Title: Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler
Book Beginnings/First Line Friday quote:
Kate Battista was gardening out back when she heard the telephone ring in the kitchen. She straightened up and listened.
Friday56 quote:
She [Kate] didn't have the slightest idea what Mrs. Darling wanted to see her about. But then, she seldom did. The etiquette in this place was so mysterious! Or the customs, or conventions, or whatever ...Like, not showing strangers the soles of your feet or something.
Summary: Part of the Hogarth Shakespeare series, Vinegar Girl is a retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. It is a "screwball comedy of manners that actually channels Jane Austen more than Shakespeare. It is clear that Tyler had fun with Vinegar Girl, and readers will too...A fizzy cocktail of a romantic comedy, far more sweet than acidic, about finding a mate who appreciates your idiosyncratic, principled self-- no taming necessary" (NPR).
Review: I hadn't heard of the Hogarth Shakespeare series until I selected Vinegar Girl from a list of choices for a Goodreads challenge. I made the choice for two reasons: 1. the book is short (237 pages) and 2. I usually like Anne Tyler's books. Not exactly solid reasons to make a choice, but so be it.
I am not that familiar with The Taming of the Shrew. Back when I was in college I took a term of classes in London, taught by American professors. In addition to typical college classes, we often attended cultural programs and one evening the whole class went to see The Taming of the Shrew performed by the Royal Shakespeare company in the Aldwych Theatre in London's West End. I remember little of the storyline other than Katerina (Kate) was a fiesty, confident woman who was broken by a man. By evening's end I was hopping mad and one of the boys in my class made fun of me. You know how memories are...anyway, that memory is not much to go on.
In Vinegar Girl, Kate is neurodivergent, never quite fitting in or understanding social conventions. (See quotes above.) Her father sets her up with his lab assistant, Pyotr, in hopes that the two will get married so Pyotr can get a green card and stay in the country, as his old visa is running out. (This storyline hasn't aged well the past ten years! Ahem.) Pyotr is also awkward and hard to understand. The two are a matched set, or so Kate's father thinks. Mostly comedy (and a little romance) ensues. It was a very silly story, actually, but I enjoyed it. Like most of Tyler's books Vinegar Girl is full of flawed, quirky, yet likeable characters -- my favorite kinds. A reviewer writing for Shelf Awareness assures us that "readers unfamiliar with The Taming of the Shrew will have no problem enjoying this novel, which is funny, fun-loving, and uplifting. Those who know the original will be intrigued by Tyler's rifts."
Now I'm ready to tackle another Hogarth Shakespeare novel. Should I read Atwood's version of The Tempest or Jo Nesbo's Macbeth first?
4 stars.
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