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128th out of 485 books
—
613 voters
The Silence of Trees
by
Valya Dudycz Lupescu (Goodreads Author)
In Chicago’s Ukrainian Village, Nadya Lysenko has built her life on a foundation of secrets. Her beloved dead insist on being heard, through dreams and whispers in the night. They want the truth to come out. Nadya needs to face her past and confront the secrets she buried within–THE SILENCE OF TREES.
Paperback, 334 pages
Published
September 23rd 2010
by Wolfsword Press
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This novel takes place in two worlds and times, Ukraine and Germany of World War II and contemporary Chicago where Nadya, the protagonist relocated some years after the war. But the entire novel is steeped in the Ukraine, from wartime memories to the traditions carried on in Nadya's Chicago household. The novel deals with memory, guilt, fear, trust, issues many survivors have, but in ways that are very specific to Nadya.
As we meet her, she is a middle-aged woman living with regret over decisions...more
As we meet her, she is a middle-aged woman living with regret over decisions...more
This book was really really good. I picked it pretty randomly -- just looking for something to read since my kindle is shot and I'm waiting for my [second!] replacement and so am using Jet's and don't have access to all the books I had already downloaded. I was determined not to spend more than 99cents and this book turned out to be worth much more than that.
The writing is really well done in that I cared about Nadya's story right from the get go. It has enough historical grit (the plight of ukr...more
The writing is really well done in that I cared about Nadya's story right from the get go. It has enough historical grit (the plight of ukr...more
I have just finished reading The Silence of Trees by Valya Dudycz Lupescu. This is a story of a woman, born and living in the Ukraine at the time of the German occupation who suffered the loss of all family and friends and saw many horrific acts of war during WWII and in the aftermath.
Afterwards, she married a former Ukrainian soldier, moved to the United States, settled in Chicago and had a fruitful life but she was tortured by nightmares of the war and what she had seen there. She did not co...more
Afterwards, she married a former Ukrainian soldier, moved to the United States, settled in Chicago and had a fruitful life but she was tortured by nightmares of the war and what she had seen there. She did not co...more
I was caught by the description of this book while looking for a new read. People seem to like it here on Goodreads as well so I gave it a shot. Set in WWII Ukraine the book starts strong with flavors of the magic and boundless possibility of youth set against the cold cruelty of war. Our hero sets out to find her future, but instead the future finds her.
The narrative pans between present day and flashback to the horrors of the war. The prose is lovely and lilting, and the smattering of brutali...more
The narrative pans between present day and flashback to the horrors of the war. The prose is lovely and lilting, and the smattering of brutali...more
This is not the type of book that I usually read. I downloaded it because it was offered for free, and I ended up really liking it.
The story begins in the Ukraine during World War II. Nadya is a sixteen-year-old girl who sneaks out of her house one night because she wants to have her fortune told by gypsies who are camping nearby. She returns home just before dawn to find her house burned by German soldiers, and her family gone. She flees -- first with her boyfriend, a defector from the German a...more
The story begins in the Ukraine during World War II. Nadya is a sixteen-year-old girl who sneaks out of her house one night because she wants to have her fortune told by gypsies who are camping nearby. She returns home just before dawn to find her house burned by German soldiers, and her family gone. She flees -- first with her boyfriend, a defector from the German a...more
LOVED this book! The characters, stories and history were woven together so that you feel you're part of the book. It's one that I didn't want to finish because I didn't want to be done with it. Jealous for those who still get to read it!
At some point in the past few months the description of this book intrigued me enough to download it on my Kindle. I'm not sorry I did. It turned out to be a gripping tale of Nadya, a Ukrainian woman, who allows us to visit her past at the time of WWII.
