Vinegar Girl

By Anne Tyler

Review by Susan Williams

Anne Tyler’s retelling of The Taming of the Shrew is a winner. I listened to this book and I feel it is probably much funnier on audio since the readers, particularly the one who reads Pytor, are hysterical.

Tyler’s characters are typically quirky and that holds true here.

Kate is the older of two sisters and since her mother’s death, is responsible for both running the house and caring for her father and sister, in addition to her job as a pre-school aide-a job for which she is particularly unfit as she is not fond of children.

Kate’s scientist father is about to lose his research assistant, Pytor, as Pytor’s visa is about to expire. Kate’s father sets out to convince Kate and Pytor to marry. The ensuing story is extremely humorous. Pytor is clumsy and his English language abilities hinder his true meaning. Despite their differences, the two grow to like each other, and the tale becomes a love story.

I have read almost all of Anne Tyler’s novels and highly recommend this one, as well as any of her others. She is an excellent storyteller and has won several awards for her writing. The Accidental Tourist was adapted into a movie in 1988- worth reading AND viewing!