Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Penguin (2008), Edition: 1st Penguin edition, 320 pages
Description
In a Kent field and around their caravans a group of strawberry pickers celebrates a birthday. But what lies behing the buy-one-get-one-free offers at the supermarket and who picks the strawberries? The Ukrainians, the Poles, the Chinese, and although he can't pick strawberries, there's also the dog.
User reviews
LibraryThing member labfs39
Strawberry Fields, published as Two Caravans in the UK, is the rollicking, bawdy, heart-touching, and socially charged story of a group of migrant workers who meet while picking strawberries on an English farm. Chance has thrown them together in very tight quarters, and when Irina, an innocent
Marina Lewycka is a quirky writer, and I can see how she may not appeal to everyone. I, however, laughed heartily at A Short History of Tractors in Ukraine and looked forward to reading this, her second novel. Although as humorous and unconventional as ever, Lewycka shows a darker side as she probes how agents bring illegal immigrants into a country, often confiscating their passports upon arrival, and how the bright dreams of the immigrants are dashed when reality falls far short of the easy money and social advancement they are promised. In addition, she takes a detour through a chicken processing plant guaranteed to make you think twice the next time you buy a plump breast. Nominated for the Orwell Prize, Strawberry Fields blends a fun story with social commentary and a look at the stereotypes we all have about one another.
Recommended for those looking for something a little different.
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nineteen-year-old Ukrainian girl, arrives with her sponsoring agent, a hulking “person of minimum culture”, the delicate balance existing among them is broken. With a cast of characters based loosely on those in Canterbury Tales, the story follows the travails of Irina and fellow immigrant Andriy as they try to navigate the undercurrents of illegal immigrant life.Marina Lewycka is a quirky writer, and I can see how she may not appeal to everyone. I, however, laughed heartily at A Short History of Tractors in Ukraine and looked forward to reading this, her second novel. Although as humorous and unconventional as ever, Lewycka shows a darker side as she probes how agents bring illegal immigrants into a country, often confiscating their passports upon arrival, and how the bright dreams of the immigrants are dashed when reality falls far short of the easy money and social advancement they are promised. In addition, she takes a detour through a chicken processing plant guaranteed to make you think twice the next time you buy a plump breast. Nominated for the Orwell Prize, Strawberry Fields blends a fun story with social commentary and a look at the stereotypes we all have about one another.
Recommended for those looking for something a little different.
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LibraryThing member DubaiReader
Better than "Tractors"
This was a book with a lot to say and, as with "A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian", I felt the references to comedy and 'hilarious' on the cover, were misleading. It has its amusing parts - I loved the panicked hooking up of the caravan (complete with inhabitants) when
The book starts with a small community of mixed race Eastern Europeans, some legal, some not, who find themselves working in the strawberry fields of Kent. They are housed in two caravans, one for women, one for men, with a makeshift shower and questionable toilet arrangements. For this, deductions are made each week from their wages.
From here we follow them through a series of mishaps and adventures, each of which highlights more examples of the ways in which these people are taken advantage of - even by one of their own.
I found the male characters a bit confusing to start off with but they did eventually gel. "Dog" was wonderful, both his voice and his devoted love for his master.
All in all a good read, along the lines of The Road Home by Rose Tremain, which I highly recommend.
This was a book with a lot to say and, as with "A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian", I felt the references to comedy and 'hilarious' on the cover, were misleading. It has its amusing parts - I loved the panicked hooking up of the caravan (complete with inhabitants) when
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the strawberry pickers needed to leave in a hurry - but overall it carries a sombre message about the abuse and exploitation of Eastern European workers in UK.The book starts with a small community of mixed race Eastern Europeans, some legal, some not, who find themselves working in the strawberry fields of Kent. They are housed in two caravans, one for women, one for men, with a makeshift shower and questionable toilet arrangements. For this, deductions are made each week from their wages.
