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Quiz about A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian

A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian Quiz

Marina Lewycka's Orange Prize listed novel. When Nadezhda and Vera's mother died, their 82-year-old father was left a widower in a small Ukrainian community in Southern England. Two years later, he met Valentina, and things began to go awry.

A multiple-choice quiz by Flynn_17. Estimated time: 10 mins.

Author
Flynn_17

Time
10 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
241,654

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
163

Question 1 of 10

1. In the beginning of the novel, Nadezhda, known as Nadia to her family and friends, answers a phone call. It is from her father, and he has explosive news. He's going to get married to Valentina, a young Ukrainian woman he has known for three months. She has even come to visit him on a tourist visa. Her father then goes into great detail about Valentina, but which of these things does he not mention? Hint

She has a penchant for green satin bras, and doesn't like the views of Nietzsche much.

She has a degree in pharmacy, but cannot yet speak any English.

She is from Ternopil, in Ukraine, and she has an uncle who lives in Selby, West Yorkshire.

She wants a good car (not a Lada or a Skoda), and a son (who she wants to be educated at Oxbridge).

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Question 2 of 10

2. Nadia explains to her father that Valentina is only marrying him because she wants a visa and a work permit, so that she can stay in the UK. Her father is well aware of this, and has already approached many people in his town to try and find her a more suitable husband, but this has put strain on his relationship with the local people. Which of the following people (or groups) has not disowned him due to his zeal to find a suitable mate for Val? Hint

The entire Ukrainian community.

Nadezhda's older sister, Vera.

Mr Greenway, a local bachelor.

The Stepanenkos, an elderly couple.

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Question 3 of 10

3. Their mother's death soon comes into the fore. Nadia considers her father's situation and starts to wonder if it began just after her mother died. She reminisces of how she looked after her mother in her final days. Nadia would recite memories from her and Vera's childhood while her father would sit and brood, occasionally wailing with despair. Left to die at home, Nadia's mother worried for her family, and asked Nadia and Vera to look after their father. What did Nadia's mother Ludmilla call her husband in her "own DIY language"? Hint

Nadio

Kolya

Alexi

Mike

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Question 4 of 10

4. Shortly after their mother died, Vera and Nadia were forced together for the funeral. It wasn't long before the already strained relationship between the sisters began to sour even further. Vera had got their mother to sign a codicil, so that, instead of the money saved by Ludmilla being split between Nadia and Vera, it was split between Vera and Nadia's daughters. This meant that Vera got twice as much cash as Nadia, as she had two daughters (Alexandra and Alice), while Nadia only had one (Anna). There was something that upset Nadia even more, though. What was it? Hint

The dress Vera wore to her mother's funeral had been worn at Vera's previous two weddings.

Vera, who has been in charge of getting Ludmilla's headstone engraved, had forgotten her own mother's date of birth.

Vera was smoking in her mother's favourite place in the house - the kitchen, which led onto the garden.

Vera was wearing the locket that Ludmilla had promised to Nadia.

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Question 5 of 10

5. It is not only the sisters who are at war - their father is slowly waging a war against himself. This is the first mention of his reaction to the death of his loving wife Ludmilla, and it comes as a stark contrast to the life the couple led before her death. How does Nadia claim her father is "punishing himself" in a vain attempt to bring Ludmilla back? Hint

He sits alone listening to BBC Radio 2, commenting sadly on how the songs remind him of Ludmilla.

He smokes far more than usual, and has stopped eating anything but his favourite "Toshiba Apples" - apples cooked in the Toshiba microwave until they are sticky.

He visits the Ukrainian club in Peterborough, but refuses to speak to his fellow countrymen.

He lives from tins and eats off folded newspapers while he lets the small pebble-dashed house go to ruin around him.

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Question 6 of 10

6. Back in the present day, Nadia receives a second phone call from her father on the subject of the now fabled Valetina. This time, it is on the subject of reproduction - he wants to know if it is possible for a man of 84 to father a child.

