Sunday Suggestions

 

Today's suggestions are novels that I think are ones to seek out if you want to understand Ukraine. I find fiction a great way to get a sense of people and places, and these are really good stories for that! 

The Museum of Abandoned Secrets / Oksana Zabuzhko
translated from the Ukrainian by Nina Shevchuk-Murray

The Museum of Abandoned Secrets is a lengthy, twisty, lively, and evocative story of three women in Ukraine - two in a contemporary timeline and one in WWII. This is a must-read for those interested in learning more about the Ukrainian past, as well as the national psyche. I find Zabuzhko's almost breathless, energetic style very readable, and enjoy the way she can make dark themes snappy and engaging. Full Review Here. 

Daughter / Tamara Duda
trans. from the Ukrainian by Daisy Gibbons

This is the story of a woman from Donbas as the Russian invasion of 2014 begins, following the Maidan protests. The main character is a stained glass artist with a workshop, but as the Russian occupation begins she becomes a supporter of the Ukrainian defence forces. The story is based on the true experiences of a variety of people, but is a fictional account of this era, and  is immensely compelling. Full Review Here. 

Ivan & Phoebe / Oksana Lutsyshyna
trans. from the Ukrainian by Nina Murray

This story of a young couple, Ivan and Phoebe, melds the conversation about a free Ukraine and revolution/protest with a closer look at domestic life and the relations between the sexes. There are the same problems showing up in different ways between the political body and real bodies as Ukraine moves into the tumultuous 90s. Full Review Here. 

This a read with stylistic flourishes, structural concepts and a large cast of characters. It follows a "made family" formed in 1986 when four women give birth and a local functionary bribes them into naming one of the children at least after German Communist leader Ernst Thälmann  -- the parents are the last Soviet generation; these children are destined to be the first post-Soviet one. Fragmentary, wide-ranging and fascinating, this is a must read. Full Review Here.