An exuberant, meticulously researched tale…
Booth brings the early 1900s to life in this riveting story of family, love, determination, resilience, and survival. Born as the third consecutive girl in a poor Ukrainian homestead near Gimli is hard enough for little Sofiya. But being smart and strong willed means she needs to learn proper female traits. When Sofiya is sent to Winnipeg to work as a chambermaid in a wealthy family, she has no idea what lies ahead. Experiencing the disdain of the English towards the working class is just the beginning of the new life. Booth combines gritty realism with emotionally rich characters and meticulously researched prose, creating a vividly imagined world which is both authentic and timely. In Sofiya, he creates a woman who is fiercely determined, passionate, and resilient. The secondary characters are just as memorable. The neatly plotted story carries the reader at a swift pace through Sofiya’s adolescence and adult years, when she moves to Winnipeg, comes face to face with stark disdain and discrimination of the upper-class English, and finds love all the while trying to be there for her family. He layers the narrative with Sofiya’s ongoing struggle as she learns what it means to be a woman and an immigrant while seeking to find her own place in the world. Booth adeptly foregrounds the experiences of European migrants, particularly Ukrainian immigrants while delving into discrimination against Indians, gender and class disparity, war, pandemic, revolt, familial bonds, relationships, and perseverance. This heartfelt story grabs the reader from the very start and doesn’t let go. Fans of historical fiction are in for a treat.
Them Days
Glenn P Booth
Tellwell Talent
Pub date April 22, 2022
ISBN 978-0228878438
Price $22.99 (USD) Hardcover, $14.99 Paperback, $5.45 Kindle edition
