Blood and Salt

The central character, Taras Kalyna, has run away from the Austrian army on the brink of World War I, to follow his love, Halya, to Canada. He can’t know how hard it will be to find her again or that his search will be interrupted by two years in what some have called “Canada’s Gulag.” Because Ukrainians come from Austrian-ruled territories, they will be classed as “enemy aliens” and confined behind barbed wire in internment camps. Not every single Ukrainian; the emphasis was on the unemployed, the political (such as union activists), and people who were in somebody’s way. The novel involves class relations. Halya’s ambitious father gets her a job as companion to a rich woman, Louisa Shawcross. Louisa is the mother of Ronnie Shawcross, Taras’s boss at the small-town brick plant, and he falls in love with Halya. Taras becomes a person in his way. Ronnie denounces him to the police. By the end of the story, Taras and Halya do come together again. Taras has come to love the southern Saskatchewan landscape and raises horses like the one he saw in a dream as a young man in the old country. Storytelling is an important element. To explain why he’ll never return to the old country, Taras begins a tale – about why he left – which lasts for most of the time in camp and helps to sustain the men’s spirits. Another character, Myro, a teacher, tells stories about the great 19th century Ukrainian poet and patriot, Taras Shevchenko. In these stories the narrative moves to the poet’s point of view. We see him in St. Petersburg and elsewhere and we learn of his own “internment” – his exile to eastern Russia. The Time Is World War I, And Canadian Soldiers Are Proving Their Worth In The Trenches Of Europe. But On The Home Front, Ukrainian Canadians Are Being Sent To Internment Camps, Canada's Gulag. Blood And Salt Is About This Forgotten Part Of Canadian History. They Had Committed The Crime Of Being Unemployed In Bad Times. Or Simple Of Having Come From Lands Ruled By The Austrian Empire. They Became Enemy Aliens. Taras Kalyna, A Young Man Who Deserted The Austrian Army To Search For His Lost Love, Halya, Becomes One Of These Men. Imprisoned With Hundreds Of Others In Banff National Park, He Helps Build A Highway From Banff To Lake Louise. Conditions Are Brutal, The Food Poor. His Time In The Camp Isn't Completely Lost. He Forges Strong Friendships And Begins To Learn About The Wider World. Myro, An Idealistic Schoolteacher, Tells Him Stories About The Life Of The Great Ukrainian Patriot And Poet, Taras Shevchenko. Yuri, A Farmer, Teaches Him Optimism. And Tymko, A Fierce Socialist, Helps Him Ask Questions About His New Country. Taras Has No Way Of Knowing When, Or Even If, He'll Be Free Again. But Even Imprisoned, He Never Stops Think Of Halya. Their Stories Develop In Separate Strands Until The War Is Over. And Then He'll Be Free To Look For Her--publisher. Barbara Sapergia. A Novel. Edited By Geoffrey Ursell--t.p. Verso. Also Issued In Electronic Format. They had committed the crime of being unemployed in bad times. Or simple of having come from lands ruled by the Austrian empire. They became "enemy aliens". Taras Kalyna, a young man who deserted the Austrian army to search for his lost love, Halya, becomes one of these men. Imprisoned with hundreds of others in Banff National Park, he helps build a highway from Banff to Lake Louise. Conditions are brutal, the food poor. His time in the camp isn't completely lost. He forges strong friendships and begins to learn about the wider world. Myro, an idealistic schoolteacher, tells him stories about the life of the great Ukrainian patriot and poet, Taras Shevchenko. Yuri, a farmer, teaches him optimism. And Tymko, a fierce socialist, helps him ask questions about his new country. Taras has no way of knowing when, or even if, he'll be free again. But even imprisoned, he never stops think of Halya. Their stories develop in separate strands until the war is over. And then he'll be free to look for her. Blood and Salt is a work of fiction grounded in actual details about the Banff-Castle Mountain internment camp. It explores the search for a new life and the search for love - all the while asking what it is to be Ukrainian. The central character, Taras Kalyna, has run away from the Austrian army on the brink of World War I, to follow his love, Halya, to Canada. He can’t know how hard it will be to find her again or that his search will be interrupted by two years in what some have called “Canada’s Gulag.” Because Ukrainians come from Austrian-ruled territories, they will be classed as “enemy aliens” and confined behind barbed wire in internment camps. Not every single Ukrainian; the emphasis was on the unemployed, the political (such as union activists), and people who were in somebody’s way. The novel involves class relations. Halya’s ambitious father gets her a job as companion to a rich woman, Louisa Shawcross. Louisa is the mother of Ronnie Shawcross, Taras’s boss at the small-town brick plant, and he falls in love with Halya. Taras becomes a person in his way. Ronnie denounces him to the police. By the end of the story, Taras and Halya do come together again. Taras has come to... language,Ukrainian,saga,Canada,Manitoba,internment camp,war,historical fiction,prejudice,racism,storytelling,horses