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lilytholfsen's review
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I laughed quite a few times. I liked Kate’s arc— from someone pretty self-centered to someone aware of everyone else and their feelings and needs. I found her character pretty relatable.
Didn’t give five stars because there were a couple things that rubbed me the wrong way— the way her sister is portrayed, and the way the book handles people from different races/backgrounds. I do think both of these realistically reflect Kate’s feelings, but some lines still made me feel weird and were unnecessary I think.
Didn’t give five stars because there were a couple things that rubbed me the wrong way— the way her sister is portrayed, and the way the book handles people from different races/backgrounds. I do think both of these realistically reflect Kate’s feelings, but some lines still made me feel weird and were unnecessary I think.
jenpaul13's review
3.0
Ever been told you're full of vinegar? Did you take offense to it or did you accept in it stride? Sometimes it's eye opening to be told you're full of it, such as what happens in Anne Tyler's Vinegar Girl.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
As a retelling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, Vinegar Girl follows Kate Battista's foray into forced domesticity while her younger sister Bunny lives a virtually carefree life. As Dr. Battista worries about losing his valuable assistant Pyotr due to his work visa expiring he concocts a plan to wed Pyotr to Kate in a green-card wedding. As Kate realizes this plan, she initially fights it but in accepting it, she comes to realize new aspects about herself and her life.
Admittedly, this rendition was a bit disappointing as The Taming of the Shew is one of my favored Shakespeare comedies. I appreciate that there was some liberty taken in modifying the characters to fit with contemporary times, but Kate was a little too concerned with male attention and not resistant enough to mesh with the characteristics that define her canon character, leaving me much preferring the variation of Kate in 10 Things I Hate About You. There were some areas in the ARC I received that still needed to be cleaned up for grammatical accuracy, but otherwise the production value on the book is quite impressive.
*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
As a retelling of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, Vinegar Girl follows Kate Battista's foray into forced domesticity while her younger sister Bunny lives a virtually carefree life. As Dr. Battista worries about losing his valuable assistant Pyotr due to his work visa expiring he concocts a plan to wed Pyotr to Kate in a green-card wedding. As Kate realizes this plan, she initially fights it but in accepting it, she comes to realize new aspects about herself and her life.
Admittedly, this rendition was a bit disappointing as The Taming of the Shew is one of my favored Shakespeare comedies. I appreciate that there was some liberty taken in modifying the characters to fit with contemporary times, but Kate was a little too concerned with male attention and not resistant enough to mesh with the characteristics that define her canon character, leaving me much preferring the variation of Kate in 10 Things I Hate About You. There were some areas in the ARC I received that still needed to be cleaned up for grammatical accuracy, but otherwise the production value on the book is quite impressive.
*I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
emmabeckman's review against another edition
4.0
Disclaimer: I haven't read The Taming of the Shrew in full, but I've seen Kiss Me Kate at the theater and as the (slightly problematic) 1953 film, which I loved.
I quite liked this book! Since I don't feel a loyalty to the original play, I quite enjoyed this fresh take on the idea of "warming up a hard woman." It's a quite antiquated idea, but I think it was handled really well by Anne Tyler. It was definitely a comedy and there were a lot of funny exaggerations that were quite Shakespearean in nature. Overall, I really enjoyed this adaptation and I read it very quickly.
I quite liked this book! Since I don't feel a loyalty to the original play, I quite enjoyed this fresh take on the idea of "warming up a hard woman." It's a quite antiquated idea, but I think it was handled really well by Anne Tyler. It was definitely a comedy and there were a lot of funny exaggerations that were quite Shakespearean in nature. Overall, I really enjoyed this adaptation and I read it very quickly.
aseel_reads's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I liked how this play was retold, with her dad being a scientist and the immigration stuff. Obviously the whole part of taming the shrew is super problematic and gross and although I see the attempt made to make it less so having it about men not being able to share their emotions etc it was still super weak it was also unfortunate that they didn't keep the shoe thing from the play, I thought by havjng him do it for his landlady, it would be mirrored by kate at the end but instead we gey a kid epilogue which was kind of sweet but meh I did enjoy the kids though, they were cute at her workplace
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, and Death of parent
ktrainofthoughts's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
paytfowers's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
Boring story, very predictable and no real plot points of interest
kmthomas06's review against another edition
3.0
This is such a hard story to re-tell and not make me feel still icky about the whole thing (10 Things I Hate About You gets close). I did like Kate - she is herself throughout the whole novel which is maybe why I don't necessarily buy her whole speech in the end about men's feelings. The novel is trying to make her softer throughout but it just...never rings very true to me. Kate is straightforward, honest (brutally so), and drifting. She is aware of the fact, and is unhappy with her life but doesn't know how to change it. I just wish the change isn't because her father decides to marry her off. I appreciate the effort Tyler puts forward, and her characterization of Pyotr goes a long way towards selling me on this retelling, but it still left me vaguely uncomfortable, particularly re-setting the story in modern times.