Various pets alive and dead

Took me a bit of time to get into this book. But stuck with it and enjoyed it greatly in the end. Quite a different story going on with lots of characters dipping in and out. Nicely told. And sad in its way.

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1 person found this helpful

Another great romp from Marina Lewicka!

I love her characters, witty and keen observations and weoo woven plots. Her compassion and humour always get me.

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2 people found this helpful

Amusing,

Any additional comments?

This was a good, amusing story with some great characters. I particularly liked Oolie Anna.

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I loved this book

I've enjoyed most of her books, but this one was the first I'd listened to rather than read. Sian Thomas' wonderful narration added to my pleasure - I laughed out loud on many occasions. The stories of everyone in the commune are beautifully interwoven, particularly the now grown-up children. I've listened to this many times now, and recommend it for a funny, moving and memorable story.

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Enjoyable and comic social commentary

Not Marina Lewycka's best - that remains 'A short history of tractors in Ukranian', where all new readers should start - but still an enjoyable romp through through the last forty years or so. The characters are great: the parents - Doro and Marcus who spent much of their life in a commune; their children - Clara, the conscientious school-teacher, Serge, the gullible Maths Ph,D. who drifts into the City, and Oolie with Down's Syndrome, who longs for independence for her over-protective mum. Don't expect great depth from the characters - as in Dickens, they are designed to illustrate social situations, drive the story, and provide opportunities for great dialogue. Don't expect too much from the social commentary either - it's a wry and gentle poking of fun at the delusions of 1980s Marxism, the naivety of youth, the amoral absurdity of modern investment banking, the ageing process, and the nature of relationships, which ocassionally reaches the level of laugh-out load farce. As someone of Doro and Marcus's generation, I enjoyed it, but I've no idea how other generations would find it. A perfect book for Radio Four listeners.

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Disappointing

After enjoying Marina Lewycka's previous novels, and anticipating that an audio experience would be even more enjoyable than reading, I was thoroughly disappointed with this book. It's not the narrator's fault - just that the story is dull and the characters trite and 2-dimensional. What a shame when Tractors, Caravans etc were all so enjoyable and well observed - light reads that were more substantial than your average aeroplane novel.

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Yawnfest

The story didn't go anywhere, dull listen. Disappointing as I usually love the author.

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Not that funny really

I don(t know what I was expecting but this book turned out to be a bit of a deception. I thought it would be amusing but I found myself getting bored.

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Great narrator.

The narrator saved this one! She was the only reason I kept listening!! This is not even close to Marina Lewyckza's other books. Shame!

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