Karen Autio’s new book Sabotage describes the experiences of Ukrainian and German prisoners in the internment camps during World War I. It is the third book in Autio’s trilogy about Finnish immigrants to Canada. In 1915 war is raging in Europe, and in Canada, there are rumours of espionage and sabotage. Paranoia against foreigners is increasing. John and Saara Maki are the children of Finnish immigrants in Port Arthur, Ontario. John wants to become a reporter.  He delivers newspapers to make extra money for the family, and occasionally works with a local reporter to gather information.  When he uncovers a plot to blow up the local bridge, paranoia against foreigners grows. John is very upset when his friend’s father is sent to an internment camp in Kapuskasing. His friend Fred is the son of Ukrainian immigrants, and the boys’ relationship reveals the suffering that the WWI internment operations inflicted on Ukrainian families. Meanwhile, John’s older sister Saara has just returned from caring for her ailing aunt’s family. Saara missed a lot of time at school and must make up her school work if she to become a teacher.  During the summer, she befriends her new neighbor, Birgitta Schmidt. When Birgitta […]

In her novel, Blood and Salt, Barbara Sapergia explores the internment of Ukrainian-Canadians during the First World War. Taras Kalyna, a 20-year old Ukrainian-Canadian immigrant in rural Saskatchewan, is torn from his family and friends and sent to the Banff-Castle Mountain internment camp in Alberta. Along with over 8000 prisoners (mostly Ukrainian), Taras must survive extreme physical hardship and the cruel conditions of the primitive internment camp. Taras and his family came to Canada from a small village in Bukovyna. Despite poverty, servitude to the local pahn (landowner/aristocrat), and the threat of military service for their Austrian rulers, the villagers find strength in family and community. Taras and his family decide to leave for a new life in Canada in order to search for his beloved Halya. Her father Victor moved her to Saskatchewan in order to get her away from Taras. In Canada, Taras finds work as a bricklayer and starts to look for Halya while his parents work on hard on their new farm. Coincidentally, his employer is in love with Halya, who works for his mother. When he finds out Taras is Halya’s secret love, he reports Taras to the authorities. Taras is arrested and sent to a […]

Audio review and interview with Myra … as heard on Nash Holos August 11, 2013 Anthology explores realities of memory and today’s Ukraine Review by Myra Junyk Crossing the Border, Ksenia Rychtycka’s first anthology of short stories, explores the lives of Ukrainians in Ukraine and in other countries. Her poignant stories focus on family relationships, hope, and self-discovery. Rychtycka doesn’t shy away from the complex political realities of Ukraine. The first story, “Homecoming,” describes Vera’s journey to her hometown of Krynytsia in Ukraine. She is coming back to visit her cousin Stefko after 47 years. Vera is surprised, disappointed and disillusioned by what she finds in the “new” Ukraine—including that her cousin has become a collaborating communist in order to survive.“40 Days” is a realistic look at more recent Ukrainian political developments. Luba is mourning the suspicious death of Roman, her politician husband. She wishes for Roman’s democratic dreams for Ukraine to come true, but realizes “that is hoping for a lot.”The final story, “Orange in Bloom,” describes the involvement of an elderly widow in the highly charged days of the Orange Revolution. Her fervent belief in the freedom of Ukraine is a definite sign of hope for the future. […]

Bequest is the first novel by Ukrainian-born British writer Anna Shevchenko. It is April 2001, and two people separated by thousands of miles are both exploring an 18th century legend claiming that Hetman Polubotko hid a vast fortune of Cossack gold (estimated to be worth 270 billion pounds) in a London bank.  There are two conditions to claiming the gold: it can only be claimed by one of his descendants, and Ukraine must be independent at the time of the claim. London lawyer Kate, who has a Ukrainian background, is caught up in a vast international web of intrigue when she is asked to find this ancient deposit of gold.  The deposit was supposedly made by Hetman Polubotko’s daughter Sophia after a difficult journey across Europe from her native Ukraine.  With the assistance of Count Orly (Cossack Grygory Orlyk), she managed to deposit a vast amount of gold in 1742 in a London bank. Kate travels to Ukraine, France and Argentina to trace this claim. She meets Ukrainian historians, the Metropolitan of Kyiv, and even the Ukrainian Prime Minister in her effort to return the lost gold to the Ukrainian people. Meanwhile in Moscow, Taras Petrenko, a lonely and disgraced […]