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A review by taniabotes
The Silence of Trees by Valya Dudycz Lupescu
3.0
3.5 stars
I listened to this on audio, and although I loved the narrator's voice and her pronunciation of the Ukrainian words, I'm a bit sad that I did not read it. The writing was beautiful, and I think I would have enjoyed reading this slow, sorrowful story more if I could savor it in my own time.
I loved the descriptions of the Ukrainian traditions , myths and the use of magical realism throughout the book. Nadya didn't feel like a fictional character, but like a real-life person - she made mistakes, had regrets, doubted herself, grieved and lived a mostly content life while doing all of this. Most of the books I've read about WWII ended where the protagonist is saved or the war ended, and somehow I always had the idea of ...and they all lived happily ever. Obviously this is mostly not the case, as you still have to deal with everything that happened to you and your loved ones, afterwards. This process is what is described in The Silence of Trees. The reason it does not get a higher rating is that the ending felt too perfect, for me it did not fit the rest of the book.
The Story: One night, sixteen year old Nadya decides to sneak out into the woods near her Ukraine home to have her fortune told by a Gypsy. Upon her return, she discovers that her house has been burned down by the invading Germans. Nadya flees, fearing that her family has been killed and that she may be next. From there, the novel flashes deep into the future to Chicago, where Nadya had grown up and is now the matriarch of her own family.
I listened to this on audio, and although I loved the narrator's voice and her pronunciation of the Ukrainian words, I'm a bit sad that I did not read it. The writing was beautiful, and I think I would have enjoyed reading this slow, sorrowful story more if I could savor it in my own time.
I loved the descriptions of the Ukrainian traditions , myths and the use of magical realism throughout the book. Nadya didn't feel like a fictional character, but like a real-life person - she made mistakes, had regrets, doubted herself, grieved and lived a mostly content life while doing all of this. Most of the books I've read about WWII ended where the protagonist is saved or the war ended, and somehow I always had the idea of ...and they all lived happily ever. Obviously this is mostly not the case, as you still have to deal with everything that happened to you and your loved ones, afterwards. This process is what is described in The Silence of Trees. The reason it does not get a higher rating is that the ending felt too perfect, for me it did not fit the rest of the book.
The Story: One night, sixteen year old Nadya decides to sneak out into the woods near her Ukraine home to have her fortune told by a Gypsy. Upon her return, she discovers that her house has been burned down by the invading Germans. Nadya flees, fearing that her family has been killed and that she may be next. From there, the novel flashes deep into the future to Chicago, where Nadya had grown up and is now the matriarch of her own family.