Nadia is rather disgusted, but her father drifts off into a dream-like state on the phone. Nadia knows that he is pondering the possibility of him having a son. Her father's greatest regret is that both his children were daughters. How does Nadia describe herself and her sister, as if to give her father a reason to harbour such feelings? Hint

Strident, self willed, disrespectful creatures.

Outgoing, confident, worthless humans.

Vain, flirtatious, effeminate beings.

Tiresome, feeble minded women.

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Question 7 of 10

7. When Ludmilla was still living in the family home, her garden and larder were something to be admired. The well-stocked garden provided vegetables and herbs for the whole family all year around, and when the family finally bought a freezer, there was enough food to "feed an army", for Ludmilla had known hunger. What would she tell Nadia, when she was called on her food storage obsession? Hint

We save to eat, we eat to save, it is the life circle, Nadezhda.

In case of Morrison's take-over again.

It's in case your Tony Benn ever comes to power.

Just so your father can't ruin us once more.

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Question 8 of 10

8. While Vera and Nadia were forced to endure their mother's traditional Ukrainian recipes, and wear home-made clothes sewn from market remnants, their father would work and buy extravagant new possessions with his wage. Motorcycles, cameras, and new furniture were bought with the money he received from work. What was his job? Hint

A banker for H.S.B.C. in Framley.

A writer for a newspaper in Leeds.

An assistant farmhand for a dairy in Keighley.

A draughtsman in a tractor factory in Doncaster.

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Question 9 of 10

9. Of course, after the stand-off between Nadia and Vera following the funeral, their relationship is now almost non-existent. One night, while her husband Mike and daughter Anna are out, Nadia receives a phone call from her sister. Although Vera merely wants Nadia to countersign a document so that Vera's daughter could buy a flat, all of the hurtful things that had never been said began to flood out. Vera speaks of how Nadia was too busy with her fabulous career to drop everything and go to her mother's bedside. What does Nadia say in retaliation? Hint

Yeah, well... shut up, Vera.

Oh come on, Vera, what would you know about hard work? It can't have been that difficult getting pregnant. Twice.

Oh, listen to you, who never did a day's work in your life! Lived off Hubby's money!

You wouldn't know, the only job you're ever had is solicitor's assistant!

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Question 10 of 10

10. The conversation drags on as the phone spits and crackles with their rage. Vera, condemning Nadia for her "namby-pamby" job (which meant she couldn't look after Ludmilla when she died), and Nadia condemning Vera for her gung-ho attitude and how she forced herself on their mother, whether she was wanted there or not.

The codicil, which was mentioned earlier, meant that Vera got twice as much money as Nadia, and this comes up in the conversation. Nadia says she would rather the money went to Oxfam than be split between her and Vera. Vera claims that this is pathetic. So what happens to the money in the end? Hint

The money stays under the mattress in Nadia's room.

The money is given to Ludmilla's sisters.

The money stays in the bank.

The money is left to their father and Valentina.

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: She has a penchant for green satin bras, and doesn't like the views of Nietzsche much.

He also goes into details of her "golden waves" of hair, and her "Boticellian breasts", which she allows him to carress. Of course, Nadia is disgusted, but she covers her outrage well, and asks when she can meet Valentina for the first time. Her father tells her that it would be better for her to meet Valentina after their marriage, and this is where the suspicion first appears.

Answer: Nadezhda's older sister, Vera.

"You must understand, Nadezhda, only I can save her!" croons her father down the phone line. Sadly, everyone in the surrounding area has disowned Nadia's father by this time. They say Valentina sold her parent's animals to buy make-up, and they are not impressed with her forementioned views on Nietzsche. Nadia is told that she is not to involve her sister Vera in the marriage plans at all, but soon finds it difficult to resist.

Answer: Kolya

Nadia's father is in fact called Nikolai. Before Ludmilla died, she told her daughters that everything would be alright, but soon, Nadia and Vera ran into trouble. Nadia later tells of how the stonemasons had difficulties getting all of the words onto Ludmilla's gravestone. The stone reads:

Ludmilla Mayevska
Born in 1912 in the Ukraine
Beloved wife of Nikolai
Mother of Vera and Nadezhda
Grandmother of Alice, Alexandra and Anna.

