Read a Ukrainian Book

Ukraine is very much on the hearts and minds of many of us.

While reading fiction and poetry is not a substitute for staying informed on the conflict, it can help form connections and help us to understand the people and culture concerned.

I've decided to read at least one Ukrainian novel in English translation over the coming weeks, and thought there might be other people interested in doing so too, and in sharing thoughts and reflections on the books we read.

I've been doing some research and have located some lists of novels and books of poetry. I haven't read any of them yet so have no idea what they are like! But I thought a list of possible titles might help. Some have direct connections with what's happening now, others are fiction about other things.

If you have other suggestions for either Ukrainian poetry or Ukrainian fiction, please add them to the comments box below.

Grey Bees by Andrey Kurkov

Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex by Oksana Zabuzhko

Life Went on Anyway by Oleg Sentsov

A Biography of a Chance Miracle by Tanja Maljartschuk

Sweet Darusya: a tale of two villages by Maria Matios

The Moscoviad by Yuri Andrukhovych

A New Orthography by Serhiy Zhadan (poetry)

Apricots of Donbas by Lyuba Yakimchuk (poetry)

Any of the books in the Contemporary Ukrainian Poetry Series from Lost Horse Press

Our Others: Stories of Ukranian Diversity, edited by Olesya Yaremchuk (non-fiction but looks interesting)

Mondegreen: Songs about death and love by Volodymry Rafeyenko

Your Ad could go here by Oksana Zabuzhko

Carbide by Andriy Lyubka

Stars and Poppy Seeds by Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv (children's book)

The Orphanage by Serhiy Zhadan

Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky (poetry)

The Unsimple by Taras Prokhasko

The Museum of Abandoned Secrets by Oksana Zabuzhko

The Land of Stone Flowers by Sveta Dorosheva

The House with Stained Glass Windows by Zana Sloniowska

Mesopotamia by Serhiy Zhadan

For the swap:

Read one book by a Ukrainian writer or set in Ukraine.

Send an email to your 2 partners telling them what you read and what you thought of it.

If there are any questions about this swap, please message me.

Obviously you can start reading before partners are assigned!

Rating promptly is a requirement of this swap.