Duel

by Borys Antonenko-Davydovych, Yuri Tkacz (Translator)

The central character in the gripping, psychological novel Duel is the Ukrainian intellectual Kost Horobenko. Set in the first years of the new Soviet Ukrainian state, the period of militant Communism, Horobenko, is forever duelling with his alter ego, the Ukrainian nationalist.




This novel is one of a number of early works from the 1920s by Borys Antonenko-Davydovych, in which the writer tries to analyse the fate of intellectuals during the revolution in the Russian Empire, in particular the fate of those who were initially active in the Ukrainian national revival, and later, because of changed circumstances, were forced to switch to cooperating with the Soviet authorities. Of Antonenko-Davydovych's works devoted to this question, it is the largest and most profound, according to the literary critic Hryhoriy Kostiuk, and is psychologically complex and multifaceted. The works by Antonenko-Davydovych were welcomed for his rather sharp, satirical view of life.




The novel was first published in the magazine Zhyttia i revoliutsiia in 1927 (iss. 10-12). It was subsequently published in this English translation by Lastivka Press in 1986, with a print run of 2000 copies, and it has been out of print for many years. 

208 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 24, 2022

Reviews

[Charise]

This book was not written to have likeable characters or a rip roaring story line it's supposed to make you think. It tells the experiences of Horobenko a Ukrainian Communist who is struggling and often failing to push down his strong national sentiments.

This is certainly not the genre I normally read so I may not be able to appreciate it as much as others but I wanted to challenge myself to read tougher literature that is connected to my Ukrainian heritage. Even though I read a translation it was clear that the author is a skilled writer and with just a few words he was able to describe - so that it felt like you were there - the places and people that Horobenko meet. The mental battles Horobenko has with himself are also skilfully written.

In the end, I can't personally rate it higher than 3 because I just couldn't like Horobenko because of his actions. I think if we met the feeling would mutual, fortunately for us, that won't ever happen.

[Mandy]

Borys Antonenko-Davydovych (1899-1984) was a post-revolutionary writer determined to revive Ukrainian literature and fight against Soviet Russia’s suppression of Ukrainian culture. He was arrested and sentenced to hard labour in Siberia where he remained for 21 years, only returning to Kyiv in 1956. In the 1970s there was renewed repression of Ukrainian culture and he was once again attacked by the authorities and his writing stopped being published. His novel Duel was first published in 1927 but instantly brought down the wrath of the Soviet regime. The book tells of a party worker during the period of militant Communism and is set in a small provincial town. It’s based largely on the author’s own experience and thus has a ring of authenticity. The protagonist is Kost Horobenko, a former Ukrainian nationalist who has now thrown his lot in with the Soviets. He accepts the Party’s instructions, however brutal, but struggles with his conscience, not least when required to carry out requisitions. Outwardly a true believer, he is constantly duelling with his alter ego, the Ukrainian nationalist he once was, and struggles to control his sympathies. But whatever he does, and however ruthlessly he carries out his orders, he can never live down the taint of his previous sympathies and is considered “unstable” on account of these. He is fully aware of the “mass poverty, misery, destruction” around him with famine drawing closer, and becomes increasingly conflicted about his actions. There are two particularly painful scenes in one of which he has to take away someone’s family piano, and in another he uselessly takes away a physics teacher’s microscope – with no justification. He even stoops to inform on his colleagues, so desperate is he for acceptance. The novel is a psychologically insightful and astute portrait of a man at war with himself, a sharp and sometime satirical look at Party edicts, and a multi-layered and complex exploration of political accommodations. Some useful footnotes help with understanding the background.

[Owen Hatherley]

Interesting, if sometimes simplistic, tale of a Ukrainian nationalist turned Communist circa the end of the Civil War, embarassed but stuck in the village, dreaming of higher things but prepared to do very cruel things to get there. So little of the 'Executed Renaissance' (some of whom, like the author, were not actually executed) of the '20s is translated that it's worth reading even if you're only slightly interested in the time and place.