''Two Caravans'' is a novel by
Marina Lewycka. It was published by
Penguin Books on 29 March 2007 for the United Kingdom market. In the United States and Canada it is published under the title ''Strawberry Fields''. The story focuses on characters who are migrant labourers of various backgrounds working in England's agricultural industry, in particular, portraying
Eastern Europeans in the United Kingdom. The book follows Lewycka's
debut novel ''
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian'', and was shortlisted for the
Orwell Prize for political writing in 2008.
Plot summary
A crew of
migrant workers from three continents are forced to flee their English
strawberry
The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown hybrid species of the genus '' Fragaria'', collectively known as the strawberries, which are cultivated worldwide for their fruit. The fruit is widely ap ...
field for a journey across all of England in pursuit of their various dreams of a better future.
The story centres on a group of migrant workers who hail from Eastern Europe, China, Malaysia and Africa and have come to
Kent to harvest strawberries for delivery to the supermarkets, and end up living in two small caravans, a men's caravan and a women's caravan. They are all seeking a better life (and in their different ways they are also, of course, looking for love) and they've come to England, some legally, some illegally, to find it.
They are supervised by Farmer Leapish, a red-faced man who treats everyone equally except for the Polish woman named Yola, the boss of the crew, who favours him with her charms in exchange for something a little extra on the side. But the two are discreet, and all is harmonious in this cozy vale – until the evening when Farmer Leapish's wife comes upon him and Yola and in retaliation she runs him down in her red sports car. By the time the police arrive the migrant workers (and a dog called Dog) have piled into one of the trailer homes and quickly leave their arcadia, thus setting off on a journey across the length and breadth of England.
Stage adaptation
An operatic adaptation of Two Caravans, written by Ace McCarron and composed by Guy Harries, won the Flourish new opera competition in 2012. The adaptation premiered at the
King's Head Theatre in 2013.
Reviews
''The Observer''''The Times''
References
{{Authority control
2007 British novels
Novels set in Kent
British comedy novels
Penguin Books books