Black Sunflowers
by Cynthia LeBrun
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Pub Date Jan 11 2025 | Archive Date Jul 15 2025
Holly Doll | Fitzhenry & Whiteside
Description
I will die, I will die.
And nobody will know my grave.
And nobody will come and remember,
Only the nightingale will sing.
Inspired by a real-life story, Black Sunflowers illuminates one of the darkest times in Ukrainian history: the Holodomor or "death by hunger." The book begins in 1928, in Soviet-occupied Ukraine, where Veronika and her family live on their farm in the close-knit village of Kuzmin. Life is good, despite the Soviet occupation, but soon everything they have known and loved is not just altered, but demolished. Told in two voices, Veronika's and her father's, Black Sunflowers is a vivid account of the brutal realities of life in Ukraine under Stalin. Veronika and Janek's story is a haunting, yet uplifting testimony to the strength and humanity of the people of Ukraine.
A Note From the Publisher
Cynthia LeBrun won the 2022 International Peterson Literary Emerging Writers Grant for Black Sunflowers.
Advance Praise
"Told in Veronika's and her father Janek's alternating perspectives, this historical account is based on the experiences of the author's mother-in-law and is grounded in historical research. Janek's perspective gives voice to the violent brutality of Soviet rule and the heartbreak of trying to provide for one's family under an authoritarian regime, while Veronika's chapters offer moments of impish levity and youthful hope. A significant moment in Ukrainian history brought to light in an accessible, moving, and personal way."
— Kirkus Review
"This important, revealing story, portrays the suffering, but also the strength and resilience, of the Ukrainian people."
— Calgary Herald
"Cynthia LeBrun's Black Sunflowers is called a novel, but it has its feet firmly planted in the pitch-black reality of the Holodomor, the Soviet-engineered famine that is estimated to have killed up to five million Ukrainians… this book feels timely in a way all good historical fiction should. And as the bloody twentieth century recedes away from us, it's stories like this one that can put a human face on what would otherwise be a pile of grim statistics."
— The British Columbia Review
Marketing Plan
- Review submission to national media, outreach around key dates commemorating the survival of the Ukrainian community.
- Targeted outreach to the Ukrainian-American & Canadian communities.
- Events and speaking engagements related to the book.
- Digital galley distribution on NetGalley.
- Review submission to library, education, and trade publications.
Available Editions
EDITION | Paperback |
ISBN | 9781554556434 |
PRICE | $21.95 (USD) |
PAGES | 496 |