In 1963 I enjoyed a Western comedy movie called 'McLintok" starring Maureen O'Hara (with her beautiful red hair) and John Wayne. I loved that movie. I really enjoyed Westerns and I still do. I realize now that that movie was sexist and misogynistic but I still liked it. I also enjoyed Ann Tyler's book, Vinegar Girl, which, like the movie "McLintok," is a retelling of Shakespeare's "The Taming Of The Shrew." This book is set in modern times with cell phones and modern day problems. The vinegar girl is Kate Baptista who lives with her father and younger sister, Bunny. Kate has a job as an assistant at a preschool where she sometimes get in trouble for answering questions honestly instead of using discretion and diplomacy. Parents complain about her. The kids love her honesty. After work she feeds her family, cleans the house, does the laundry and gardens in the back yard. Kate feels obliged to supervise her younger sister who, at age 15, loves to break the rules and have boys over to the house without supervision. Her father is a research scientist working on a medical break through at Johns Hopkins. His assistant, Pyotr, an orphaned research scientist from Ukraine, is about to be deported. Kate's father needs Pyotr so he comes up with a scheme for Kate to marry Pyotr so he can stay in the country and finish the research. Pyotr is the person who gives Kate the nickname Vinegar Girl. He appreciates her honesty. I always enjoy Ann Tyler's writing and although this wasn't her finest work, it was worth my time.
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