Answer: Vera was wearing the locket that Ludmilla had promised to Nadia.

Nadia, using her best, most patronising social-worker voice, scolds Vera for "chain smoking at (Ludmilla's) bedside, while she lay there dying".

"Mother loved me. She was terrified of you, Vera. Yes, we were all terrified of you" yelled Nadia in a later phone call to her sister. Vera, however, was very quick to retaliate, saying that "You (Nadia) just disappeared off the scene, as you've done all your life, Nadezhda. Playing at politics, playing your pathetic little games". Clearly, the locket was only the tip of the iceberg.

Answer: He lives from tins and eats off folded newspapers while he lets the small pebble-dashed house go to ruin around him.

Nadia's father is in a rage over Ludmilla's death. He blames everyone for her death, including the doctors, Vera, and the man who cut their grass. He even blames himself, and often wanders the house from room to room, imagining that he can steal hear her voice. "And each time he remembers she is not there after all, the wound bursts open again."

6. Back in the present day, Nadia receives a second phone call from her father on the subject of the now fabled Valetina. This time, it is on the subject of reproduction - he wants to know if it is possible for a man of 84 to father a child. Nadia is rather disgusted, but her father drifts off into a dream-like state on the phone. Nadia knows that he is pondering the possibility of him having a son. Her father's greatest regret is that both his children were daughters. How does Nadia describe herself and her sister, as if to give her father a reason to harbour such feelings?

Answer: Strident, self willed, disrespectful creatures.

"Not feminine, subservient creatures, but strong willed, strident" women. At one point in her childhood, Nadia was disowned by her father for her political views, and this is when her belief that her parents had constant, unwavering love for their children was first shaken.

Answer: It's in case your Tony Benn ever comes to power.

Ludmilla's obsession had started long ago, when Stalin found that he could use hunger as a powerful weapon against the Ukrainian kulaks. She never forgot that, even behind the well stocked shelves of the local Tesco stores, hunger would be waiting, waiting to grab the unsuspecting and bundle them onto a train from which they would never return.

The only way to stave off hunger was to save and accumulate, and this, says Nadia, was where her mother developed her skill of thrift.

Answer: A draughtsman in a tractor factory in Doncaster.

Although he spent his money so frivolously, Nadia's father gave her mother a set, "but not ungenerous" amount of money each week for housekeeping. Ludmilla would save this and keep it under the floorboards, until she found out that she could put it in the bank and earn interest. This is how 'mother's little legacy' was born.

Answer: Oh, listen to you, who never did a day's work in your life! Lived off Hubby's money!

Vera, who is later described as "Mrs. Divorce Expert", has been married twice, and subsequently divorced both times. Nadia is quite aware that this is something of a sore point of Vera's, and sees this as the perfect way to get back at her. Unfortunately, Nadia's idealistic outlook on life is just as big a flaw in Vera's eyes, and she takes every opportunity to upset her little sister with insults about her na�vety.

10. The conversation drags on as the phone spits and crackles with their rage. Vera, condemning Nadia for her "namby-pamby" job (which meant she couldn't look after Ludmilla when she died), and Nadia condemning Vera for her gung-ho attitude and how she forced herself on their mother, whether she was wanted there or not. The codicil, which was mentioned earlier, meant that Vera got twice as much money as Nadia, and this comes up in the conversation. Nadia says she would rather the money went to Oxfam than be split between her and Vera. Vera claims that this is pathetic. So what happens to the money in the end?

Answer: The money stays in the bank.

And so the sisters once again subscribed to their "best-defense-is-attack school of diplomacy", and mother's little legacy was left untouched in the bank. Vera and Nadia didn't talk to each other for two years until a common enemy brought the pair together again, to fight for the family.

I hope you have enjoyed the run-down of the first two chapters of Marina Lewycka's "A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian" - if you did well, why not try the next instalment?

Colin & Flynn.

Source: Author Flynn_17

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor MotherGoose before going online.
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