-- There is more than one copy of the book on my bookshelf --

Synopsis (Credit: www.amazon.co.uk)

A field of strawberries in Kent ...

... and sitting in it two caravans — one for the men and one for the women. The residents are from all over: miner's son Andriy is from the old Ukraine, while sexy young Irina is from the new: they eye each other warily. There are the Poles, Tomasz and Yola, two Chinese girls, and Emanuel from Malawi. They're all here to pick strawberries in England's green and pleasant land.

But these days England's not so pleasant for immigrants. Not with Russian gangster-wannabes like Vulk, who's taken a shine to Irina and thinks kidnapping is a wooing strategy. And so Andriy — who really doesn't fancy Irina, honest — must set off in search of that girl he's not in love with.

(Bought second-hand at Help the Rural Child Charity Bookshop, Main Road, Retreat.)

Marina Lewycka has a knack when it comes to lifting out the humour in a situation. She does that brilliantly. Unfortunately reviewers then come up with "Hilarious" (The Guardian) and "A funny, charming, rollicking road trip" (Observer), missing the point and misleading potential readers. Such a description misses the serious aspect of the subject matter. The author highlights a number of ills of modern day life.

As a whole the book does not live up to its potential for me. One gets the feeling that she had a lot of good material that could be shaped into an excellent novel, but was pushed by deadlines to submit the manuscript prematurely.

When I found an audiobook version of this book in the library, I grabbed the opportunity despite having the book on my bookshelf. The advantage is that I could listen to it while commuting, thereby gaining bonus 'reading' time. It was frustrating later to find out that it was an abridged version, but I caught up with the missed passages in the book.

Sian Thomas's reading is wonderful. The number of accents she pulls off convincingly is astounding.

Themed release

Left among the strawberries in the supermarket.

If you are new to BookCrossing and found this book, welcome! Enjoy the site, the book, and the BookCrossing community.

BookCrossing has not taken off in a big way in South Africa yet, but there are a number of dedicated BookCrossers across the country who are actively involved to cultivate the concept. A discussion group for BookCrossers in the wider Cape Town area, BCct, was set up to make it easier to arrange meetups or to spread local news. If you are a BookCrosser from this part of the world or planning a visit, please feel free to join. Visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bcct for more information.

Whether you decide to join or not, please make a journal entry — now, and again when you decide to release the book to continue its journey.