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Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors: An Early-20th-Century Ukrainian Classic from the Carpathians—Newly Translated into English
A Ukrainian classic—now in clear, contemporary English.
High in the Carpathian Mountains, among the Hutsuls, love blooms and breaks against rock and river. Ivan and Marichka grow up on songs, trembitas, and the roar of the Cheremosh—until an accident tears them apart. Years later, Ivan marries Palahna, but the marriage curdles; a molfar’s “help” tempts the village; jealousy takes root; and the mountains watch as choices—good and bad—work out their consequences. Nature is a living presence here, and so are custom, music, and the old tales. First published in 1911, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is the short novel that made Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky a touchstone of Ukrainian modernist prose.
What you’ll find
A Carpathian folk tragedy told in luminous, musical prose.
Unforgettable Ivan and Marichka; Palahna; Yura the molfar; a village bound by song, work, and ritual.
Nature as storming rivers, high pastures, and the Chornohora ridge—landscape that shapes fate.
Folk life, belief, and charms, omens, and envy that corrode and break lives—set against truthful love, fidelity, and care that make people whole and build what endures.
Themes of love and loss, community and conscience, rendered with clarity and heart.
About this edition
Translated into fluent, contemporary English by Anastasiia Shestopal, faithful in sense and image yet easy to read.
Proper names follow modern Ukrainian transliteration (e.g., Hutsul, Cheremosh, Chornohora); cultural terms kept where natural (trembita, floiara, kolomyika; chuhayster “forest spirit,” aridnyk “evil spirit,” shcheznyk “the Vanisher”).
Songs are set as verse; clean Kindle formatting; no footnotes—just the story.
Drafting used AI as a tool; the finished text reflects substantial human authorship and craft.
Source novella by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky (1911) is in the public domain.
Start reading now—or borrow with Kindle Unlimited.
High in the Carpathian Mountains, among the Hutsuls, love blooms and breaks against rock and river. Ivan and Marichka grow up on songs, trembitas, and the roar of the Cheremosh—until an accident tears them apart. Years later, Ivan marries Palahna, but the marriage curdles; a molfar’s “help” tempts the village; jealousy takes root; and the mountains watch as choices—good and bad—work out their consequences. Nature is a living presence here, and so are custom, music, and the old tales. First published in 1911, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is the short novel that made Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky a touchstone of Ukrainian modernist prose.
What you’ll find
A Carpathian folk tragedy told in luminous, musical prose.
Unforgettable Ivan and Marichka; Palahna; Yura the molfar; a village bound by song, work, and ritual.
Nature as storming rivers, high pastures, and the Chornohora ridge—landscape that shapes fate.
Folk life, belief, and charms, omens, and envy that corrode and break lives—set against truthful love, fidelity, and care that make people whole and build what endures.
Themes of love and loss, community and conscience, rendered with clarity and heart.
About this edition
Translated into fluent, contemporary English by Anastasiia Shestopal, faithful in sense and image yet easy to read.
Proper names follow modern Ukrainian transliteration (e.g., Hutsul, Cheremosh, Chornohora); cultural terms kept where natural (trembita, floiara, kolomyika; chuhayster “forest spirit,” aridnyk “evil spirit,” shcheznyk “the Vanisher”).
Songs are set as verse; clean Kindle formatting; no footnotes—just the story.
Drafting used AI as a tool; the finished text reflects substantial human authorship and craft.
Source novella by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky (1911) is in the public domain.
Start reading now—or borrow with Kindle Unlimited.
56 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 8, 2025
1 person want to read
About the author
Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky
87 books69 followersMykhailo Mykhailovych Kotsiubynsky (Ukrainian: Михайло Михайлович Коцюбинський), (September 17, 1864 – April 25, 1913) was a Ukrainian author whose writings described typical Ukrainian life at the start of the 20th century. Kotsiubynsky's early stories were described as examples of ethnographic realism; in the years to come, with his style of writing becoming more and more sophisticated, he evolved into one of the most talented Ukrainian impressionist and modernist writers.
During the Soviet period, Kotsiubynsky was honoured as a realist and a revolutionary democrat. A literary-memorial museum was opened in Vinnytsia in 1927 in the house where he was born.
About twenty novels were published during Kotsiubynsky's life. Several of them have been translated to other European languages.
During the Soviet period, Kotsiubynsky was honoured as a realist and a revolutionary democrat. A literary-memorial museum was opened in Vinnytsia in 1927 in the house where he was born.
About twenty novels were published during Kotsiubynsky's life. Several of them have been translated to other European languages.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
November 22, 2025
This is a beautiful book. I can only imagine the quality of the original Ukrainian. A little research before and after helped this American reader appreciate the context and be able to visualize the Carpathian Mountains setting.
Displaying 1 of 1 review