There are very few parts of the world that WWII did not reach to and touch in some way. At the age of 16 Nadya finds herself in a nightmare as she has lost everything due to German occupation of her homeland. As she forges ahead in life, with a g...more
There are very few parts of the world that WWII did not reach to and touch in some way. At the age of 16 Nadya finds herself in a nightmare as she has lost everything due to German occupation of her homeland. As she forges ahead in life, with a g...more
THE SILENCE OF TREES
By Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Women’s Fiction
Reviewed by Willa Kaye Danes, author at Penumbra Publishing
99-cent Kindle ebook edition
The first thing I must say is ... I loved this story. It is one of the best stories I have read in a very long time. It is emotional and magical and mystical and truthful, full of secrets and regrets and fears and, finally, courage – courage to speak. This is a story about women, their voices, their pain, their connection to each other, and their love o...more
By Valya Dudycz Lupescu
Women’s Fiction
Reviewed by Willa Kaye Danes, author at Penumbra Publishing
99-cent Kindle ebook edition
The first thing I must say is ... I loved this story. It is one of the best stories I have read in a very long time. It is emotional and magical and mystical and truthful, full of secrets and regrets and fears and, finally, courage – courage to speak. This is a story about women, their voices, their pain, their connection to each other, and their love o...more
Nadya Lysenko is an old woman that we meet in the present day, living in Chicago's Ukrainian community. We hear her story in flashbacks, from her beginnings as a peasant girl in the Ukraine during the horror of WWII, through workcamps and "Displaced Person" camps, through loves lost and found, through deaths and destruction. And in the midst of all of it, there is woven her orthodox Catholic faith and the folklore of her native country. These two seemingly disparate belief systems exist perfectl...more
‘What else does an old woman have but memories and fantasies?’
In the present, Nadya Lysenko is a seventy year old woman living in Chicago, surrounded by her family: husband, children and grandchildren. Fifty years have elapsed since she last saw her parents and her sisters in the Western Ukraine, and Nadya has kept many secrets during those fifty years. At sixteen, Nadya left her home one night to meet a Gypsy fortune teller in the nearby woods. Nadya was keen to have her fortune told, and while...more
In the present, Nadya Lysenko is a seventy year old woman living in Chicago, surrounded by her family: husband, children and grandchildren. Fifty years have elapsed since she last saw her parents and her sisters in the Western Ukraine, and Nadya has kept many secrets during those fifty years. At sixteen, Nadya left her home one night to meet a Gypsy fortune teller in the nearby woods. Nadya was keen to have her fortune told, and while...more
If you like historical fiction and books that bring another culture to life, this is a must-read!
Having not known much about the history of the Ukrainian people during the second World War, reading this story was like taking a walk in the shoes of the narrator, 70 year-old Nadya Lysenko, and reliving her heart-wrenching experiences during this turbulent and hellish time. We feel her intense and conflicting feelings towards her first love Stephan, her deep guilt and confusion over a simple decisi...more
Having not known much about the history of the Ukrainian people during the second World War, reading this story was like taking a walk in the shoes of the narrator, 70 year-old Nadya Lysenko, and reliving her heart-wrenching experiences during this turbulent and hellish time. We feel her intense and conflicting feelings towards her first love Stephan, her deep guilt and confusion over a simple decisi...more
I hesitated reading this book as it was once again about WWII. But I am glad that I decided to read it. For one it enlightened me about the plight of Ukrainian people during WWII. It astounds me how big and powerful nations can walk over smaller nations as if they are of no consequence. Yet these smaller nations are made up of people who have over centuries forged a bond, a connection with their little corner of the earth that no hardship can ever sever. They may become 'displaced people', but t...more
1 like · like · see review
I picked this up not really knowing what to expect, and was profoundly delighted by the experience of reading it. A talented writer with such an eye for character that it's astounding. One caveat: the first three chapters seem as if they should actually be moved to about 3/4 of the way into the novel, as they are actually the climax, and I feel the reader is startled by reading them first and then discovering the rest of the novel takes place about 50 years later. It's a complex book, with a lot...more
Let this book be an example for all of those who claim I only hate Twilight and Eragon because of the bad grammar and poor punctuation. Lupescu's book was amazing. Normally, historical fiction is not up my alley, because it was how I learned history in my years homeschooling (and was therefore a chore and not a pleasure). However, this book was very much grounded in the emotional journey of the main character, who was startlingly empathetic for being someone I would dislike in real life. And ami...more
I have mixed feelings about this book. While I loved the history (the German invasion of the Soviet Union) and the traditions that Nadya tried to hard to keep alive with her family, I felt that the story jumped around a lot. This might have been more a technical issue with the book (it was downloaded onto my Kindle, and I have found that sometimes there are typos or issues with spacing in Kindle books). There weren't larger spaces between Nadya's memories and her real, present-day life, which co...more
2 likes · like · see review
One of my favourite feelings is that moment of triumph you experience when you have just finished a good book.
