Albeit The Silence of Trees is a work of fiction, it is, nonetheless, set in a historical context.
For both the general reader and for the reader familiar with things Ukrainian, the novel is immensely interesting not only for its first-person narrative which involves the reader in a highly personal interaction with the protagonist, a Ukrainian girl named Nadya, who was born in Ukraine and immigrates to the United States during World War II, but also for its interesting storyline laced with imagery and alliteration as prose and poetry commingle crisscrossing pages, narrating Nadya's odyssey, which begins in Ukraine. Her journey takes her by way of the backroads of folklore and mythology to her ultimate home, Chicago's Ukrainian Village. And, it's there, as the story unfolds through highly fascinating flashbacks, that we ultimately learn of Nadya's secrets; secrets, that throughout her lifetime, she wouldn't even share with her family. Adroitly altering from an adolescent to a senior citizen, we watch Nadya mature as experiences etch and ingrain life's lessons, silhouetting the silence of trees along the paths of her remarkable journey.
For the reader familiar with things Ukrainian, the novel is intensely interesting not only for all of the above-stated reasons, but, even more so, for its intrinsically myriad referrals to Ukrainian literary, cultural, and historical references, which will be immediately identifiable.
In fact, the opening sentence of chapter one refers to the Ivan Kupalo festival, a Slavic celebration of ancient pagan origin which marked the end of the summer solstice and the beginning of the harvest (midsummer). Kupalo was believed to be the god of the harvest and of love and the personification of the earth's fertility. According to popular belief, `Kupalo eve' (`Ivan's eve') was the only time of the year when the earth revealed its secrets and made ferns bloom to mark places where its treasures were buried, and the only time when trees spoke and even moved and when witches gathered. See the Encyclopedia of Ukraine for more detailed information.
And, as the story starts, reference is made to the Ukrainian legend whereby anyone finding the magical rue flower which bloomed in the forest would be granted their heart's desire, among them, the power to make anyone fall in love with them and the ability to hear the trees whisper and watch them dance. The single red flower had several names, including that of chervona ruta.
Anyone familiar with things Ukrainian will immediately think of the immensely popular love song (in 1971, it won the Best Song of the Year award of the Soviet Union) which was written by Ukrainian composer and poet Volodymyr Ivasiuk, Chervona Ruta (Red Rue), and think, too, of the Chervona Ruta Festival (Ukraine's biggest pop music festival), which was held biennially in various cities throughout Ukraine. After the twentieth anniversary of the festival, it was decided that all future Chervona Ruta festivals would take place only in Chernivtsi. Albeit Volodymyr Ivasiuk earned a degree in medicine, he also demonstrated talent in art, photography, and cinematography. His funeral was attended by over 10,000 mourners. The first Chervona Ruta Festival was held in 1989 near the place where Ivasiuk was born and died (prematurely, under suspicious circumstances) and was named after his most renowned song. The opening passage from The Silence of Trees draws you in, much as a Venus Flytrap, enticing you to enter, and with Nadya, search for the celebrated chervona ruta.
Several of the other historical, mythological, folkloric, and religious references to things Ukrainian include, but aren't limited to: Lesya Ukrainka's poem, "Seven Strings"; rusalky; a lisovyk; St. Sophia Church; poetry by Ukrainian bard Taras Shevchenko; Holodomor; baba yaga; a blue and yellow bathrobe (blue and yellow are the colors of the Ukrainian flag); babky; pussywillows; and, icons.
Imagery permeates and saturates throughout ("each corner held secrets: each shape shifted in the night") so that, at times, the story is carried carefully and effortlessly through myriad stimulating paragraphs and pages sans/without need for dialogue.
Just as trees are an integral part of the title, so, too, are trees an integral part of the story, and references to them abound in imagery yielding vivid descriptions: "When she finally merged with the trees...hiding in the trees on the side of the road...I could see an entire story hidden in the tree that became the door of this old couple's house...tree of life... like the tree, you were created and grown in foreign soil...and because willows are naturally kind trees...a tree cannot run and hide...a tree must stand and face each storm...the birch was so young...." Not only are trees and their stories an integral part of The Silence of Trees, but separate, sundry stories saturate scripted pages--stories which beg the silence to be broken, stories which form an embroidered tapestry of the past.
The cover illustration by Madeline Carol Matz is an interesting collage of the elements within the story which have a direct bearing on Nadya's script of life: a black river rock (good luck stone); a pysanka depicting a young girl surrounded by trees--one trunk depicting a Ukrainian mythological character, lisovyk; English newspapers (Nadya was to immigrate to the USA); an empty envelope which Nadya receives and is referenced in the story; a hand holding the pysanka with, perhaps, dye on the fingers and hand from making the pysanka (reference is made within the story to writing/making pysanky) or, perhaps, the image is reference is to "Ukrainian hands. Calluses on your fingers, your palms. Strong hands." As the gypsy told Nadya's fortune, she told her that her hands were small but strong, gentle hands; her nails were short but thick. Her hands were of a female wolf, loyal and fierce, and kind.
