Marina Lewycka exploruje stratu generácií v jednej extrémne farebnej rodine v jej komických novelách "Various Pets Alive and Dead". Za dvadsať rokov Doro a Marcus boli navzájom commune, súvisiacimi lentilmi a slobodou lásky by bolo možné zmeniť svet. They didn't. What they did do was give their children a terror of radicalism, špinavé, varenie rotas and poverty. Their daughter Clara wants nothing less konformist than her own, clean bathroom. Their son Serge zachytáva awkward fakt, že je bankár earning loadsamoney. Keďže Doro a Marcus na jar prekvapia na svojich deťoch - hneď ako na svete sa skákajú v spôsobe, ako sa budú loviť na - rodina je potrebná, aby sa skončili niektoré thorny truhy o themselves..."Made me laugh at least once every chap. fiction is unlike anything else around at present. The warmth of its zest, its blend of quirky, human comedy and intellectual seriousness make this a novel to treasure". („New Statesman“). "Wonderfully funny, inventive and witty. Fizzy po dlhej dobe až do konca". ("Daily Express"). "Hilarious. Lewycka je trademark humor prítomný v abundancii ...she is not only witty but astute. A charming, beautifully observed novel".("Independent on Sunday"). "Every bit as funny as "A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian"". ("Good Housekeeping"). Bestselling author Marina Lewkyca has received great critical acclaim since the publication of her hilarious first novel "A Short History of Tractors in Russian" in 2005, ktorý bol víťazom Bollinger Everyman Prize pre Comic Fiction 200, 2005, shortlisted pre Orange Prize pre Fiction 2005 a longlisted pre Booker prize 2005. Herné ďalšie humorous novels "Two Caravans" (publikované ako "Strawberry Fields" v USA a Kanade) a "Ale All Made of Glue" available from Penguin