Fiction Book Club February 2021 (Online Activity)

Vinegar Girl by Ann Tyler

Pulitzer Prize winner Ann Tyler proposes a modern, witty and irresistible take on one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies, Taming of the Shrew.

29 year old unmarried Kate Battista, daughter of an eccentric scientist, Dr. Louis Battista, dropped out of college in her freshman year and ended up working as a pre-school assistant and taking care of her father and her pretty sister Bunny still in high-school.

Dr. Battista is on the verge of a breakthrough in his field of research, but his brilliant young lab assistant, Pyotr, is about to be deported. And without Pyotr, all would be lost. So Dr. Battista devises an outrageous plan of Green Card marriage that will enable Pyotr to stay in the country, relying – as usual – on Kate to help him.

Kate is furious and initially objects to the plan, but slowly warms to the idea, both because of Pyotr's charming acceptance of her outspokenness, and because it offers her a potential way out of her constrained circumstances.

Let’s enjoy the celebration of love in this effervescent cocktail of a romantic comedy about finding a partner who appreciates you for your peculiar, principled self — no taming necessary.

Happy readings and stay safe :)