A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian

#48Title: A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
Author: Marina Lewycka
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 2006
Genre: Fiction
294 pages

Ultimately, a rather disturbing and tragic novel that is superficially about elder abuse, and more abstractly about the legacy of culture-wide trauma. Themes include reconciliation/redemption (of the kind that makes it a contender for Oprah's Book Club), connection and disconnection, stinginess and generosity, optimism and fear, and innocence and cynicism. It nicely illustrates how position in a family influences one's perspective on the family, as well as the oblique ways that family history is conveyed.

At times the narration is too self-conscious and at those points the book reads too much like a horrible Borat/Everything is Illuminated pastiche of goofy fractured English utterances from those wacky foreigners. It's certainly a fine first novel, however, and many sections are very enjoyable to read. The ending is particularly moving.

If I were in high school, I'd go on and on about who or what the tractor of the title represents. Lucky for you, I'm not.