Vinegar Girl…
About the Book:
No one does family like Anne Tyler – and the Battistas might be her most appealing yet. The new novel from the bestselling author of A Spool of Blue Thread.
Kate Battista is stuck. How did she end up running house and home for her eccentric scientist father and infuriating younger sister Bunny?
Dr Battista has other problems. His brilliant young lab assistant, Pyotr, is about to be deported. And without Pyotr, his new scientific breakthrough will fall through…
When Dr Battista cooks up an outrageous plan that will enable Pyotr to stay in the country, he’s relying – as usual – on Kate to help him. Will Kate be able to resist the two men’s touchingly ludicrous campaign to win her round?
Anne Tyler’s brilliant retelling of The Taming of the Shrew asks whether a thoroughly modern woman like Kate would ever sacrifice herself for a man. The answer is as surprising as Kate herself.
My Thoughts:
I am in search of comfort reading at present as a means of getting my reading mojo right back into full swing and no one offers comfort more comforting than Anne Tyler.
I’ve been keen to read Vinegar Girl for some time now, as it is a modern retelling of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew (which I love), and while many other readers had said that it was not Tyler’s best work, I was still drawn to it.
I’m so glad I unpacked the box earlier this week that contained my unread Anne Tyler books. The timing was perfect! I thought this one was delightful; a truly funny, engaging, clever, yet light family drama that just hit all the right notes. It was also a quick read, coming in at only 260 pages, so if you’re after a weekend reading escape that doesn’t require too much investment of time or concentration, but promises to deliver plenty of laughs and entertainment, Vinegar Girl is the perfect book.
☕☕☕☕
About the Author:
Anne Tyler was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1941 and grew up in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her bestselling novels include Breathing Lessons, The Accidental Tourist, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, Ladder of Years, Back When We Were Grownups, A Patchwork Planet, The Amateur Marriage, Digging to America, A Spool of Blue Thread, Vinegar Girl and Clock Dance. In 1989 she won the Pulitzer Prize for Breathing Lessons; in 1994 she was nominated by Roddy Doyle and Nick Hornby as ‘the greatest novelist writing in English’; in 2012 she received the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence; and in 2015 A Spool of Blue Thread was a Sunday Times bestseller and was shortlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Man Booker Prize.
Vinegar Girl
Published by Vintage
Released 20th March 2017
Theresa Smith Writes 
Honestly, I could take or leave Tyler but I have enjoyed these Shakespearean retellings (was this one part of the same series that included Winterson et al??).
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Yes, same series. I’m thinking I’ll have to read some more of them now.
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It is always worth reading Tyler, even if it isn’t one of her best books. I enjoyed it, but it will never be my favorite of hers.
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Same, I enjoyed this, but have already enjoyed others by her more. I agree with you, always worth reading Tyler!
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It’s been a long time since I read this author – glad to see she still writes family drama so well and this was just what you needed in your current reading mood.
Lynn 😀
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She does excel within her chosen area.
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I had to read The Accidental Tourist by Anne Tyler for high school and hated it, so haven’t tried another one. Given you’re such a fan, which novel of hers do you think I’d like the most?
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I really loved The Clock Winder.
I think it might be an age thing too. I can’t imagine enjoying her books as much as a teenager as I do now.
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