Paperback: 262 pages
Genre: Humorous Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Random House 2021
Source: Tywyn Public Library
First Sentence: Each year over £2 billion is lost to financial fraud in the UK, and often this money is ploughed right back into other criminal enterprises, from drug trafficking to people smuggling to organ harvesting.
Review Quote: 'Lewycka has carved out a reputation for tackling Big Topics with wit and humour' Radio Times
My Opinion: Having read and enjoyed four previous novels by Marina Lewycka, I was pleased to pick this up quite by chance last week at the library.
Financial Fraud and Brexit two, one would think unrelated themes, however they connect to form the story behind this humorous novel. Set in Yorkshire, in the days immediately after the referendum, there are plenty of witty comments that make you laugh. Though disappointingly some of the comic interludes were just too farcical for my liking.
Maybe this did just not appeal to my sense of humour, or I was in the wrong mood to appreciate it. If you want a quick, easy read to make you laugh then I recommend it, but her earlier novels are better.
Précis Courtesy of Goodreads:
After walking out on his wife to shack up with 'Brexit Brenda' next door, George Pantis thinks he's got it made - especially when he wins millions on a Kosovan lottery he barely remembers entering.
Unfortunately, he can't access the money because he's forgotten his password. What is he meant to tell all the forceful people who keep appearing at his doorstep desperate to know his mother's maiden name?
The situation is shadier than he thinks, and George is need of rescue. But will his dysfunctional family be able to save him, and in the process, can they save each other?
Links to my reviews of Marina Lewycka's earlier novels.
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
Two Caravans published as Strawberry Fields in North America.
Author Profile
Courtesy of Goodreads
Marina Lewycka is of Ukrainian origin and was born in a refugee camp in Kiel, Germany in 1946 shortly after World War II ended. Her family subsequently moved to England when she was about a year old, she now lives in Sheffield, Yorkshire. She graduated from Keele University in 1968 with BA in English and Philosophy and from the University of York with a BPhil in English Literature in 1969. She began, but did not complete, a PhD at King's College London. She was a lecturer in media studies at Sheffield Hallam University until her retirement in March 2012. Having spent much of her life trying to become a writer she finally succeeded in 2005 with A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian which has sold more than a million copies in the UK alone. This was followed by Two Caravans in March 2007, We Are All Made of Glue in July 2009 and Various Pets Alive and Dead last year. I have included this link to the personal biography on her website as it makes delightful reading. Marina Lewycka Biography.
Photographs and Biographical Information courtesy of the following sites:
Wikipedia - Marina Lewycka Author's Official Website You Tube Video
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