Set in Canada during The Great Depression era of the 1930s
- Book: Lilacs in the Dust Bowl
- Location: Winnipeg
- Author: Diana Stevan
Lilacs In The Dust Bowl is historical fiction set in Canada and begins in 1929. It follows Lukia Mazurets and her family who leave their home in the Ukraine and immigrate to Canada. The Canadian authorities have offered farmland at a fraction of the cost of land at home and thousands are flocking there.
However, once Lukia and her family arrive in Winnipeg, all the good land has already been bought. They face extreme cold each winter, summers which stretch to drought, terrible dust storms, grasshopper plagues and near starvation especially when the grain prices plummet as Canada goes into its Depression years.
The book covers around eight years of Lukia’s life; she is fifty-four when she leaves the Ukraine and the book ends with her reflections, then aged sixty-two. This book is the sequel to Sunflowers Under Fire, which I haven’t read, and I was interested to read in the author’s notes that Lukia was the author’s grandmother.
It was quite humbling to read how the family survived. The author’s research into the Depression years shone through with details from the era, but on occasions I felt that some of the story was written so that historical facts could be added, rather than them complimenting the narrative.
As a dedication to the author’s relatives, this book worked well; as an engaging piece of fiction, it was okay, but I struggled to engage with the characters as much as I had hoped and I kept comparing the story to similar ones I’ve read.
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