This new book, by one of Ukraine's most prominent young literary figures, is an eyewitness account of the political and cultural changes in the tumultuous months of 1990-91 that led to Ukraine's declaration of independence. Solomea Pavlychko, a specialist in British and American literature whose translations include works by D.H. Lawrence and William Golding, provides a lucid, incisive picture of the key events in this remarkable period, capturing superbly the hopes and fears of those involved. Letters from Kiev is expertly translated by Myrna Kostash and the text is fully annotated for the Western reader by Dr. Bohdan Krawchenko, to whom Solomea Pavlychko originally wrote her letters. Also included are a number of memorable pictures of the crisis by Ukrainian photographers.
I really enjoyed reading this set of letters about the immense drama and caos going on in the early 90s in Ukraine. Solomea Pavlychko greatly describes events, that were held there, people's thoughts and affecting conditions they were living in as well as happenings in her and her family's lives. The book has precisely shown me that little part of my country's history.
小芯谢芯屑褨褟 袩邪胁谢懈褔泻芯 is one of the most prominent public figures in our culture (a writer, translator, literature researcher and critic, publisher of scientific literature, etc.), an early new-age feminist, and just an active participant of the intellectual life in Ukraine overall. Unfortunately, she died from an accident when she was only 41 (in 1999). Ironically, even although her daughter, 袘芯谐写邪薪邪 袩邪胁谢懈褔泻芯, is the heiress and owner of 小芯谢芯屑褨褟 袩邪胁谢懈褔泻芯鈥檚 publishing house 鈥溞炑佇叫拘残糕€� and 鈥溞捬呅拘葱感恍� 写芯 锌褉芯褦泻褌褍 卸褍褉薪邪谢褍 Forbes 锌褉芯 30 褍泻褉邪褩薪褑褨胁, 褟泻褨 写芯褋褟谐谢懈 褍褋锌褨褏褍 写芯 30 褉芯泻褨胁,鈥� 小芯谢芯屑褨褟 袩邪胁谢懈褔泻芯鈥檚 own books now are mostly not available for Ukrainian readers for many years, despite that they are definitely an important part of our cultural legacy. (This year, they republished her large work 鈥溞斝秆佇貉冄€褋 屑芯写械褉薪褨蟹屑褍 胁 褍泻褉邪褩薪褋褜泻褨泄 谢褨褌械褉邪褌褍褉褨鈥� for the first time since 1997, but everything else is still 鈥渂ibliographical rarities,鈥� as it is called now, and can be sometimes found only at a flea market for extraordinary prices 鈥� probably not because these books are SO priceless per se but because people who are interested in them do not have any other choice.)
So, this book, 鈥溞浶秆佈傂� 蟹 袣懈褦胁邪,鈥� is also not available in any format except for a pirate audiobook. And it鈥檚 a pity, because this book is quite interesting and important for our recent history. Not SO interesting and important to buy it for extraordinary prices, of course, but it would be nice to have at least a legal e-book for purchase 鈥� I suppose there would not be many readers for it in the whole Ukraine, but those few who are interested would find it a curious and thought-provoking material.
The book is basically a memoir (more or less a live chronology of current events, similar to a diary, only written in the form of letters to a friend) that reflects our social and political life in 1990-1991, on the eve of the formal disintegration of the USSR and declaration of the independence of Ukraine. I thought that I knew about this period well enough but 鈥溞浶秆佈傂� 蟹 袣懈褦胁邪鈥� shows that there were many more very interesting processes and events than I was aware before.
It should be said that this book focuses on politics (various meetings, political figures, speeches, votes, parties, etc.). This is both a positive and negative aspect of this book. Positive 鈥� because I learned about politics of this period much more than I imagined was possible for the rudiment 鈥減olitical life鈥� of the dying but still kicking USSR, and there were indeed a lot of remarkable trends and processes that require our attention today. For example, one of the central themes in 小芯谢芯屑褨褟 袩邪胁谢懈褔泻芯鈥檚 observations are turbulent discussions of a 鈥淣ew Union Treaty鈥� (鈥溞澬拘惭嬓� 褋芯褞蟹薪褘泄 写芯谐芯胁芯褉鈥�) and the referendum on maintaining the USSR as a 鈥渞enewed federation,鈥� i.e., an attempt to save the USSR and 鈥渞e-establish鈥� it as a new democratic union (鈥淏eautiful Russia USSR of the Future,鈥� ahaha), while many republics, including Ukraine, were already very much thinking about independence and were fed up with the Soviet life overall. (You can see the direct parallel with what will be going on in Russia soon, right?) Overall, it was a very weird time with a bizarre mixture of new, unprecedented freedoms and forces and old lies, repressive practices, and covert intrigues. It should be studied and discussed, and 鈥溞浶秆佈傂� 蟹 袣懈褦胁邪鈥� is definitely an important key to this period.
On the other hand, many names and events she describes are already largely forgotten, or their significance at the time requires at least an explanation, so I hope that if this book is republished someday, it will have informative commentaries about all this. I myself am not very ignorant about the general atmosphere of the time and its key public figures but I was still often lost regarding why the author focuses on such or such personalities or events and what she is discussing overall. (However, it was funny to meet a very familiar name, 袦邪泻褋懈屑 小褌褉褨褏邪, whom we know now mostly as a great translator, while 小芯谢芯屑褨褟 袩邪胁谢懈褔泻芯 talks about his political activity at the time, as he was 鈥溞葱敌垦冄傂把� 锌械褉褕芯谐芯 写械屑芯泻褉邪褌懈褔薪芯谐芯 褋泻谢懈泻邪薪薪褟 袣懈褩胁褉邪写懈.鈥�)
The book starts on May 12, 1990, and ends on April 02, 1991. I was somewhat disappointed that she finished the book in the spring of 1991 (for some reason, she increasingly felt discomfort from writing it and did not want to continue at some point, probably because she did not believe that 鈥渆verything will end up fine鈥�), although I suppose that the most interesting events were unfolding right after it, in the summer-winter of 1991, and I was eager to read about all this, but no, the book ends quite abruptly, in the middle of nowhere.
Interestingly, the book was published first in Canada in English translation, in 1992 (according to the initial purpose of the 鈥渓etters鈥� written as evidence of Ukrainian life for a friend in Canada, 袘芯谐写邪薪 袣褉邪胁褔械薪泻芯, 鈥溞葱秆€械泻褌芯褉 袣邪薪邪写褋褜泻芯谐芯 褨薪褋褌懈褌褍褌褍 褍泻褉邪褩薪褋褜泻懈褏 褋褌褍写褨泄 褍 袣邪薪邪写褨,鈥� who later became her husband), and appeared in print in Ukraine almost 10 years later, in 2000 (why???). And, as I already said, there have been no other republications of it yet.
I would love to quote some fragments from the book here but I do not have the text ((. Anyway, it鈥檚 an interesting book but you should already know 鈥渨hat was going on鈥� in general to enjoy it in full.