In the Dark of the Night

 

In the Dark of the Night / Dniprova Chayka &Lyubov Yanovska
trans. from the Ukrainian by Roma Franko
Saskatoon, SK: Language Lanterns, c1998.
465 p.

Finishing off #WITMonth 2022 with another volume in the Women's Voices in Ukrainian Literature series by Language Lanterns. I really liked this one - it focuses on two writers, Dniprova Chayka (a pseudonym which means Seagull of the Dnipro), and Lyubov Yanovska. You can read a brief bio of each at the Language Lanterns website. 

The book is split about 30/70 between the two, with Chayka telling short stories of a more ethnographic bent, while Yanovska mixes the contemporary fashion for ethnographic storytelling with an emerging focus on psychological stories. I found both writers really interesting; they were both new to me. There are some stories here that focus on the miseries of rural Ukrainians at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries, but there was also a heightened focus on style, and on stories of artists and intelligentsia. I also found quite a bit of wry humour, especially in Yanovska's stories. Her style was intriguing and fresh, with asides to the reader, a story from 1909 that starts out in second person, and a 1911 tale about an alien coming to observe earthlings over the Easter weekend which is told in reportage fashion. Much of her work felt very modern and amused me with its black humour and stylistic technique. 

An example of the clever writing that I appreciated was found in the title story, by Yanovska: 

And perhaps everything would have happened as he thought it would, and perhaps everything would have come to pass as foretold by the cards, if only and if... in a word, if everything had not, unfortunately, turned out completely differently.

I especially enjoyed reading Yanovska's stories, with her urban and arts-focused characters, many of whom were painfully self-observant. Her approach to her characters was compelling and entertaining while also being descriptive in an 'ethnographic' way. The collection was balanced, with a variety of fantastical and realistic stories shared.

There are also some fine metaphors and observations that I marked down from both writers. There is a  focus in many of these stories on artists and artistic longings that remain unmet, and I found those very relatable and touching. My favourite story by Chayka was "The Shadow of Uncreated Creations", about a woman who holds artistic gatherings for young writers and painters and the like. One older woman there, who the younger people scorn for her coldness, is revealed to be an exquisitely sensitive artist, who sings powerfully but is always disappointed in how she falls short of her ideals. Highlighting the experience and disappointments of middle age alongside the judgements and expectations of youthful artistic hopefuls was really effective and moving. 

This is the second volume in this six volume series (I only have one left to read) and so far it's the lightest, or perhaps the most straightforwardly entertaining one. While there is plenty of despair, drama, and tragedy included, there are also lighter moments and livelier stories included. I really enjoyed this one!