From here we follow them through a series of mishaps and adventures, each of which highlights more examples of the ways in which these people are taken advantage of - even by one of their own.
I found the male characters a bit confusing to start off with but they did eventually gel. "Dog" was wonderful, both his voice and his devoted love for his master.
All in all a good read, along the lines of The Road Home by Rose Tremain, which I highly recommend.
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LibraryThing member yooperprof
2007 novel by Marina Lewycka, the follow up to her wonderful debut book, "A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian." In "Strawberry Fields," Lewycka (who is a Ukrainian immigrant to Britain herself) follows the difficulties of a group of eastern European fruit pickers who are sucked up into the
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exploitative world of migrant labor. The Dickensian "social conscience" aspects of the novel are balanced by delightful comedy and romance. Somewhat reminiscent of David Lodge when he was working at the very top of his form (i.e. the "Rummidge" books). I'm recommending it to my friends who are interested in contemporary Brit lit. Show Less
LibraryThing member stevedore
Brilliant, romantic and hilarious. It was fascinating how the book got more deeply political as it continued along.it's insights into the pressures of globalisation on immigrants and also on the behind the scenes look at where our food comes from both just sneak up on you rather than appearing
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forced or didactic. It took me a while to realise all the capital letters were Dog rather than just illegible meanlingless shouting. But, once I realised, Dog rapidly became my favorite character. Show Less
LibraryThing member SqueakyChu
This book is excellent on so many levels. It's the story of a group of immigrants to England from various countries who meet each other while working in a farmer's strawberry fields. As their situation changes and becomes more difficult, they move from place to place. The story is outwardly
The multiple characters (other than the bully boss Vulk) are so endearing. You can't help but fall in love with Irina and Andriy by book's end. You'll even feel a tug at your heartstrings for DOG, a stray dog who becomes an important character in his own right.
This is the second of Lewycka's books I have read, each totally different. Both, however, have me now eager to read more of what she has to say in her exceptionally fun and fine fiction.
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humorous, but in everyone's activities, there is always the meaner, darker side of having to make a living in a country other than one's own.The multiple characters (other than the bully boss Vulk) are so endearing. You can't help but fall in love with Irina and Andriy by book's end. You'll even feel a tug at your heartstrings for DOG, a stray dog who becomes an important character in his own right.
This is the second of Lewycka's books I have read, each totally different. Both, however, have me now eager to read more of what she has to say in her exceptionally fun and fine fiction.
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LibraryThing member siri51
Written from many character's viewpoints, loved the parts by DOG.
Sometimes sad (treatment of job seeking immigrants),sometimes hilarious(DOG) and even tragic (DOG's death more so than Vitaly's)
Sometimes sad (treatment of job seeking immigrants),sometimes hilarious(DOG) and even tragic (DOG's death more so than Vitaly's)
LibraryThing member jayne_charles
What an unconventional book this was – told partially in the third person but with two characters (one of them a dog) afforded a first-person narrative, all of this spliced in with the rest of the text, so the POV was constantly switching around. Also the way most of the characters were
It’s a story that forces the reader to confront the way immigrant workers are treated in modern Britain, a story that will contribute a few more vegetarians to the planet (I suspect) and an opportunity to make a brief re-acquaintance with the ageing Mr Mayevskyj (him of the Short History of Tractors). Characters’ voices are clear throughout, and humour is furthered by their struggles with English (I felt a bit guilty laughing at these given that I don’t speak a word of Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, Chinese.......though the balance was later redressed with the character Rock and his Yorkshire accent). And if the final section with its overtones of romance was a bit like a Ukrainian Nescafe advert, it has to be said that it was a really very impressive Nescafe advert.
