Gives fresh charge to that dull old adjective 'bittersweet' ... [Hercules] arrives on the map as an attentive nature writer too ... A Technicolor dreamscape of what is being ravaged and lost ... Wending through wars past and present, hugging the family tree, Strong Roots shows a path.
Informative and uplifting ... Readers will come away with an appreciation of Ukraine’s rich, complicated history and for what it means to be Ukrainian.
Poignant ... Hercules’s prose is sensual and evocative, highlighting the herbal-scented ceremonial scarves called khatas and hand-embroidered linens that decorate Ukrainian life. Her reflections on grief and resilience, meanwhile, are wonderfully complex ... At once elegant, affecting, and mouthwatering, this is not to be missed.
