#two caravans

[grimfairytales]

There is a field - a south-sloping field sitting astride a long hill that curves away into a secret leafy valley. It is sheltered by dense hedges of hawthorn and hazel threaded through with wild roses and evening-scented honeysuckle. In the mornings, a light breeze carries up over the Downs, just enough to kiss the air with the fresh salty tang of the English Channel. In fact so delightful is the air that, sitting up here, you might think you were in paradise. And in the field are two caravans, a men’s caravan and a woman’s caravan.

Marina Lewycka - “ Two Caravans”

[thelibrawry]

[thelibrawry]

"This girl... so sweet, so lithe, one moment she melts like a snowflake in your hands, then she sears you like a fire, until you don't know whether you're freezing or burning; you only know you want more."

Two Caravans, by Marina Lewycka

[thelibrawry]

"Love is like fire... A treasure, not a toy."

Two Caravans, by Marina Lewycka

[thelibrawry]

"How can he explain to this impatient young man what it has taken him forty-five years to learn - that loss is an essential part of the human condition? That even as we are moving on down that long lonesome road, destination unknown, there is always something we are leaving behind us."

Two Caravans, by Marina Lewycka

[bookshackau]

"Quirky" Books by Marina Lewycka

"A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian", "Two Caravans" and "We are All made of Glue" are the quirky titles of Marina Lewycka three novels.  Marina specializes in finding humour in the most unusual concepts and intertwining them into fascinating storylines.

She is a British novelist of Ukrainian origin and was born in a refugee camp in Keil, Germany after World War II. "Tractors" is a hilarious tale of a gold digging Ukrainian divorcee who snares an elderly widower and explodes into the famly like a "fluffy pink grenade", but it is also a heart rendering account of the bloodstained history of Ukraine. "Two Caravans" is a slapstick story about a little group of strawberry pickers, factory farming & immigrant exploitation.  "We are all Made of Glue" is my personal favourite - a storyline revolving around an unlikely friendship between two neighbours, Georgie & Mrs. Shapiro, an eccentric old Jewish immigrant.  What befalls these two characters is touching and comical, and includes snippets of the history of Israel & Palestine after WWII, miners strike in the 1980's and a lot about glue !

I really enjoy Marina Lewycka's writing style; you are laughing and learning at the same time. I relish the unusual characters, find them endearing and her novels a great form of escapism.

[thebooksmeller-blog]

Two Caravans - Marina Lewycka

I finished it last week and it was superb. I didn't think she could top the hilarity of her previous novel but this really did. It was funny and inspiring and entrancing all in one go. I've never been so gripped by comedy, this woman has a real way with words.