An interestingly easy read that is much as laugh-out-loud humorous as it is a tale about all the bullshit that people put up with when they have families.Who knew that something that could provide so much love, so much support could be such giant pains in the ass?
A widowed father, a Ukrainian immigrant and former engineer, shocks his two grown daughters -- who are estranged due to the division of their mother's inheritance -- when he announces he is going to marry a much younger gold digger, Valentina.
As the daughter unite to oust Valentina, whose intentions are clear that she is looking for citizenship and any cash the father might have, the secrets of the family are unveiled as are Valentina's and as much as we would like to hate someone (the father, the daughter, Valentina, et al.) we just kind of feel sorry for all of them. Almost all at the same time.
What is most perplexing is how foreign everyone feels. It's set in England. However, it might as well be happening in some Ukrainian hamlet because it perpetually feels that no one fits into their adoptive country (as it's revealed, most are there illegally) even the grown daughters, who have married Englishmen, work and thrive in the country. This is a wholly Ukrainian novel, an immigrant's story.
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