(Glas, No 12) 

edited by Ed Hogan, Askold Melnyczuk, Michael Naydan

Book Description: Since perestroika, the helpful introduction to this collection tells us, the Ukraine emerged not only from Soviet repression, but from a centuries-old suppression of Ukrainian traditions and language. A signal aspect of this new freedom was the rediscovery of the mother tongue. If anything is "Ukrainian" in the stories and poems of the 16 youthful writers introduced here, it must be the desire to trample limitations. Also common is a raw, vital expression, one of rough edges and provincial awkwardness, evident in Volodymyr Dibrova's recounting of the consequences of mixing testosterone and alcohol at a wedding. Bohdan Zholdak adroitly skewers moral hypocrisy in "Seven Temptations"; Valery Shevchuk and Yuri Vynnychuk start with fairy-tale formats and mold X-rated fables; and Konstiantyn Moskalets portrays a bizarre tragedy both poignant and perverse. More subdued is Yuri Andrukhovych's tale of a returned Afghan fighter, suffocating in abjection. The supernatural as spiritual underpins Oleksander Irvanets's tale of love and suicide, and in Yevhen Pashkovsky's tear-jerker, biblical passages susurrate amidst poverty and inhuman cruelty. Lacking support from a national literary tradition, and compelled to break from things Russian, these Ukrainian writers have moved to uncharted diversity by attraction and rebellion in turn. (Publisher's Weekly review)

Recommendation: This book was recommended to me by frequent Orange Ukraine reader and commenter IIU. From the Ukrainian Weekly Review: "Paves the way for future publications in the overlooked field of contemporary Ukrainian literature - a field rich with talented writers and volumes of excellent writings awaiting publication. The difficult task of selecting 15 writers from this pool and assembling them, in translation, in one book is a truly commendable feat."