I literally read this book in under 24 hours; I was not able to put it down. This is another book by the same woman who
wrote "A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian". It is a story of migrant
farm workers from wide-spread areas of the world (Africa, China, Poland, the Ukraine) who come together to work on a strawberry farm in Britain.
It is written from several different perspectives, which in the beginning was somewhat confusing. As the novel moves on, though, and different characters are focused on, the writing style becomes more helpful and less distracting. For example, there are paragraphs that begin and end with "I AM DOG" that, before the introduction of a dog into the story, seem out of place. Once the dog is mentioned in a different character's narrative, the dog's voice becomes an important part of the story...and it seems amazing that the author is able to narrarate a dog's thoughts so well.
In some ways, the book is a standard
romance that involves around two Ukranian characters, but it is in no way cleaned up. That is to say, it is a realistic story which takes into account the emotions and difficulties of these nomadic workers who are trying to make their way in a difficult place. The characters are exploited and underpaid, forced by neccessity into jobs they don't want (that noone wants). They are disrespected and abused, but they find common bonds in each other.
It is a lovely story, an interesting book, and a great read.