Triumph because you have been edified and uplifted. Triumph because you now have a handful of quotes to add to your mental collection. Triumph because for the duration of the book, you felt a connection to the author.
From beginning to end, this book held my attention. The narrative style helps to create and maintain that connection to the author, I feel like the persona was sitting with...more
Triumph because you have been edified and uplifted. Triumph because you now have a handful of quotes to add to your mental collection. Triumph because for the duration of the book, you felt a connection to the author.
From beginning to end, this book held my attention. The narrative style helps to create and maintain that connection to the author, I feel like the persona was sitting with...more
Why did I read it? It was Goodreads Audiobook group, and it sounded interesting.
What's it about? The book centres around the stories of Nadya, a Ukrainian mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, living in Chicago, who while observing the daily, religious and seasonal rituals of her Ukrainian culture and upbringing, seeks to hide her past from those near and dear to her.
What did I like? The insight into Ukrainian folklore, myth, religion, the stories of Nadya's family and culture. The rituals,...more
What's it about? The book centres around the stories of Nadya, a Ukrainian mother, grandmother and great-grandmother, living in Chicago, who while observing the daily, religious and seasonal rituals of her Ukrainian culture and upbringing, seeks to hide her past from those near and dear to her.
What did I like? The insight into Ukrainian folklore, myth, religion, the stories of Nadya's family and culture. The rituals,...more
I highly recommend this historical fiction novel to anyone who wants to learn about another culture and experience history in an up-close and personal manner. Although, not an action novel this story is filled with stories that are symbolic that are universal for all.
I loved the poetic nature of the novel with her use of trees and nature as symbols. I did think sometimes the folkloric and superstitious manner the narrator uses to describe Nadya's memories was overused, but it was a different ge...more
I loved the poetic nature of the novel with her use of trees and nature as symbols. I did think sometimes the folkloric and superstitious manner the narrator uses to describe Nadya's memories was overused, but it was a different ge...more
“When he looks into your eyes, tells you he loves you-and the pickled herring and onions are stronger than his voice-yet you still smile. You still want to be close to him. Yes, then you have found love.”
This was a very well written book, the author has a gift for making the characters and settings come alive, and at the same time bringing each era together to round out the story.
I love hearing about different cultures and the Ukrainian lifestyle is not one I have come across in any depth befor...more
This was a very well written book, the author has a gift for making the characters and settings come alive, and at the same time bringing each era together to round out the story.
I love hearing about different cultures and the Ukrainian lifestyle is not one I have come across in any depth befor...more
Ukrainian folklore permeates every page of this book. The folklore is so rich and vibrant that it makes the reader reflect and ask these questions: What about my own ancestral folklore? Was it as rich? Has it all disappeared over many generations? The main character in this book, post WWII immigrant Nadya, pauses frequently to reflect on her early tragic life, her past relationships, and what the future holds for her as a senior. Her pauses are contagious enough to make the reader pause and refl...more
This book is beautiful and mesmerizing, heartbreaking and uplifting all at the same time. I love the superstitions interwoven into the story and how storytelling is so important to the Ukrainian people.
Nadya is 70 years old but still haunted by events in the Ukraine that happened during WWII when she was really a mere child. But this is also about family and the things we keep to ourselves and the things we think others don’t know and how that affects how we live our lives and the relationships...more
Nadya is 70 years old but still haunted by events in the Ukraine that happened during WWII when she was really a mere child. But this is also about family and the things we keep to ourselves and the things we think others don’t know and how that affects how we live our lives and the relationships...more
2 likes · like · see review
Fantastic book, and total surprise purchasing it on a whim. Wonderful description of a culture I know little about.
Set in the Ukraine, Germany, and Chicago before, during, and after World War II, The Silence of Trees by Valya Dudycz Lupescu is a story of regret and hope, tradition and change, truth and truth again. As a young woman, Nadya is preoccupied by the future; she forgets the present, and the present slips away on the most brutal of terms. Haunted all her life by visions of what might have been, time and fate seem to conspire to allow this woman to taste her dreams and to be satisfied.
