*An English translation available for anyone interested.
The story takes place in 2004 and then in 2013/2014. Denis, a young would-be filmmaker from Kiev, meets a famous woman in a Carpathian mountain resort. Their brief romance haunts him throughout his adult life. The novel traces his life as the repercussions on that encounter begin affecting other people around him, including his young spontaneous wife. The novel dips into modern Ukrainian life, flies over to the states, to Scotland and then back to Ukraine again to an event that all the characters become entangled in.
At times I was blown away by the author's ability to write Ukrainian people so well. I recognized a lot of the thoughts and opinions and jokes and subtleties from my own childhood. Rozdobudko is also excellent at describing places. Every time the scenery changed it was easy to become plunged into the new surroundings. Scents, sounds, streets came alive with her words. The characters were well-written, even if desperately flawed.
The book got a low rating from me because stylistically and plot-wise it was a mess. Each place that Leeka ended up in could have been a novel in itself but was always cut too short. I also did not understand why she needed to leave every time. The reasons for her changing places became more and more contrived by the end. Denis was no better. His various love interests seem to have been only placeholders for when he wasn't busy with something else.
There were so many unanswered threads at the end. How did Liza and Desmond end up back in Ukraine? What happened to Josh and Melanie? What was the result of Maidan Ukraine-wide? And although she described the feelings of people standing on Maidan really well--so well in fact that I felt just as dizzy reading the novel as I did first hearing the news about is--her depiction of the conflict was fairly one sided. Opposing views are mentioned but always in a negative light. All of her characters became supporters of Maidan, which is an unfair perspective. What about the people who were watching it happen with horror? What about the people in other places besides Kiev? I think because of the lack of focus in the plot, Rozdobudko left very little space to adequately explore the conflict (which seems like the central purpose of writing the novel). This should have been a novel just about Maidan, the events leading up to it and the events after. I was also not a fan of the glorification of war at the end. I perfectly understand the patriotism she wanted to show, but it felt a little out of place and too much like beating us over the head with it.
Stylistically, the sentences sometimes ended abruptly leading to whole new thoughts right after. Other times a memory from the past would blend into the rest of the text where it was hard to tell what was happening. The editorial breaks were horrendous.
And the final nail in the coffin was how melodramatic each relationship was in the novel. Characters didn't seem to understand why they were making life-changing decisions. I just didn't believe people could really be like that.
So, although I thought some parts were REALLY well done, many other parts were sub-par. Curious to see what other contemporary Ukrainian authors have to offer.
I found the story of this book intriguing and on the whole I liked the characters. This is a book that meanders rather than finding a strong storyline to follow, but that is not always a bad thing as it led to a more reflective piece of fiction.
My main issue with this book was that the translation felt a little clunky at times. Perhaps the original was the same, but my belief is that it is more of a translation problem. Also there were a reasonably large number of typographical errors that really detracted from my enjoyment of the book as I had to keep reading sentences that didn't make sense due to these errors. Hopefully that can be fixed for future releases/editions.
All the same, the book held my interest to the end and I would recommend it to those interested in modern Russian literature and fans of more reflective fiction.
I received this book as an e-copy for review from the publisher.
Young screenwriter Denys meets a gorgeous woman named Liza. Denys is younger than Liza and not as wise in the ways of the world. Liza is in her late twenties and the mother of a young girl named Lika. Liza discourages Denys and becomes particularly upset when he attends a class she teaches, but Denys is obsessed and his obsession continues well into his thirties. By this point, Liza has forgotten him but Denys can't move on with his life until the joy he should have appreciated disappears. Will Denys find the only woman who ever truly loved him or is it too late?
There's much more to this book than I'm sharing because I enjoyed the surprises and don't want to spoil it for anyone. The Lost Button begins slowly and Denys is a really unlikable character, so I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy the book. Then, it takes a dramatic turn. From that point on, I absolutely could not put the book down till I finished. When obsession takes a back seat to mystery and then the story shifts to explain the psychology of what's happened to his true love and why, The Lost Button truly becomes an amazing piece of writing -- gripping, fascinating, unique. Apart from the slow beginning, I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it.
The Lost Button is by a Ukranian author and my edition is a translation. There were a few bumpy spots and I always wish for a glossary when non-English words are used, but the story was good enough to overlook the occasional bit that was hard to understand. And, there are some explanatory footnotes, which were much appreciated.
Ever been in love? I'm sure many of you have. How deeply do or did you love this person? What if this person didn't return your affections? How far would you go to profess your love for this person? Would you let this love consume your life? Is it love or obsession? I was thinking all of those things while reading The Lost Button by Irene Rozdobudko.
Dan a.k.a. Denys was coming of age in 1970s Ukraine. At 18, the impressionable film student took a trip to a vacation resort where he meets a mysterious actress. Elyzaveta Tenetska, a.k.a Liza, immediately captivates Denys' heart. One night in the woods and Denys knows that this woman is the love of his life. Liza doesn't quite feel the same.
It was a very quick read (I mean, it's only 181 pages). I absolutely loved the first 3/4 of the book and did not enjoy the last quarter of it at all. Nothing made sense. It even felt like it was written by a completely different author. I had way too many questions when I finished reading it. Also, the translation wasn't all that great. There were sentences that didn't makes sense in English at all, their construction was all wrong.
Irene Rozdobudko has written several successful novels and appears to be a well liked author.
I, however, did not enjoy The Lost Button. I did not particularly like the characters and could not identify with them. The most wearisome thing about reading this book was that I could not find a story line.