Books & Poetry

Lewycka’s second novel, the story of a group of illegal immigrants working on a Kent strawberry farm, is an affectionate picture of immigrant toughness and ingenuity which, although it covers familiar ground, should please the many fans of ‘A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian’.

It begins as an ensemble piece, with the pickers living in pastoral bliss in their field. Their cosy world is vividly described by a chorus of distinctive voices: strident Yola; sweetly innocent Emmanuel; and rather prissy Irina. Even the stray dog that attaches itself to the group gets a say – more of a say, in fact, than the Chinese girls. This idyll is shattered by violent confrontation. The resulting road trip throws up some wonderful comic moments, as the shrinking group travels from Dover to London to Sheffield, which the Ukrainian Andrei remembers from a childhood visit as a workers’ utopia.

However, as the unengaging romance between the young Ukrainians develops, the book loses its comic bite. The plot becomes increasingly melodramatic, full of shootings, gangsters and sex-traffickers. But if Lewycka’s attempts to add seriousness are mixed, her earthy humour is perfect for the through-the-looking-glass world of Nightingale Employment Solutions and Buttercup Meadows. Black comedy, sharp as unripe strawberries, makes a refreshing change from the earnest hand-wringing to which this topic is often subjected. Lewycka’s characters are not victims, and while they are lost in a world stacked against them, they remain in charge of their chaotic and unpredictable lives.