Vinegar Girl

A sweet and easy read. ( )

Mostly I enjoyed this novel. The writing was solid and the characters interesting. The build-up seemed to take longer than the resolution, and I think the ending suffered as a result. I'm not a huge fan of the ending, but I suppose I can't completely fault Tyler for that since the ending is Shakespeare's. It just seems kind of tacked on and inconsistent with Kate's personality. And the epilogue really wasn't necessary at all. Great novel for a readathon, though. ( )

An engaging and entertaining tale as Tyler’s Kate surprises herself in turning her stifled vinegary situation into a velvety full-bouquet life.

Taming of the Shrew was my first Shakespeare book/play and started me on a journey to read more of his plays. So, I was excited that the Hogarth Shakespeare series decided that this would be one of the storylines to get a contemporary facelift.

Tyler brings her trademark Baltimore location, eccentric characters, and zany family dynamics to the essence of The Taming of the Shrew.
This is a perfect read when looking for a relaxing read with a satisfying ending. ( )

Kate Battista is almost thirty years old and, at some point in the last ten years, has lost track of her dreams. Somehow she’s fallen into the rut of keeping house in Baltimore for her absent-minded scientist father and her empty-headed teenage sister Bunny, as well as working full time as a teaching assistant at a nursery school. It’s as if everyone else in life has had script notes that have eluded Kate: her high-school friends have moved away, her once-sisterly relationship with Bunny has crumbled during the latter’s adolescence, and her headmistress Mrs Darling worries about Kate’s lack of tact and diplomacy. And now, to make matters worse, fifteen-year-old Bunny has struck up an interest in the boy next door, who claims to be tutoring her in Spanish, and Kate’s father is entirely oblivious.

In fact, there’s only one thing on Kate’s father’s mind. Or two, if you count his beloved autoimmunity research. Dr Battista is worried sick at the prospect of losing his brilliant research assistant, Pyotr Cherbakov, who came to the states on an extraordinary three-year visa almost three years ago. Now that Dr Battista’s research is getting less attention, he’ll find it harder to argue for the crucial renewal of his young assistant’s visa. Unless there’s another way to ensure that Pyotr can stay in the States… And so Dr Battista conceives a cunning plan, which relies on the compliance of his world-weary, single elder daughter. It would be the perfect solution. If only he had discussed it with Kate first…

For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/03/15/vinegar-girl-anne-tyler/ ( )

Such a funny and charming novel about Kate and her wooing and marriage by Pyotr so that he can get a green card. Kate opts for change, which is surprising and also not surprising. Anne Tyler has woven a great story that hangs together well, is sympathetic, touching and amusing. The epilogue pulls the whole thing together beautifully and not in a ham-fisted way. A great novel. ( )