Strawberry Fields

Strawberry Fields by Marina Lewycka is a surprisingly good read. This was an impulse "borrow" from the library, but I may end up buying a copy to keep.

Ms. Lewycka's novel follows an unlikely group of immigrant workers in England as they seek work, opportunity, and a chance to meet lofty life-goals. There are five women and four men from Poland, Ukraine, China, Africa, and Moldova and they begin the story on a strawberry farm. The story has been loosely compared to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and it is a pilgrimage of sorts for each of the characters. In a way, I suppose it can also be read as a comment on the effects of capitalism on the underclass, as the immigrants are taken advantage of in just about every way one could possibly imagine. But I love the way the repulsive bad guys get what's coming to them, and the kind good guys find love and contentment. You reap what you sow, right?

The novel was at times funny, and at times uncomfortable, but I think I liked it. A lot. I would like to try it on Jacy to see what she thinks, but as she's a bit too busy at the moment I think I'll push it Karin's way and ask what she thinks of it.