The English Dream in Two Caravans

WHERE: All around the fields of England
WHO: Eastern European and Asian workers
WHAT: Strawberry Picking
WHY: Looking for the English dream

This is Marina Lewycka's Two Caravans. The two Poles Tomasz and Yola, the two Ukrainians Andriy and Irina, the two Chinese girls, and Emmanuel from Malawi, they all have come to the UK for different reasons, yet having one thing in common - looking for something. Whether it is money to start a new life, an old friend, love, companionship, or adventure, they are restless to explore whatever the new land has to offer to them.

At the beginning they all work and live in two caravans in a strawberry picking land in Kent. However, the working conditions are far from desirable for immigrant workers. They are exploited and robbed by the farmers, being paid the lowest wages. When Irina is kidnapped by the Russian mafia gangster Vulk, who is looking to make her his lover and then a prostitute, the brave company goes on a journey to set her free. Throughout they meet shady people, luring them into taking insecure jobs. The two Chinese girls are even sold as prostitutes. UK at that time is not a nice place for the immigrants. Full of wanna-be gangsters with mobilfon (that is how they are satirically called in the novel), expensive clothes, and shady sun-glasses, it is a place where these people are exposed to danger and deceit daily. As an immigrant herself, Lewycka quite profoundly describes the difficulties of adapting to a different culture.

At a first glance the novel is supposed to be funny. At a first glance it is actually quite similar to Laurie Graham's Life according to Lubka, where several Bulgarian singers go through ridiculously funny experiences in their clash with the English civilization. On a closer look, though Two Caravans is tremendously powerful and sadly realistic. Taking Yola, for example. The 40 something years old woman has come to the UK to save enough money to buy a house back home and to find a man, who is not repelled by her son with the Dawn syndrome. Andriy and Irina, both young and innocent, have read and dreamt about meeting English lady/gentleman and spending their life drinking tea and being admired. Tomasz is a lonely 45 years old man, who loves playing his guitar and is desperately in love with Yola. All of them came to the UK in the hopes of escaping the poverty in their home countries after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Yet, what they find is more sorrow, more problems, and more struggle.

At the end, though, Two Caravans is somewhat optimistic. One way or another, all of the characters (whom every reader gets to love throughout the novel) find some king of settlement. In a good way, this encounter with one another has helped them realize the false appeal of the so-called English dream.

Witty, perceptive, filled with black humour, and highly satirical, this is Two Caravans by Marina Lewycka. The Ukrainian immigrant creates a plausible picture of the obstacles in front of these workers, presenting the reality of the UK labour, exploiting the weak and nurturing the gangsters and the mafia. One of the most enjoyable and distinctive features in the novel is the presence of the dog, called, of course Dog. Somewhere in the middle of the journey, this loyal friend joins the strange company and the author shares the animal's thoughts and experiences in a unique way.

Lewycka is an Ukrainian immigrant, living and teaching in Sheffield. Two Caravans is her second novel, after A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian and it is brilliant. Quite worth reading.

Life According to Lubka or How an English Woman Perceives Bulgarians

Life according to Lubka is simple. It is all about the little pleasures of life, which we see all the time but somehow fail to notice. It is about dressing up nicely when you are home alone just to watch a movie. Out of respect for yourself.

Life according to Lubka is about facing all the obstacles in front of you with a smile and positivism. Lubka's husband and child died but she didn't give up her life. She continues to grasp every opportunity and to enjoy it. Life according to Lubka is to be a fighter.

Life according to Lubka is to understand that whatever happens to you is the right thing at the moment. Life according to Lubka is to accept it, deal with it and continue your life in the best possible way.

Life according to Lubka is to do the right thing even if no one is watching you. Life according to Lubka is to believe in God or in some universal power that guides you through. After all, as Lubka asks "If there was no God, why are there stars and sky. It could have been nothing"

Life according to Lubka is to sing. Sing with your heart even if you have a terrible voice. Sing even if you don't know the exact words. Sing in front of other people or alone. Sing to live.

Who is Lubka? Lubka is a 40 something year-old Bulgarian grandma, part of Gorni Grannies - Bulgarian singers that perform typical folklore music. They are on a tour in the USA and the UK under the control of the nervous and cold-hearted PR consultant Buzz Wexler. Having never left their (or should I say my?!) home country the grannies are perplexed by the luxurious hotels, the free staff, the shops, and the foreign culture. The five grannies, which of which more lovingly weird, and their unbelievable vicissitudes are about to change the control-freakish Buzz, who has not cared for anything in her life besides botox, alcohol, drugs, and success. The clash between the Bulgarian quintet and the "American dream" is hilarious -
insane incidents filled with humour, irony, and a lot of wisdom. Kichka, a kleptomaniac, gets kidnapped by mistake. Stanka is constantly surrounded by her grandson, most probably connected to Eastern European mafia, and his bodyguards. Dora cries constantly about her goat and from time to time calls her on the phone. Tsveta meets her daughter in the US, who joins the singing grannies. And finally - Lubka. Lubka is a fighter and a leader. Having lost her husband and child, the Bulgarian singer continues to explore life with a child-like fascination. Her passion for life is about to change the cynical Buzz Wexler. And even help her when the unbelievable happens to Buzz.

If you are looking for a serious book close this review straight away. However, if you want to laugh with five Bulgarian grannies on the verge of civilization, Life according to Lubka is your book. Funny, light, and seemingly unpretentious, the novel offers truths about life, well hidden between humorous situations, scandals, and troubles. Laurie Graham created her heroines with such vivid imagination and satire that they quickly become favorites of the reader.

I have lived for almost three years now in the UK and I still have no definite answer to how the English perceive us, Bulgarians. Some are fascinated with our distinct culture. The Mystery of Bulgarian Voices even had a show in Manchester a few months back. Many want to visit Bulgaria because of the great ski tourism or alternatively for the so called sex tourism on the seaside. Others are politically skeptical about Bulgaria joining the EU. They see us as a poor slowly developing country pushing the EU backwards. Some ask whether we will have electricity on Christmas day due to the gas crisis in Russia. And still there are those who do not even know whether Bulgaria is in Europe or in Asia. All of them are fascinated with the way Bulgarians drink and party, comparing us even to Russians ( I don't know whether to take this as a compliment or as an insult).

Laurie Graham offers another perspective. The perspective of the Bulgarian folklore and the way it teaches you to live. According to Lubka.