Nadia, the narrator, is a fifty something sociology lecturer who has not seen her domineering older sister, Vera, since their mother’s controversial will was read out two years before. Vera and her parents were born in the Ukraine and came to England after the war as refugees, However Nadia is “the peace baby”, who is English by birth, if not by heritage. The two feuding sisters must band together to defeat Valentina, their father’s “child bride”.
Valentina has high expectations of her new husband and of western consumerism.. Nikolai quickly discovers he is out of his depth. Instead of being a damsel in distress, Valentina is a demanding virago who leaves her aged husband trembling with fear. The only pleasure he has left in life is working on his history of tractors. Can Vera and Nadia save their father? Is Valentina really that evil? Will Nikolai’s definitive history ever get completed? Why are Vera and Nadia so very different in their outlooks on life and will they ever be totally reconciled?
This rollercoaster of a novel will keep you intrigued to the very last page with its wonderful mixture of comedy and tragedy. What’s more, there is a Kiwi connection – the author, who was born to Ukrainian parents in a refugee camp in Germany just after the war, is married to a New Zealander.
This novel was nominated for the Orange Award for 2005
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