Based on true stories and archive materials, Dream Land is the only novel in English about the Crimean Tatars’ return home, half a century after they were exiled from Crimea in 1944.
“Lily Hyde has constructed a compelling and heartbreaking narrative from a composite of countless interviews and conversations with countless Crimean Tatar families… utterly credible and wonderfully sympathetic” | The Bookbag
"…a strong account of what it means to be living in exile, yet dreaming of returning home. Endorsed by Amnesty International, this book will have a particular impact for teenagers feeling – rightly – angry about dispossession and ethnic cleansing" | The Bookseller
“A beautiful book about a culture that has suffered a lot and is very much in the news now. If you are wondering what is going on in Crimea and in relations between Russia and Ukraine, this book is a great place to start” |
Robert Coalson, journalist, RFE/RL
Dream Land has been translated into Ukrainian, Crimean Tatar and French.
A novel for younger readers set in Kyiv in the 1990s, Riding Icarus combines my love for Slavic fairytales with some of the harshness and raw possibility I saw in Ukraine as it emerged from the Soviet era.
"… a heartwarming magical-realist tale with a tough urban edge, set in contemporary Ukraine. It shares…a sense of intense pleasure in nature and a commitment to the world’s tendency to right itself for brave and imaginative children"
| The Observer
I contributed a piece about a Donetsk museum director to this 2024 collection from Kovyla Publishing, which tells the true stories of remarkable older Ukrainians in revolution, peace and war.
An excerpt from my forthcoming book about Crimea is included in this Ukraine issue of Stranger’s Guide. The book uses fiction, essays and creative nonfiction to offer a deeply personal view of Crimean historical narratives and current occupation. 'Knock Knock', the fictional story here, explores the ways that political and military circumstances seep into even the most intimate friendships.