How we ground ourselves in the most difficult times

in focus

Ukrainian Fiction for Understanding the War

Sep 28, 2024

Serhiy Zhadan, the first author in this Ukrainian fiction selection for understanding the war, was nominated for the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature.

He is a writer, poet, translator, volunteer, and musician.

And, since the beginning of the summer 2024, Serhiy has been serving with the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine "Khartiya."

The Orphanage grips you from the first page and is read in one breath. The events unfold over three days, with the tension building with each page, compelling the reader to keep going until they find out how the journey of Pasha, an ordinary schoolteacher living “somewhere in Donbas,“ ends.

Pasha is a complex character who evokes a wide range of emotions in the reader — from sympathy to indignation.

The Orphanage is a story about an entire region, once perceived as separate, but for which the struggle to control continues.

The novel raises crucial questions of choice and self-identity, while exploring themes of national psychology, patriotism, radicalism, and liberal indifference.

Link to buy "The Orphanage"

Train stations and schools will remain standing until they are bombed. And so they stand — without light, heat, or flags.

Serhiy Zhadan, "The Orphanage"

Tamara Duda is the author of the next book in our selection, continuing with the theme of Eastern Ukraine. She is a writer and translator.

Her first book, Daughter, won the 2022 Shevchenko National Prize for Literature, Ukraine's highest state prize for cultural works.

The events of the novel Daughter unfold in the spring and summer of 2014. Duda provides a detailed account of the Euromaidan events in Donetsk, highlighting how many people in Eastern Ukraine, despite stereotypes to the contrary, supported European and democratic values.

It is here, in Donetsk, that the heroine lost her family, home, job, and illusions — and it is here that she gathered the pieces of her life, finding new purpose.

This book is genuine and alive. It is about life and love, about home and homeland, about courage and the right to move forward with your head held high.

Link to buy "Daughter"

If anyone ever gets around to writing a chronicle of this war, the first three volumes could easily be titled "Chaos, Anarchy, and Courage."

Tamara Duda "Daughter"

The third fiction in this selection is by Volodymyr Rafeyenko. From 1992 to 2018, he was know as an author of Russian literature.

In 2014, however, he moved to the Kyiv region and learned the Ukrainian language. With his new novel, he became a full-fledged representative of Ukrainian literature as well.

Published in 2019, Mondegreen (Songs about Death and Love) brings readers deep into the the emotions of a displaced Ukrainian. It tells the story of a refugee fleeing from Donbas to Kyiv during the Russo-Ukrainian war that started in 2014.

Rafeyenko's unique and captivating style immerses his audience in the drastic changes of people and cities impacted by fighting, destruction, and terror, how it cuts into their relationships and cultural identity.

Mondegreen is also a story about language, memory, PTSD, and Kyiv. Intriguing, isn't it?

Link to buy "Mondegreen (Songs about Death and Love)"

To see a rat in a person, you need to closely observe their reflection in the mirror when they don't know you're watching. But seriously, sometimes it's enough to just exchange a word or two with them, check out their Facebook page, touch on a language issue, or ask whose Crimea it is.

Volodymyr Rafeyenko "Mondegreen (Songs about Death and Love)"

Last in our fiction selection is How War Changed Rondo, a picture book by husband-and-wife artists, Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv. The couple, working out of their Agrafka Studio, specialize in graphics, painting, and design. They are among the most popular Ukrainian illustrators abroad.

In this award-winning picture book, How War Changed Rondo, war has no heart and doesn't understand any language. It touches everyone and leaves scars on all. But, if we come together, create a machine of light, and keep singing despite everything, even the most fragile of us can endure and overcome.

This fantastical book offers a wonderful opportunity to have meaningful conversations with kids (or even yourself) about what's happening in Ukraine or other parts of the world today. The story is magical and always leaves room for hope and optimism.

Link to buy “How War Changed Rondo”

Instead of black flowers, red poppies grew from the ground. Before the War, poppies of various colors grew in Rondo — pink, yellow, purple, crimson, white — but there had never been any like these red ones. Now, all the poppies were only red.

Romana Romanyshyn & Andriy Lesiv “How War Changed Rondo”

This selection of Ukrainian fiction offers deep insight into the experiences and emotions shaped by the ongoing war.

By reading even one book from this selection, you will gain a better understanding of the events leading up to the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the impact of the war on its people, on the nation as a whole.

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If you are interested in reading and discussing more, the Temerty Contemporary Ukraine Program at the Harvard Ukrainian Research Institute is delighted to announce the return of their TCUP Book Club in October 2024. It's open to the public and you're welcome to register HERE https://bit.ly/3MrcDlj.
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Explore and stand with Ukrainians as you become absorbed in their stories and share them far and wide.

Ilona Batulina

Preserving the soul
of Mariupol