I purchased this book at the Friends of the Library used book store in Rockville, Maryland.

I'm reading this book now.

I loved this book!

A book with the first lines as follows was sure to pull me in. “Two years after my mother died, my father fell in love with a glamorous blond Ukrainian divorcée. He was eighty-four and she was thirty-six.” What I found was an engaging, sometimes funny, other times horrifying, read.

The story begins with two sisters who have a faltering relationship trying to get a handle on why their father is importing a bride from the Ukraine. After the arrival of Valentina, the Ukrainian woman who exploded into their “lives like a fluffy pink grenade”, the sisters Nadia and Vera begin to suspect that all is not well in their father’s household. They attempt to help their father with what seem to be troubling developments, but, as often happens with elderly people, their father resists giving up control of his own situation to others even when it would be to his advantage.

What begins as a funny story soon tumbles into darker shades of difficulty faced by an elderly gentelman who, without his new bride, would be destined to live alone. Although the situations described in this novel are (hopefully) an exaggeration of what could occur in real life, they force readers to think about them as the two daughters discuss their dad’s problems in numerous and frequent telephone conversations.

Marina Lewycka’s novel was nominated for the Man Booker Prize and short-listed for the Orange Prize. I found this book enjoyable both for its unique, interesting story line as well as for its thought-provoking subject matter. .

I gave this book to a friend who lives in Catonsville, Maryland. I think she'll enjoy reading about the elderly dad who doesn't want to listen to his daughters.

Caught!

Thank you for returning this book to me!

This is a very special release in Harbord House in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in celebration of my trip to Canada with my husband and another dear friend (sadly, neither of whom are Bookcrossers), my meet-up with Canadian Bookcrossers and other Canadian friends, my gratitude to jessibud for her generous hospitality, and to honor of Canada's sesquicentennial. Canada Day was yesterday, July 1st.

Today I am only releasing books that I've read in the past and would recommend to others. Enjoy this book!

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Hello and welcome to BookCrossing ... where we make the whole world a library!

Now that you've "caught" this book, it is yours to do with as you like. Read it, keep it, or give it away. It's your choice!

I'd love if you'd enter a note here on BookCrossing about this book -- where you found it, how you like it, and/or where you release it. If you join BookCrossing (free and fun), kindly list me, SqueakyChu , or any other journaler on this thread as your referring person. Thank you so much.

Enjoy the book!

Thank you, SqueakyChu, for this book. I have heard many good comments about it and will read it, hopefully before the next meetup so it can continue its travels among our Canadian group.

After 10 (or more?) years of Bookcrossing friendship, finally meeting you in person felt more like a reunion than a first-time meeting!

I am trying to be realistic about my toppling TBR mountains. I am barely keeping up with the few challenges I am participating in over on Library Thing, plus I am also trying to get through the books on my shelves and bedside table. I don't hear this one calling out to me as loudly as some others so I will bring it to our mini-meetup tomorrow and perhaps it will travel again. We are welcoming a visiting bookcrosser from Norway!!

The unusual title of this book caught my attention at our BookCrossing lunch yesterday.

Read this while on vacation this summer. I no longer feel guilty about this having languished on my shelf for awhile, as I read it at the perfect moment. The story hit home because my siblings and I are navigating similar issues with our parents, though thankfully not as dramatic!

Left on the community bookshelf of the Airbnb where I stayed in British Columbia.