Vinegar Girl is a modern take on Shakespeare’s Taming The Shrew by Anne Taylor. Like the original source, this book also has a spinster at its heart who is a bit problematic for her father and then gets eventually ‘tamed’ (sort of) by an arranged suitor.

However, unlike the original play, the entire plot line is moved to the USA. Our heroine is living a subdued and unenthusiastically dull life in suburban America. Kate Battista has lost all ambitions but hopes for life while working as a nursery school assistant and housekeeper for her father’s home. The said home is shared by her, her illustrious but almost absent father- Dr. Battista and her kid sister- Bunny. If they let her be then she would rather be happy amongst her plants, busy tending her garden.

Alas, that’s not the case to be as her father ‘arranges’ her match with his brilliant and eccentric lab assistant Pyotr. His eccentricities stem not only from his foreignness but also from his profession. Although his circumstances and background differ, we eventually find out that he is a loner just like Kate.

And here comes the modern plot twist to this revamped classic. Unlike the original, our heroine doesn’t need a knight in a shining armour to tame her. Rather their relationship is more or less a rescue for them from their stagnant lives. Their coming together is all about opening various possibilities for each of them to grow as a person which ultimately becomes a satisfying companionship.

Short, crisp and peppered with witty humour; this is a different but engaging take on a popular storyline.