I thought this book gave a slightly comic look at a serious topic. I have quite strong opinions on immigration so I was interested as to how the story would pan out. Some bits I found quite amusing - I thought Valentina's insults were inspirational (I think someone else mentioned this too).

The characters are very vivid and definately believable. This story for me really highlighted the misconceptions people have about other cultures - Valentina expects a life of wealth in the West while Nadia begins to understand Valentina's plight after she has heard about the general state of things in Ukraine. Its a really good advert for taking time to get all the information before coming to any conclusions.

The story also shows that we really are products of our environment and our upbringing. Vera and Nadia's behaviour towards each other initially appears to be nothing more than normal feuding sisters but it eventually unfolds as more than that - both were raised in totally different environments (one in wartime eastern Europe, one in peacetime Britain) so neither fully understands the others character. The fact that they are closer at the end is quite touching. And it looks like its happy endings all round, even for the bad guys!!

I didn't think I would like it (don't really know why) and I was sure I wouldn't laugh, but I have been randomly laughing out loud - luckily in the house. It is so farcial, I can almost see it as a comedy film before my eyes!

The relationship between the sisters is portrayed brilliantly. I have an older, bossier sister and I knew exactly what Nadia meant when she said she was returning to being a snotty nose four year old.

I also thought Nadia's worshipping of her mother's memory was very interesting. My Mum always says "It is what you do for people when they are alive that is important" , but I think how you respect somone's memory is important too.

‘A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian’ is a cracking read: funny, touching and very realistic. It tells the story of Nadia’s, father, an 84 year old Ukranian immigrant who is getting married to a 36 year old busty blonde diva so that she can stay in the UK, and live ‘the good western life’. You can imagine the comedic episodes that transpire from that pairing! The one good thing to come out of this fiasco is the Nadia and her sister begins to reform their lost friendship, and Nadia learns about her parents and sister life before she was born. Ultimately the novel tells the story of Nadia’s parents’ past and their struggle to survive before reaching the UK, it makes the reader think about where they came from and the struggles their parents and grandparents faced just to survive. It also makes you think about getting old - what will it be like having your children making all your important decisions for you? Pretty demoralising I think!

I had very high hopes for this book…but although it was a good read, it left me slightly disappointed. I think I had heard so much hype about it that the book just couldn’t live up to it. I would probably have enjoyed it more if I hadn’t heard anything about it beforehand.

It is quite amusing in parts, but not laugh-out-loud funny for me. I did enjoy the parts about the history of Nadia and Vera’s parents, and also how the past had affected Vera. In fact, the most interesting character for me was Vera. She sounded awful at first, but I had quite changed my opinion of her by the end, and her behaviour was understandable given what she had lived through in her childhood.

One of the most poignant parts was when the sisters were talking about when they were children and a rich woman had given their mother sixpence when they were on the bus. Nadia said that that was the moment that made her become a socialist, and Vera said that that was the moment that made her become the woman in the fur coat.

I didn’t like the parts about the tractors which the father had written – I found them quite boring, and quite un-necessary to the story.
I’ve given it 3 stars.

I thought I was going to race through this novel, but initially it took a while to get through as it wasn't as interesting as I thought it'd be. I thought oh no here we go with more sibling rivalry and stereotypical tarty women. But actually, once I got into it, I started to enjoy it more & more.

I liked how Nadia kept her mother's memory alive throughout the book, and I especially loved the descriptions of her garden legacy. That was the best part of the book for me; the wonderful food she made and stored; her make do & mend attitude, and the money she stashed away for the future. Made all the more touching when their personal story unfolded as the novel went on.

I understood the relationship between Nadia & Vera. I have 4 older sisters who love lecturing me. I'm 33 yet I'm still seen as the baby so they always talk over the top of me & consult my opinion last. No wonder I moved away!

The book is funny. Okay I didn't laugh out loud, but the written word rarely has this effect on me - instead I laugh inwardly. I think the humour would translate better via a TV or film adaptation. I often found Valentina's attitude towards the father appalling, and because of Nadia's descriptions of her frail father (contrasted with her descriptions of the strong Valentina), I felt sad for him & didn't find a lot of their relationship funny. Yet I understood why her father was drawn to Valentina - he seemed lonely and needed the drama in his life. To be involved in something.

As I became more used to the style (loved the way it was set out, wish more books were like this, I loathe long chapters!), the characters became more alive. Marina has a knack for picking out the little traits we all spot in someone, and I found these amusing. In the end I realised I could easily picture each of the characters and I bet if this is made into a film, we'll all say, 'that's exactly how I pictured Vera' etc.

I liked the tractors part and found the info really interesting! It gave insight into the father - he's not just a frail 80-something, but a very intelligent, innovative guy, a bit bonkers yes, but def smart. I hope if I reach 80-something I'll still be interested in academic topics. I loved how everyone settled down with plum wine to hear his latest instalment of the history of tractors. I enjoyed the descriptions of Nadia's parents when they were young and the hardships they endured. I'm glad Marina included these as people often forget old people haven't always been old (if you get my meaning!).

I found Marina's writing style very lyrical and enjoyed many descriptions of things in the book. She has a lovely imagination when describing things/situations etc. I thought the book was going to be a light, comical read, but there was much more to it than meets the eye. It's well structured too, with lots of repeating devices that link it all together & help us visualise characters & their traits (e.g., the button sewn on in black thread). I can understand why it was considered for the Orange Prize.

Oh nearly forgot to mention - I loved the dialogue and the pronunciation in brackets. E.g., the word 'duress' (pronounced 'dooh-ress' by Valentina). I could really imagine Valentina's deep sounding voice, with thundering rolling Rs. Delicious! Without the bits in brackets, I wouldn't have pictured it as richly.

Before I finish, there was something that made me laugh out loud...but I can't remember it!!

I've never been through a divorce, but I watched my parents and some parts of the book were so true to that, it was quite painful at times.