Serhiy Zhadan: Інтернат (The Orphanage)

The latest addition to my website is Serhiy Zhadan‘s Інтернат (The Orphanage).It is set in the Ukraine-Russia border area, after the illegal Russian takeover of Crimea but before the illegal invasion. However, there is considerable turmoil as the Russians are aiding the separatists to move into Ukraine. Pasha is a teacher whose nephew, Sasha, (father … Read more

Yuriy Vynnychuk: Танґо смерті (Tango of Death)

The latest addition to my website is Yuriy Vynnychuk‘s Танґо смерті (Tango of Death). This is a very complex novel, set mainly in Lviv. It is told in alternating chapters. The first set tells the story of four boys/men whose fathers were killedby the Russian force of Grigory Kotovsky, a professional bandit and vicious thug. … Read more

Ukrainian literature

Every year at about this time I focus on books from just one country. Last year I had a country in mind and then we decided to go to Norway so I switched to Norway. Soon after starting the Norway read, Putin started his nasty illegal invasion of Ukraine so I had no doubt that … Read more

Alla Gorbunova: Конец света, моя любовь It’s the End of the World, My Love)

The latest addition to my website is Alla Gorbunova‘s Конец света, моя любовь It’s the End of the World, My Love). Gorbunova is primarily a poet and this is to a great extent a poet’s novel. We start with the unnamed female narrator telling various stories about life and her life in a post-Soviet small … Read more

Boris Poplavsky: Домой с небес (Homeward from Heaven)

The latest addition to my website is Boris Poplavsky‘s Домой с небес (Homeward from Heaven). This is a follow-up to his earlier Аполлон Безобразов (Apollon Bezobrazov) and, indeed, features the devilish character Apollon Bezobrazov, who appears to assist our hero, Oleg, when things are not going well. Oleg is a Russian exile living in Paris … Read more

Bakhtiyar Ali: Duwahamîn Henarî Dunya (The Last Pomegranate Tree In The World)

The latest addition to my website is Bakhtiyar Ali‘s Henarî Dunya (The Last Pomegranate Tree In The World). This is another superb novel from Bakhtiyar Ali telling the story of Muzafar-i Subhdam who had been captured while fighting Saddam Hussein and kept imprisoned in a remote desert prison for 21 years, unaware that Saddam has … Read more