Lupescu's novel...more
Lupescu's novel...more
I enjoyed the folklore and the protagonist's past. The story of the Ukrainian peasant girl during WWII and after was engaging. The "50 years later" focus felt too light (the tonal shift between the tragic end of chap 3 and the lightness of chap 4 really bugged me), and also bland and mundane. Often more telling than showing in the writing style; repetitious; redundant at times. I expected more with the "mystery" and return of the protagonist's past that the book summary mentioned. I was hoping t...more
This is a beautiful read...complex characters, evocative images of a story of a Ukrainian woman and her struggle with the limitations of her beliefs througout her life. Nadya lived through war and loss, then complex family life and this book tells her tale with depth. I couldn't put it down.
Beautiful, lyrical book told through flashbacks of Nadya, a Ukrainian woman who as a young girl survived the horrific events in the Ukraine as the Germans fled and the Russians approached towards the end of World War II. The book is told through Nadya’s memories and flashbacks and she reflects on her choices and lifetime consequences of those choices. I loved the Ukrainian folklore, traditions, and superstitions that were woven throughout, especially the importance of family. I am not a person w...more
The story of Nadya - the matriarch of a large Ukrainian-American family in Chicago that traces her tale back to the Ukraine during WWII and the occupation by the Russians and Germans, her subsequent journey to a displaced persons camp in Germany, and ultimately to the States. Starting from her vantage point as a great-grandmother and moving back and forwards through time, her secrets are slowly unraveled and you are caught up in her story that is like a fairy tale - but one of the Grimm ones, wi...more
I'd never heard of the author; a mention of the book as one a book club of a friend had decided to read led me to get a copy. It's a fascinating study of a Ukrainian family that, somewhere near the beginning was captive to mysterious traditions and stranger ghosts and then encountered the horrors of the German occupation, a subsequent decimation of the family, a migration to Chicago, and the
realization that the unfolding of a the unique experiences of the individuals is the natural course
of exis...more
realization that the unfolding of a the unique experiences of the individuals is the natural course
of exis...more
4.5 Stars
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, Eastern European folklore, or how history can have a lingering effect on a character's actions.
The Silence of Trees is a moving book on the effects of war, love, family, tradition, community and truly living. Throughout the book, Ms. Lupescu blends a great deal of Ukrainian folklore into the story, almost making the folklore a character on it's own. The folklore adds greatly to both the depth of her characters and...more
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in historical fiction, Eastern European folklore, or how history can have a lingering effect on a character's actions.
The Silence of Trees is a moving book on the effects of war, love, family, tradition, community and truly living. Throughout the book, Ms. Lupescu blends a great deal of Ukrainian folklore into the story, almost making the folklore a character on it's own. The folklore adds greatly to both the depth of her characters and...more
This book has many similarities to the Lost Wife in that both talk about lost loves and the memories and horrors of World War II and how each of the main characters has to settle or compromise in order to get on with her life. This book details the compromises that the protagonist makes and how she raises her family while yearning for the life she left behind. Details about the culture and foods of Ukraine abound but the essential theme of the novel is how sharing your history will help you grow...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audiobooks: Listen-Along for THE SILENCE OF TREES | 30 | 48 | May 20, 2012 02:47pm | |
| Which of your grandmother's superstitions do you carry on? | 3 | 23 | Apr 15, 2012 02:30pm |
Valya Dudycz Lupescu is a writer and the founding editor of the literary magazine, Conclave: A Journal of Character.
More about Valya Dudycz Lupescu...
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“Remember that stories are more than just words, more than fairy tales. They are magic.”
—
3 people liked it
“When he looks into your eyes, tells you he loves you-and the pickled herring and onions are stronger than his voice-yet you still smile. You still want to be close to him. Yes, then you have found love.”
—
3 people liked it
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You said "This novel takes place in two worlds and times, Ukraine and Germany of World War II...more
Jul 21, 2012 01:32pm
You said "This novel takes place in two worlds and times, Ukraine and Germany of...more
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