An epigraph introduces each of the three sections. Part One is entitled, Stories; the epigraph is about fortune telling. Nadya's visit to a vorozhka, a fortune teller, is how we become acquainted with Nadya. The vorozhka's prediction is referenced and recalled by Nadya throughout her life, throughout the novel.
Roots is the title of Part Two, and a quote from Deng Ming-Dao regarding a tree and the secret of the tree is the epigraph opening the second of three parts of The Silence of Trees. Nadya reminisces within part two about a birch that was young and so different from the ancient ones in Ukraine and the ones in the DP camp. "The trees at home taught me to find strength in my roots, to rely on my foundation."
An epigraph to Part Three, Lullaby, is from Water the Moon. And, Nadya's personal reference to Lullaby is when she receives a ticket to see a play, Angel's Lullaby. The lead actor of that play is someone out of Nadya's secret past. Part Three ties together all of the loose embroidery threads; the tapestry of her life is now showcased.
Nadya's secret isn't sole nor is it unique in this story; other characters carried secrets, too. Nadya learned from Danylo, her Jewish teacher from Lviv, that stories could kill. She recounts how Danylo taught her that stories were the lifeblood of a culture. From Danylo she also learned that stories could kill if they were not properly guarded--that not all stories could be shared, some were kept as secrets. Another character, an American GI named Sonny, shares his secret with Nadya, also, which she later relates to her granddaughter, Lesya. Nadya, too, told her that there was a place and time when knowledge meant death; therefore, when Nadya kept her secrets, it was something that, for her, wasn't a trifle matter. She further told her granddaughter that men had the option of revenge; women only had silence.
Notwithstanding the above facts that it's best to keep some things to oneself, that silence is an acceptable alternative, and that we need to protect the ones we love from truths that will hurt them, Nadya eventually exposes some of her secrets to her granddaughter and other family members. As she starts to reveal some of her secrets, Nadya thinks, "I didn't know who they would see when they looked at me. I was like that black pysanka, covered in wax and layers of paint. The letters had come to melt it all away. Then it would come together--the story revealed."
As Nadya held the small black stone that she had carried for over seventy years, it was the only thing that she had left of her home, her parents, her family, and she was afraid to let it go. However, she decided to share her stories/secrets so that they would live on in the memories of those who heard them. And, so, she also decided to tell her family her real name. Her intention was "to let it go...to love the past...to live in the present...and to look forward to the future."
Author Valya Dudycz Lupescu is not only a writer, but also the founding editor of Conclave: A Journal of Character. She brilliantly brings her realistic, personal perspective and experiences into the writing of The Silence of Trees: she was born in Chicago, received her degree in English from DePaul University in Chicago, and earned her MFA in Writing as part of the inaugural class at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she began her work on The Silence of Trees, which was selected as a Semifinalist in the 2008 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award. Albeit Ms. Dudycz Lupescu occasionally teaches workshops in the Chicago area and also online and helps to facilitate a monthly gathering of artists and writers, for the last seven years, she, nevertheless, has spent her time divided between the United States and Germany with her husband and three children. Her outstanding first novel is sure to be eagerly read as amicable anticipation for the sequel soars.
Once you enter Nadya's secret world satiated with mythology and folklore, the synergy and syntax will carry you uniquely and swiftly past trees sharing their silence, and you won't put the book down till long after you reach the terminus. The Silence of Trees speaks volumes....
Five stars plus for a novel sure to keep readers spellbound as they traverse two continents in search of Nadya's secrets, all the while engrossed and enthralled as encountering Ukrainian mythology, folklore, and Ukrainian literary, cultural, and historical references superbly yield storytelling at its best.
Addendum: To learn more about things Ukrainian, visit the Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Readers, you're also invited to visit each of my reviews--most of them have photos (with notes) that I took in Ukraine (over 600)--you'll learn lots about Ukraine and Ukrainians. The image gallery shows smaller photos, which are out of sequence. The preferable way is to see each review through my profile page since photos that are germane to that particular book/VHS/DVD are posted there with notes and are in sequential order.
To visit my reviews: click on my pseudonym, Mandrivnyk, to get to my profile page; click on the tab called review; scroll to the bottom of the section, and click on see all reviews; click on each title, and on the left-hand side, click on see all images. The thumbnail images at the top of the page show whether photos have notes; roll your mouse over the image to find notes posted. Also, you're invited to visit my Listmania lists, which have materials sorted by subject matter.
Additionally, both kids and adults will find it to be enjoyable and educational to learn the names and locations of the regions/oblasts of Ukraine and test their knowledge by solving the Interactive Puzzle map. Please see my comment below this review for further information.
Moreover, to view excellent slideshows of the 25 regions (24 oblasts and one autonomous republic) of Ukraine (you may even set the length of the slideshow), please see my comment below this review.
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A Haunting Novel Sure to be Reread and Handed Down Through the Generations--a Must for Libraries, both Public and Personal!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 5, 2011Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 21, 2012
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P. A. Copley
Hard to put down - a "must finish" read.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 20, 2013