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jettisoned along the way like contestants in a TV talent show, until just the two finalists remained. I didn’t think I was going to get on with it at first – so many characters, so many nationalities, and a sequence of events I struggled to follow. Then it all fell into place and by the end I loved it. I was finding excuses to read it when I really should have been doing something else, and when I finished it, there was that feeling of profound regret when you have to say goodbye to a story you have really got lost in.It’s a story that forces the reader to confront the way immigrant workers are treated in modern Britain, a story that will contribute a few more vegetarians to the planet (I suspect) and an opportunity to make a brief re-acquaintance with the ageing Mr Mayevskyj (him of the Short History of Tractors). Characters’ voices are clear throughout, and humour is furthered by their struggles with English (I felt a bit guilty laughing at these given that I don’t speak a word of Ukrainian, Polish, Russian, Chinese.......though the balance was later redressed with the character Rock and his Yorkshire accent). And if the final section with its overtones of romance was a bit like a Ukrainian Nescafe advert, it has to be said that it was a really very impressive Nescafe advert.
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LibraryThing member murraymint11
A really enjoyable read which is both light-hearted and comic, but at the same time has dark issues bubbling underneath.
Liked the different narrative voices (especially Emanuel's), the inventive meals, and the humour of misunderstandings. Some scenes were memorable, in particular at the chicken
"a large part of the joy of Lewycka's work is the language, the way she writes as you would hear words spoken"
Liked the different narrative voices (especially Emanuel's), the inventive meals, and the humour of misunderstandings. Some scenes were memorable, in particular at the chicken
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farm which was harrowing. Liked this one better than 'Tractors'."a large part of the joy of Lewycka's work is the language, the way she writes as you would hear words spoken"
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LibraryThing member bookmart
I preferred her "Tractor" book. The characters were less entertaining in this novel and you didn't get to know them.
LibraryThing member generalkala
This is nothing at all like A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian. It's far more graphic, far darker and more disturbing. Scenes such as a battery chicken farm and the further abuse of animals are described in graphic detail, whereas ASHoTiU was of a much pleasanter nature. I am not of a
The characters are very one-dimensial and do not seem to have any personality at all. The narrative flits between many different characters and yet I didn't care or feel for a single one of them.
The plot itself is clever - it shows how a group of immigrantsfrom different countries all meet different fates, but the character development was poor and I wasn't prepared for the graphic scenes.
It's possible the book just wasn't what I expected, but I still couldn't finish it.
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squeamish nature and yet could not actually finish the book.The characters are very one-dimensial and do not seem to have any personality at all. The narrative flits between many different characters and yet I didn't care or feel for a single one of them.
The plot itself is clever - it shows how a group of immigrantsfrom different countries all meet different fates, but the character development was poor and I wasn't prepared for the graphic scenes.
It's possible the book just wasn't what I expected, but I still couldn't finish it.
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LibraryThing member JillMcCaghern
This novel is about the lives of illegal immigrants in the UK. Not as good as her first book (A Short History of Ukranian Tractors)but quite entertaining. The romance between Andriy and Irina is unbelieveable. Quite amusing in parts though.
LibraryThing member Griff
After thoroughly enjoying A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian, I was disappointed in Strawberry Fields. Unlike Tractors, I was not particularly engaged early by the characters and the variety of characters that wandered off the page in the midst of the book left me with a sense of an incomplete
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experience. (It seems like we never quite get to all the things Yola was going to tell us about.) About three-quarters of the way through, I was going to rate it much lower, but it gained some steam in the end. I eventually felt some connection to the young Ukranian couple at the center of it all. I had hoped for more after her sensational debut. Maybe next time. Show Less
LibraryThing member heidijane
This book started off well - funny and quirky - but didn't live up to its promise and became quite dull. I lost all empathy for the characters and couldn't care less about them. A bit disappointing after her 'tractors' book.
LibraryThing member LynnB
Interesting story about immigrant workers and the challenges they face working as labourers with no rights. This book raises serious issues but is at times funny and never too heavy.
