My local libraries recently added a number of Ukrainian novels in translation to their databases, and according to NRP some bookstores are selling out of books about Ukraine and Russia. It’s no surprise people want to learn more in light of the current devastation in Ukraine. I’ve put a number of books on hold at my library and added even more to my TBR. But when I thought about putting together a list of Ukrainian historical fiction for this newsletter, I figured it would be too niche a topic to explore. After all, the list of Ukrainian literature written or translated into English isn’t exactly extensive. But it turns out, I was wrong. There is some great historical fiction out there from Ukrainian writers–and available in English!–which can provide a jumping off point for people wanting to learn more about Ukraine. Here are a few that I’ve found:
I Will Die in a Foreign Land by Kalani Pickhart
In 1913 Paris, a Russian ballet incited a riot. A century later, protestors gather in Kyiv to protest the president’s decision to forge a closer alliance with Putin’s Russia instead of signing a referendum with the EU, only to face bloodshed when military police shoot live ammunition into the crowd, killing more than a hundred peaceful protestors. Blending voices of the past and present while following the lives of four very different people over the course of one volatile Ukrainian winter, I Will Die in a Foreign Land paints a picture of a turbulent Slavic history and how it has led to events today.
The Museum of Abandoned Secrets by Oksana Zabuzhko, translated by Nina Shevchuk-Murray
The Museum of Abandoned Secrets is a multigenerational saga spanning sixty years of Ukrainian history. When a journalist unearths an old photograph of a member of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army killed by Stalin’s secret police, she decides it would be the perfect subject for a documentary. But opening this door to the past may affect the present as Darya discovers a painter who died under suspicious circumstances and may just be the latest victim of a corrupt political power play that stretches back to World War II.
Something Unbelievable by Maria Kuznetsova
Struggling to balance her life as a new mother, Natasha looks to her beloved grandmother Larissa, asking her to share the story of their family’s wartime escape from Nazis in Kiev. Larissa tells the story of their three years hiding out in the Ural mountains, shocking both herself and Natasha with the parallels to present.
According to a 2001 census, the vast majority of Ukrainians are of ethnic Ukrainian descent (77.5%), with the other largest faction (17.2%) being ethnically Russian. All of the books included on this list are from people of those ethnicities, perhaps unsurprisingly since they make up so much of Ukraine’s population. However, they don’t represent the totality of the Ukrainian people. Other groups, including Crimeans, Armenians, Romani, and Azerbaijanis also have stories to tell, and I hope as more books are written and translated into English, we will see them as well.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
MORE FROM AROUND THE WEB:
NPR wants you to read these 6 books about Ukraine.
The New Yorker rounds up literary voices from Ukraine and Russia.
BOOK RIOT RECS:
That’s it for now, folx! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.
If you want to talk books (historical or otherwise), you can find me @rachelsbrittain on Instagram, Goodreads, Litsy, and occasionally Twitter.
Right now I’m reading The Verifiers by Jane Pek and The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn. What about you?