Scrisori de dragoste și de război

by Viktoriya Matyusha, Pavlo Matyusha, Doan Bui

Scrisori de dragoste și de război este o carte excepțională despre vremurile de acum și despre cum moartea poate fi învinsă, din viață, prin dragoste. Jurnalista franceză Doan Bui a fost o punte între cei doi soți și iubiți Viktoria și Pavlo Matiușa, propunându-le un epistolar de rezistență, problematizare, tandrețe și împărtășire în care Ucraina, viii și morții, familia, dar și necunoscuții, fac parte dintr-un angrenaj uriaș și dramatic. Tragedia Ucrainei este depășită, în aceste scrisori, prin speranță, patriotism și, nu în ultimul rând, prin iubire. Viktoria și Pavlo construiesc un cuib al întregii lor vieți, derulate sub lupa războiului, iar acest cuib narativ îi adună statornic și îi face să fie supraviețuitori tenace. Epistolarul lor devine astfel o mărturie esențială despre cum timpurile atroce, războiul și criza în cuplu nu pot totuși distruge credința în dragoste, prietenie, solidaritate. Cititorule, îți făgăduiesc că nu vei lăsa această carte din mână. Și că o vei dărui și altora să o citească.

Ruxandra Cesereanu

Hardcover

Published January 1, 2026

Reviews

[Mihai Zodian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lettres d`amour et de guerre is a book about intimacy under the stress of war. It evokes the power of literature to go beyond propaganda and to suggest to the reader the life and feelings of people living far away, in difficult conditions. Unfortunately, it is not a very popular book outside literary circles from where I found out about it, and I recommend it to anyone interested in going beyond simplistic ideas about the Russo-Ukrainian War, refugees and people caught in this tragedy. It is impressive and written with style.

Lettres d`amour et de guerre is built in two stages, united by the theme of imperialism. Doan Bui is a French journalist of (South) Vietnamese origin, who works for Nouvel Observateur on subjects like refugees. There are many parallels between Russian and Western European imperialism, one of them being the role played by language in the policies of the occupiers that attempt to erase native identities. As France tried in Indochine, Russia promoted its idiom and culture not only as a pragmatic device, but also as a sign of a supposedly more refined and modern civilization.

Lettres d`amour et de guerre goes into the depths of individual attitudes, during the war. It is a very humane and moving work, having in its center, Pavlo and Viktoria, a married couple with four children, who were separated by war. She had to take refuge in France, he volunteered to serve his country in the war against Russia, as an artillery instructor. They are literary people, Palvo, a rising star in writing and Viktoria, an editor and translator, and their letters represent most of the book`s content.

Writing letters in the age of the Internet is an intriguing device. Lettres d`amour et de guerre attests to the limit of communication by means of computers, and the texts were written by hand and passed on by Doan Bui from Pavlo to Viktoria and back. The reader sees a relationship going through ups and downs, people living under dire conditions, with a lot of death and suffering around them. There is also hope and humanity, nevertheless.

One also is struck by what Pavlo and Viktoria don`t tell, by the context of communication, the fact that they agreed to reveal their most intimate thoughts and feelings to strangers all over the (French) speaking world. There is a tale evolving in these letters, one that contains the promise that people will find a way out, even under dire conditions. The Romanian edition is very well prepared, with Mihai Traista, a Romanian writer of Ukrainian origin, providing the linguistic review. It is a book that will appeal to writers, yet I think that Lettres d`amour et de guerre is interesting for a wider audience, because of the universality of its message.