It is also a love story between Irina and Andriy, two Ukrainians who meet while working as strawberry pickers and
It is also a love story between Irina and Andriy, two Ukrainians who meet while working as strawberry pickers and
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the people they work with who suffer various fates ranging from being sold into prostitution, to being united with friends and family. Lots of quirky characters, including an heroic Dog. Show Less
LibraryThing member allegoresque
At the centre of this amusing and disturbing novel is the exploitation of immigrant workers in the UK. The realism benefits from a brilliant eye for character and an ear for dialogue; supported by documentary research on farming and animal processing. The chicken factory scenes are the particularly
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grotesque. The narrative is multi-stranded and multi-voiced with the result that Marina Lewycka's subject matter is not presented in a bleak or didactic fashion. Her characters face stark choices in a harsh, contradictory environments, but their unique humanity lights up in flashes across the darkness. Show Less
LibraryThing member sanddancer
My main problem with this book is that I thought the characters were all stereotypes. The author is the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants but I don't think she does her heritage any favours with these cliched portrayals, and the innocent African character is even more offensive a cliche. I didn't
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find the book funny or lighthearted, but rather that serious subjects were treated mockingly. The best parts were the bits from the dogs point of view, by far the best character in an otherwise mediocre book. Show Less
LibraryThing member dczapka
Marina Lewycka, after her stunning debut novel, left quite a standard to be met or exceeded with her sophomore effort. And while no one can blame her for going in a different direction with Strawberry Fields, the unfortunate truth is that it isn't nearly as strong as A Short History of Tractors in
The novel is a pastiche of narratives and perspectives, ranging from Ukrainian immigrants to migrant workers to even a lowly dog (named, aptly, Dog). The general gist of the plot revolves around Andriy and Irina, the two Ukrainians, who are separated from their work in a strawberry field after an adulterous run-in with the farmer's wife sends everyone scrambling. Irina gets caught up with the dangerous pimp Vulk while Andriy moves from town to town and from job to demoralizing job, looking for both happiness and Irina.
As that very brief and horribly incomplete plot summary may have suggested, this is far from the light and airy tale of would-be deportation that drove Lewycka's first novel. In this book, she privileges the immigrant's perspectives and takes the opportunity to explore what a dark, dangerous life they are forced to lead. Gone is the amusing slapstick of Tractors, replaced by a world where the scent and sight of human waste, dirt, and sweat permeate it all. There is nary a respectable character except for the naive immigrants from whom we receive the story, which complicates matters because we are constantly led to believe that this world is awful and unforgiving.
Despite the darker turn, which promises much more complex thematic material, Lewycka just doesn't seem to handle this plot as well as she handled that of Tractors. There is a certain amount of chaos intended, to parallel the chaotic lives of our heroes, but there is little sense that things are ever progressing towards a fixed point. The resolution at the novel's end feels cheap and unsatisfying because a) most of the characters have been fazed out by that point (save for Andriy and Irina), and b) the novel reaches for a false ending that it freely admits doesn't quite work in context. In addition, there are many overt references to Tractors, including an extended sequence featuring Nikolai, that attempt to look at the darker side of that work but instead end up sucking much of the joy from it.
Lewycka clearly sought to paint her landscape with more shades of grey in Strawberry Fields, but the result is a novel that reads more like a canvas that's had black paint splashed all over it. Her command of imagery is commendable, but by forgoing the comic in favor of the tragicomic, the novel loses much of the charm and focus of her earlier effort. One hopes that her future works will regain the vivacity that is so sorely missing from this book.
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Ukrainian, and the fact that this novel resonates so frequently with its predecessor only underscores that even more deeply.The novel is a pastiche of narratives and perspectives, ranging from Ukrainian immigrants to migrant workers to even a lowly dog (named, aptly, Dog). The general gist of the plot revolves around Andriy and Irina, the two Ukrainians, who are separated from their work in a strawberry field after an adulterous run-in with the farmer's wife sends everyone scrambling. Irina gets caught up with the dangerous pimp Vulk while Andriy moves from town to town and from job to demoralizing job, looking for both happiness and Irina.
