I recently picked up a copy of and I’m really enjoying reading When Luba Leaves Home, a series of 10 connected short stories written by Irene Zabytko, published in 2003. I’ve just finished reading the sixth story titled, Obligation. All of the stories are narrated by the central character, Luba, a Ukrainian in her early twenties of the post-WWII displaced persons (DP) group of immigrants who lives with her parents in Chicago’s Ukrainian Village and goes to a nearby university. Luba struggles in her desires to become an American woman while retaining her Ukrainian identity. When visiting another immigrant friend's apartment, Luba remarks, "She had a few Ukrainian embroidered pillows but little else from the Old Country."
The collection takes place in the 1970s, and I’m guessing, may be somewhat autobiographical. All of the 6 stories that I’ve read compelled me to finish reading them in different ways. They all involve Luba & also bring in an assortment of other neighborhood characters so efficiently that as I’m reading, I feel like I’m there in the corner of the apartment or tavern, watching and listening on the periphery of the action. Has anyone else read this book or Zabytko's other book, The Sky Unwashed, which takes place in Chornobyl just after the disaster?
Other reviews of When Luba Leaves Home:
~ Blogger: Pete Lit
~ RebeccaReads.com book review
~ Ukrainian Weekly, August 31, 2003, No. 35, Vol. LXXI
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