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Awards

Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize : Winner 2006

Orange Prize for Fiction : Shortlist 2005

British Book Award : Winner 2005

Synopsis

For years, Nadezhda and Vera, two Ukrainian sisters, raised in England by their refugee parents, have had as little as possible to do with each other - and they have their reasons. But now they find they'd better learn how to get along, because since their mother's death their ageing father has been sliding into his second childhood, and an alarming new woman has just entered his life.

Valentina, a bosomy young synthetic blonde from the Ukraine, seems to think their father is much richer than he is, and she is keen that he leave this world with as little money to his name as possible. If Nadazhda and Vera don't stop her, no one will. But separating their addled and annoyingly lecherous dad from his new love will prove to be no easy feat - Valentina is a ruthless pro and the two sisters swiftly realize that they are mere amateurs when it comes to ruthlessness.

As Hurricane Valentina turns the family house upside down, old secrets come falling out, including the most deeply buried one of them all, from the War, the one that explains much about why Nadazhda and Vera are so different. In the meantime, oblivious to it all, their father carries on with the great work of his dotage, a grand history of the tractor.

Reviews

Customer Review: 24 June 2007

Reviewer: Anuja Kamani

What a booK! Amazingingly funny, an instant pick-me-up.

Critic Review:

'A delightful first novel.. an understanding of history, a profundity, and yet a lightness of touch, that are a joy... funny, touching and completely convincing'
The Spectator

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