Two Caravans
by Marina Lewycka
Chris chose this because she had really enjoyed “A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian” which she had found laugh-out-loud funny.
This book was certainly not funny in the same way but was quite sad, much heavier and darker.
Still it was very readable.
To some the humour seemed inappropriate to the seriousness of the subject matter whilst to others the combination of farce and serious political issues recalled the work of Tom Sharpe.
The characters were well-drawn and the different voices and perspectives on the story were effective.
It certainly gives us pause to think about the origin of the food on our tables and the miserable and cruel lives of the animals and the workers who are similarly poorly treated.
The humour and humanity relieved what could have been a very sombre tale.
NS August 2008
|
