Pulitzer Prize winner and American master Anne Tyler brings us an inspired, witty and irresistible contemporary take on one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies. Kate Battista feels stuck. How did she end up running house and home for her eccentric scientist father and uppity, pretty younger sister Bunny? Plus, she’s always in trouble at work – her pre-school charges adore her, but their … her, but their parents don’t always appreciate her unusual opinions and forthright manner.
Dr. Battista has other problems. After years out in the academic wilderness, he is on the verge of a breakthrough. His research could help millions. There’s only one problem: his brilliant young lab assistant, Pyotr, is about to be deported. And without Pyotr, all would be lost.
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. Kate is furious: this time he’s really asking too much. But will she be able to resist the two men’s touchingly ludicrous campaign to bring her around?
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I have always loved Anne Tyler and I loved this witty little book that is a rendition of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. Tyler is a master of words and character, and this book has some of the most lovable characters I have ever met. Enjoy!
Vinegar Girl is a charming and funny modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew.
Kate’s still living with her absent-minded scientist father and flighty little sister. She’s not the sunniest person on the planet, but she’s the caretaker to both of them, dishing up their dinners and making sure her father’s home life is taken care of so he can focus on his work. But when it looks like his lab assistant Pyotr will be deported, he asks Kate to go one step further: marry the man so he can stay in the country and continue their research.
The characters here are wonderful. Kate has a dry wit, especially with the children at the school she works for. Pyotr is goofy and amusing and sweet. Her father and sister have their own idiosyncrasies that kept me laughing throughout the story. And the ending is not only funny, but satisfying on multiple levels. If you like your stories with a blend of quirk and sweetness, you can’t go wrong here!
Another hit by the wonderful Anne Tyler! Engaging and fascinating from the first page, the story pulled me right in. I hated putting it down and looked forward to getting back into it. Clever and beautifully written.
Really different and so funny! A retelling of the Taming of the Shrew, Kate is socially clueless, having been raised by her scientist dad after her mother died. He younger sister Bunny is the opposite- vivacious and attractive to men. Kate is smart, but works in a preschool after getting kicked out of college for telling a teacher he was wrong. Since then, she’s tended to her workaholic father and scatter brained sister and put her life on hold. But when her father’s lab assistant is about to have to leave the country when his visa expires, they start working on a plan that will change Kate’s life! All sorts of chaos ebsures, most of it hilarious. I loved the story!
Good adaptation of Shakespeare classic, Taming of the Shrew.
I really enjoyed this book. It held my attention from page one! I would definitely recommend this book!
Terrific title, loved the cover, but alas I wasn’t so keen on the contents. Maybe that’s because I read it straight after “The Gap of Time: The Winter’s Tale Retold” by Jeanette Winterson, which was so vividly brilliant.
In Tyler’s retelling of “The Taming of the Shrew”, Kate isn’t a shrew but simply unsociable, and Pyotr (Petruchio) is a sweetheart if at times a little clueless. All the things that go wrong on their wedding day aren’t about Pyotr tormenting Kate or attempting to tame her, but are just accidents and distractions. Yes, Kate rises to the occasion, and ends up wholeheartedly committing herself to something she didn’t initially want – but all the feisty characteristics are removed, and we end up with nothing more or less than a contemporary romance. Not that there’s anything wrong with a contemporary romance, but given the source material and the usually fearless author, I was expecting more. Yes, modern-day sensibilities need to be catered for in adapting the original story, but I was expecting Tyler to at least throw me some challenges. Winterson’s “The Gap of Time” was far bolder with the problems of the original material. The BBC “ShakespeaRe-Told” film with Shirley Henderson and Rufus Sewell was a much more honest modern adaptation.
So… disappointed!
At 29, Kate Battista is going nowhere, stuck in a job that doesn’t suit her, living at home with her absent-minded scientist father and her exasperating teenage sister. But then her father , who works every day, even on Sundays, calls her from his laboratory: ‘I forgot my lunch,’ he says. ‘Just hop in the car and zip over.’
‘There were several strange things about this conversation. The first was that it happened at all: her father distrusted the telephone… Then there was the fact that he forgot his lunch about twice a week, but had never before seemed to notice… And supposing he did feel a bit peckish, he could have stepped out and bought something…Not to mention that it wasn’t even noon yet…’
What is going on and why, when she gets to the lab, is her father so anxious for Kate to meet his research assistant…? The answers are surprising. A delightfully funny and moving story from one of our greatest novelists.
Delightful! As usual, Anne Tyler comes through and reaffirms her solid first-place standing as my favorite author!!! This was light-hearted, very funny, and full of emotion, as the characters made discoveries about themselves and their family members.
It took some time for me to start this one, as it was described as a reinterpretation of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew through the Hogarth Shakespeare project. My confession, unpopular as it will be, is that I don’t like Shakespeare. I have no doubt that the stories and basic themes are well-done, but the language! It’s as unenjoyable as being forced to read something in a foreign language with a translating dictionary beside you. How tedious. It saps the pleasure of the literature to struggle with the start-stop of looking everything up.
But anyway, it’s Anne Tyler!! How could it be bad?? She makes magic with words.
This book was so unique. I still don’t know how to say Pyoder’s name, but I’m going to go look it up (finally) in a minute. There were several “quotables” I wrote down in my Keepers book as I read this story, and I knew nothing about the Shakespeare story, although I HAD at least HEARD of it, and no, I highly doubt I ever read it. This was good though! I get the gist, right!? I didn’t see it coming either, the thing that happened, and I liked it! And the resolution, and the epilogue. I had never heard of this author, nor read anything of hers before, and an acquaintance I have recommended books to from time to time, this time SHE recommended Anne Tyler’s books to me. She said I should read the one about the mom, so I’ll go see if I can figure out which title that is, (Unless someone reading this review beats me to it). It wasn’t laugh out loud, but it was definitely off and on giggle inside, and lots and lots of smiles. I loved the preschooler talking about the goat, and just how straight-up Kate was in all of her dealings with, well, everyone, from the preschoolers to her father and sister, to Pyoder. She was purely HERSELF! It was a breath of fresh air, this book. Thanks, Anne. Good, good job!
Interesting, quirky characters
Anne Tyler does a terrific job in this modern retelling of The Taming of the Shrew. You will feel great sympathy for Kate’s dead mother, who made the mistake of marrying a distant, work absorbed man to the detriment of all his personal relationships. Kate is her own worst enemy, as you can’t blame others if you are doormat with a welcome sign.
I know Anne Tyler isn’t known for her wit, but I did expect an adaptation of Taming of the Shrew to be more linguistically clever.
Reworked Taming of the Shrew. Really fun.
This was such a good read. I hope you all will read it.
The best of Anne Tyler! Highly recommend this character driven story!