As that very brief and horribly incomplete plot summary may have suggested, this is far from the light and airy tale of would-be deportation that drove Lewycka's first novel. In this book, she privileges the immigrant's perspectives and takes the opportunity to explore what a dark, dangerous life they are forced to lead. Gone is the amusing slapstick of Tractors, replaced by a world where the scent and sight of human waste, dirt, and sweat permeate it all. There is nary a respectable character except for the naive immigrants from whom we receive the story, which complicates matters because we are constantly led to believe that this world is awful and unforgiving.
Despite the darker turn, which promises much more complex thematic material, Lewycka just doesn't seem to handle this plot as well as she handled that of Tractors. There is a certain amount of chaos intended, to parallel the chaotic lives of our heroes, but there is little sense that things are ever progressing towards a fixed point. The resolution at the novel's end feels cheap and unsatisfying because a) most of the characters have been fazed out by that point (save for Andriy and Irina), and b) the novel reaches for a false ending that it freely admits doesn't quite work in context. In addition, there are many overt references to Tractors, including an extended sequence featuring Nikolai, that attempt to look at the darker side of that work but instead end up sucking much of the joy from it.
Lewycka clearly sought to paint her landscape with more shades of grey in Strawberry Fields, but the result is a novel that reads more like a canvas that's had black paint splashed all over it. Her command of imagery is commendable, but by forgoing the comic in favor of the tragicomic, the novel loses much of the charm and focus of her earlier effort. One hopes that her future works will regain the vivacity that is so sorely missing from this book.
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LibraryThing member rosmerta
I know this was supposed to be funny, but although I found it lighthearted and amusing, the ghastly truths it portrayed were all too real for me to be able to laugh. However, i'm sure I will it memorable and DOG is officially my hero!
LibraryThing member FabulousandFeminist
*shrugs*
The main two characters irritated me so that didn't really help. I liked it but I didn't like the fact we heard next to nothing else about Yola, Martha and Tomaz or the two Chinese girls after they left.
Clever though and I liked the way she tied her other book in when they were at the Home.
The main two characters irritated me so that didn't really help. I liked it but I didn't like the fact we heard next to nothing else about Yola, Martha and Tomaz or the two Chinese girls after they left.
Clever though and I liked the way she tied her other book in when they were at the Home.
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Well worth a read, I just won't be re-reading it. Show Less
LibraryThing member davidroche
I enjoyed this more than Tractors. 2 out of 2 for Marina too
LibraryThing member Clurb
This read as a fairly average story dealing with immigration, politics and European integration, made special by Lewycka's unique dark humour and by Dog, the most lovable character I've come across for a long, long time.
LibraryThing member jessicariddoch
Like the other book I have ead by this author this tale is based around immigrants to the UK. In this case it those who have come to do strawberry picking.
It was good that one of the main characters Irina was not the economic migrant that we are used to thinking of. Yet this character finds
This book covers the systematic way in which those working in the uk are abused and dehumanised. from the hovel of living accomodations to the way that their pay is first well below what they were promised and then "deductions" are applied, how qiockly this becomes part of what they expect.
Despite this the book is quite humerous.
The style of writing does remind me of the way in whihc those who are not born to the english language communicates. I particularly like the letter that one of the characters writes to show how he is understanding the situation, though I was for a while slightly confused as to how he was sending these, until you realise that he is not sendng them at all as he is unable to locate his sister and this is one of the reasons he is traveling. However I dis not like the portions where the dog is narrating.
If you likes short history of tractors you will love this book
It was good that one of the main characters Irina was not the economic migrant that we are used to thinking of. Yet this character finds
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herself, although legally in the uk without a passport or a way to get home. This book covers the systematic way in which those working in the uk are abused and dehumanised. from the hovel of living accomodations to the way that their pay is first well below what they were promised and then "deductions" are applied, how qiockly this becomes part of what they expect.
