann Shriver on May 18, 1957 in Gastonia, North Carolina, to a deeply religious family . At age 15, she changed her name from Margaret Ann to Lionel because she did not like the name she had been given, and as a tomboy felt that a...
We Need to Talk About Kevin
We Need to Talk About Kevin
We Need to Talk About Kevin is a 2003 novel by Lionel Shriver, published by Serpent's Tail, about a fictional school massacre. It is written from the perspective of the killer's mother, Eva Khatchadourian, and documents her attempt to come to terms with her son Kevin and the murders he committed...
.
Summary
The novel details in comic form the varied reactions by two daughters when their widowed father marries a much younger Ukrainian immigrant. The father, a former engineer, is writing a history of tractors in Ukrainian, extracts from which are interleaved throughout the text.It is told in the first person from the perspective of one of the daughters, Nadezhda. After their father decides he is going to remarry after his wife's death, Nadezhda is outraged and worried, especially when she meets the wife-to-be: voluptuous gold digger Valentina. The hurricane on their lives that is Valentina serves to bring together the two daughters against a common enemy, as it becomes increasingly clear of the middle-aged divorcee's intents. The family's secret history is overturned as the troubles continue, and their father is gradually weakened and emasculated by his fiancée until the hold is finally broken.