Blog Archives
An Homage To My Grandmother
Them Days follows a young immigrant teen who is sent to Winnipeg to work as a maid for the wealthy. What made you write a story about this topic? Was anything pulled from your life experiences?
My grandmother was a Ukrainian immigrant to the Canadian Prairies in the early 1900s. After my mother died just before my 14th birthday, I lived with my grandmother and she used to tell me stories about “Them Days”. As I got older, I realized that I had a debt of gratitude to my grandmother for putting up with me as a difficult teen, and her stories stuck with me. When I started to research the period I realized just what a difficult and interesting time it was in Canadian history and how badly the Ukrainians were treated. So the novel is an homage to my grandmother, to her family and to the tens of thousands of Ukrainian immigrants who persevered and helped build Canada into the country it is today.
What kind of research did you do for this novel to ensure you captured the essence of the story’s theme?
I did considerable reading on the internment of the Ukrainians in Canada during WW1, on Winnipeg during the war, on the Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 and on the great Winnipeg General Strike. I also visited pioneer museums, watched documentaries and talked to older family members who also had memories from their parents about life on the homestead.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Firstly, the extreme discrimination experienced by the Ukrainian and other eastern European immigrants at the hands of the English Canadians. The degree of discrimination was shocking, as evidenced by the leading newspaper editorials of the day which routinely referred to them as ‘scum’, recommended locking them up in labour camps, and deportation without recourse to any legal rights – all recommendations which the Government of Canada implemented!
Secondly, the resilience of the Ukrainians to endure the hardships of pioneer life on hardscrabble ground in the bitter winters of the Canadian Prairies, followed by the ongoing discrimination they faced in their daily lives when they moved to the cities. They persevered and eventually succeeded despite everything.
What is the next book that you are working on and when will it be available?
It is a departure for me in that it is a book for young adolescents based on the lifecycle of a robin. I hope it will be available by the fall of 2023, but I need to finish writing it first!
Author Links: Facebook | Website
Sofiya, a young Ukrainian immigrant, experiences all of this and more. It could be 2022, but it’s Manitoba in the early 1900s.
Sofiya is the third consecutive girl born on a poor homestead near Gimli in 1903. She is bright and feisty but nothing more is expected of her than to be a domestic, and at age thirteen she is sent to be a maid to a wealthy family in Winnipeg. There, she experiences the condescension of the English towards the ‘Bohunks’, while her half-brother is interned during WW1, deemed an enemy alien.
While the Great War is raging in Europe, an undeclared war between the classes is being fought at home. This conflict comes to a head in the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 when the working classes rise up against their English masters, shut down the city and demand a better deal. The city is divided and everyone must choose a side.
Them Days takes you on Sofiya’s journey, as she discovers what it means to be an immigrant and a woman, struggling to find love and her identity – at the same time that Canada is breaking free from Mother England’s apron strings.
Them Days
Born in 1903 on a homestead in Manitoba, Sofiya is the third-born daughter of a poor Ukrainian immigrant family. Expected to work, at thirteen-years-old, Sofiya is sent to work as a maid for a wealthy English family in Winnipeg, where she experiences firsthand how prejudiced Canadian society really is.
While the first world war raged in Europe, a different type of war was being waged between the social classes in Canada. Ukrainian-Canadian men are arrested without charges and thrown into labor camps across the country. After the war, unemployment was high, and many workers were unable to make ends meet. Food and housing were near impossible to afford, and among the hardest hit were working-class immigrants. The continuous buildup of anger and resentment led to the largest strike in Canadian history.
As Sofiya navigates through this new and complicated world and its harsh political climate, she must figure out what her views are. Most importantly, she must find meaning in her own identity as an immigrant and as a woman of the twentieth century.
Them Days is a historical fiction novel by Canadian author Glenn P. Booth set in the early 1900s in Winnipeg, Canada. This well-researched novel depicts the harsh life of immigrants and the discrimination and prejudice they face in their day-to-day lives. The story follows the life of Ukrainian immigrant Sofiya, a young girl who´s bright, spirited, and enthusiastic about experiencing life to the fullest, which for her may sometimes include a harsh and difficult path. With her strong and positive character, she faces these obstacles in stride, and as the story progresses, the reader will witness her development as a person.
This coming-of-age story is narrated through the main character’s perspective. It is incredibly interesting and provides an accurate description of early twentieth-century Canada and its social situation. The narrative is captivating and makes a topic that may otherwise sound dull seem incredibly fascinating. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it, the story flows beautifully, and the characters are very captivating. I suggest any historical fiction fan pick it up for an informative yet entertaining read.
Pages: 334 | ASIN : B09YNSK548
LITERARY TITAN 