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Lentils, free love, radical politics and
family truths . . . Various Pets Alive and Dead
is the wonderfully funny fourth novel from Marina
Lewycka, author of the bestselling A Short History of
Tractors in Ukrainian.
For
twenty years Doro and Marcus lived in a commune,
convinced lentils and free love would change the world.
They didn't. What they did do was give their children a
terror of radicalism, dirt, cooking rotas and poverty.
Their daughter Clara wants nothing less conformist than
her own, clean bathroom. Their son Serge hides the
awkward fact that he's a banker earning loadsamoney. So
when Doro and Marcus spring a surprise on their kids -
just as the world is rocked in ways they always wished
for - the family is forced to confront some thorny
truths about themselves . . .
'Wonderfully funny . .
. a dizzy, eye-watering treat . . . Lewycka is somewhere
between Hilary Mantel in her satirical mode and Sue
Townsend' Independent
'Thank heavens for
Marina Lewycka whose Various Pets Alive and Dead
me laugh at least once in every chapter . . . The warmth
of its tone, its zest, its blend of quirky, humane
comedy and intellectual seriousness make this a novel to
treasure' New Statesman
'Marina Lewycka's
latest novel is wonderfully funny with moments of pure
farce in the best tradition of social satire . . . this
inventive and witty book fizzes along from beginning to
end' Daily Express
Marina Lewycka was born in
Kiel, Germany, after the war, grew up in England and
lives in Sheffield. Her first novel, A Short History
of Tractors in Ukrainian, was shortlisted for the
Orange Prize, longlisted for the Man Booker and won the
Bollinger Everyman Prize for Comic Fiction and the
Waverton Good Read Award. Her second novel, Two
Caravans, was shortlisted for the Orwell Prize. A
Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian, Two
Caravans and Marina's third novel, We Are All
Made of Glue, are all available in Penguin
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