Someone described it as funny but... I was not really entertained. Interested, sure, but not laughing. or smiling.

2.5 / 5

Really liked all the tractor bits, and hated all the rest: comedy centered around domestic violence and physical and emotional abuse. Also, the theme of casual calls to Home Office to report immigrants aged like milk.

Advertised as roaring funny, this was, but I liked best the Mistero Buffo kind of alternation between comedy and tragedy (especially in the historical sections). Didn't quite carry until the end, even for the shortish length, but good entertainment, nevertheless.

I bought this book second hand (v cheaply), 100% because of the cover. I knew nothing about it. It wasn't "extremely funny" as the cover promises (luckily that wasn't why I bought it, I just liked the art) but I did say "ha" out loud maybe twice.

It's the story of an elderly British Ukrainian man who marries a young Ukrainian woman, and his two middle aged daughters.

I enjoyed the last half more than the first, I think because I grew to like some of the characters, and I did find it a believable story.

I also have another one of this author's books, again bought because I liked the cover... but I'm not in a great hurry to read it.

Funny, well written

Pretty funny. Obviously recent events in the news prompted me to read it but it's been on my shelf for a while. The history of the country (up to the nineteen nineties) is present as a backdrop, and so is the immigrant experience, so it has an unusual setting but don't worry, it's not going to educatre you or anything - there are proper laughs to be had.

Whilst this didn't set my world aflame, I thoroughly enjoyed the style of writing, dialogue, and balance of light with some dark shadows underneath. Was made into a Radio 4 play and must have been perfect, I imagine.

An easy and entertaining read, if not a little cliche.