The Wanderers is a novel by Ingrid Rimland published in 1977 loosely based upon her own experiences from growing up in a

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

community in the Ukraine. Rimland wanted to write a novel about her people, and ''The Wanderers'' tells the story of the plight of

women caught in the social upheavals of revolution and war. The novel traces the decimation of a pacifist people during the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

, anarchy, famine, the Stalinist purges, escape from the Ukraine, and eventual resettlement in the rain forests of

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. The novel remains Rimland's most acclaimed book. It earned her the California Literature Medal Award for best fiction in 1977.James C. Juhnke
Ingrid Rimland, the Mennonites, and the Demon Doctor
''Mennonite Life'', vol. 60 no. 1, 2005

References

Mennonitism in Paraguay Mennonitism in Ukraine 1977 American novels Novels set in Ukraine Novels set in the Russian Revolution Novels set in Paraguay Novels about religion Novels based on actual events Russian Mennonite diaspora in South America {{1970s-hist-novel-stub