Despite this the book is quite humerous.
The style of writing does remind me of the way in whihc those who are not born to the english language communicates. I particularly like the letter that one of the characters writes to show how he is understanding the situation, though I was for a while slightly confused as to how he was sending these, until you realise that he is not sendng them at all as he is unable to locate his sister and this is one of the reasons he is traveling. However I dis not like the portions where the dog is narrating.
If you likes short history of tractors you will love this book
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LibraryThing member lkernagh
It is obvious that Lewycka decided to experiment with shifting formats, producing a unique blending of first and third person narration, including epistolary (Emmanuel’s narration takes the form of letters written to his sister) and the all caps grammar-deficient monologues of a stray dog. Part
Overall, as much as I enjoyed the growing romance between Irina and Andriy and the use of fractured English and the language barrier to produce comic moments, the manner in which Irina continues to encounter the sleazy Eastern European gangster/exploiter Vulk (in the most unlikely of places) is fanciful in the extreme. That and the fact that some of the story just comes across as rather ‘odd’. An okay read but IMO, not as good as Lewycka’s debut novel, A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian.
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romance, part adventure, part social commentary, Lewycka attempts to tackle a number of serious social issues – illegal immigration, worker exploitation, environmental activism, factory farming, – from an almost tragicomic perspective. The migrant workers dreams of “freedom” and the ability to earn good money is quickly shown to be a thinly veiled illusion, which would have made for completely depressing reading except for the naïve innocence of some of the characters, with a focus on humour first, social commentary second. Overall, as much as I enjoyed the growing romance between Irina and Andriy and the use of fractured English and the language barrier to produce comic moments, the manner in which Irina continues to encounter the sleazy Eastern European gangster/exploiter Vulk (in the most unlikely of places) is fanciful in the extreme. That and the fact that some of the story just comes across as rather ‘odd’. An okay read but IMO, not as good as Lewycka’s debut novel, A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian.
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LibraryThing member mojacobs
When I started reading this book, I thought "Oh no, not another sad tale of exploited immigrant workers" - but I soon found out I was completely wrong. It is a tale of exploited immigrant workers, of course, and sad at times, but hilarious at others, one moment deeply moving, the next slapstick
I liked A History of Tractors in Oekranian, but I love this book. It might be a bit simpler in its painting of human relationships, but it sparkles with imagination, and the messages it carries stay complex, it never becomes simplistic.
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comedy, with examples of the horrors man can inflict on man (and woman!), and of the wonders of friendship and solidarity too. And Lewycka makes this improbable combination work. I liked A History of Tractors in Oekranian, but I love this book. It might be a bit simpler in its painting of human relationships, but it sparkles with imagination, and the messages it carries stay complex, it never becomes simplistic.
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LibraryThing member ksieyzc_2007
I liked this book, my father liked this book, my mother didn't and none of us can quite say why we feel as we do.
For me a large part of the joy of Lewycka's work is the language, the way she writes as you would hear words spoken. It's also like peeking round the curtain at an often hidden part of
Also I did find myself smiling at the little nod to 'Tractors' as well. Always nice when an author acknowledges their previous work especially if it was the one that broke them.
For me a large part of the joy of Lewycka's work is the language, the way she writes as you would hear words spoken. It's also like peeking round the curtain at an often hidden part of
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life. Not in a Panorama, in-depth investigation kind of way. (let's face it seasonal workers/immigrants are very topical just now), but in a 'this is how people live, how people are' way and all human life is here.Also I did find myself smiling at the little nod to 'Tractors' as well. Always nice when an author acknowledges their previous work especially if it was the one that broke them.
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Subjects
Awards
Orwell Prize (Shortlist — 2008)
Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction (Shortlist — 2007)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2007
Physical description
320 p.; 5.08 inches
ISBN
0141026995 / 9780141026992
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