Love in Defiance of Pain: Ukrainian Stories

by Ali Kinsella (Editor), Zenia Tompkins (Editor), Ross Ufberg (Editor)

Love in Defiance of Pain: Ukrainian Stories aims to bring the riches of contemporary Ukrainian literature--and of contemporary Ukraine, too -- to the world.

While Ukraine is under sustained attack, many in the West have marveled at the nation's strength in the face of a barbaric invasion. Who are these people, what is this nation, which has captivated the world with their courage? By showcasing some of the finest Ukrainian writers working today, this book aims to help answer that question.

There are war stories, but there are also love stories. Stories of aging romantics in modern Ukraine, and of modern Ukrainians in Vienna and Brooklyn, a fantastical tale set on a mysterious island where people never die, a wild lovers' romp through modern-day Ukraine, a sobering account of an American war photographer, and a post-modern tale of a botanist in love. Some of these stories have been published before -- indeed, many are award-winning and acclaimed -- while some are appearing for the first time, making their rightful debut on the world stage. The range of voices, settings, and subjects in this vivid and varied collection show us how to "love in defiance of pain"--an apt phrase taken from the very first story in this book. Readers will be delighted and moved, and will gain insight into the proud history and contemporary life of Ukraine.

Authors include:

Sophia Andrukhovych, Yuri Andrukhovych, Stanislav Aseyev, Kateryna Babkina, Artem Chapeye, Liubko Deresh, Kateryna Kalytko, Oksana Lutsyshyna, Vasyl Makhno, Tanja Maljartschuk, Taras Prokhasko, Oleg Sentsov, Natalka Sniadanko, Olena Stiazhkina, Sashko Ushkalov, Oksana Zabuzhko, and Serhiy Zhadan


Proceeds from the sale of this collection will be donated to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Ukraine, Anthologies

310 pages, Paperback

First published September 13, 2022

About the author

Ali Kinsella has been translating from Ukrainian for eight years. Her published works include essays, poetry, monographs, and subtitles to various films. She holds an MA from Columbia University, where she wrote a thesis on the intersection of feminism and nationalism in small states. A former Peace Corps volunteer, Ali lived in Ukraine for nearly five years. She is currently in Chicago, where she also sometimes works as a baker.

Reviews

[Jolanta (knygupė) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Autoriai:
Sophia Andrukhovych; Yuri Andrukhovych; Stanislav Aseyev; Kateryna Babkina; Artem Chapeye; Kateryna Kalytko; Oksana Lutsyshyna; Vasyl Makhno; Tanja Maljartschuk; Taras Prokhasko; Oleg Sentsov; Natalka Sniadanko; Olena Stiazhkina; Sashko Ushkalov; Oksana Zabuzhko; Serhiy Zhadan;

18 man žinomų ir visai negirdėtų autorių. Labiausiai patiko Taraso Prokhasko apsakymas "Essai de deconstruction (An Attempt at Deconstruction)". Gal todėl, kad ten dvi veikėjos - bendravardės Anos, lyg būtų išslydę iš fantastiško Taraso romano "НепрОсті", kuriuo labai tikiuosi susidomės LT leidyklos.

O šiaip, labai sunkiai man skaitosi ukrainiečių literatūra angliškai. :(

[Anna Kļaviņa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Ukraine by Artem Chapeye 5*
She and I converged on a sullen love for our country. A hate - love, some might say. A love with a dash of masochism, I used to say. A love in defiance of pain, she used to say. And that was how she and I loved each other, too - though pain and a bit frantically

Vera and Flora by Kateryna Kalytko
A short story story /fairly tale.

In God's Language an excerpt from Мовою Бога by Олена Стяжкіна 5*
[...] they (Russians) started calling it 'the concentration camp'. With no shame. To end up in the concentration camp meant you were so close to death that you were good neither for digging trenches nor for bargaining with your relatives. They didn't even guard the prisoners here very closely, because they didn't have the strength to escape...
Surviving in occupied Donensk. Hopefully the book will be translated to English.

Richard the Chickenheart by Kateryna Babkina
A westerner in Ukraine, Odesa, 2nd May, 2014

A Sailor's Passport by Serhiy Zhadan
Zhadan writes like no other. Probably one of the best modern authors.

Trapaze Artists by Oksana Lutsyshyna
Meh

Brooklyn, Forty SecondStreet by Vasyl Makhno
An illegal immigrant troubles in NY

A Out of Tune Piano, an Accordion by Sophia Andrukhovych
🧐

Panda by Sashko Ushkalov
Oh! Short (dark) humourous story with an unexpected twist.

Me and my sacred cow by Tanja Maljartschuk
A young girls's nightmarish summer holidays stay at her grandmother village.

An attempt at deconstruction an excerpt from Інші дні Анни (Anna's Other Days) by Taras Prokhasko

Girls by Oksana Zabuzhko

Gradma by Oleh Sentsov

When to start, what not to pay attention to, or how to fall in love with George Michael an excerpt from Колекція пристрастей, або Пригоди молодої українки (The Passion Collection, or The Adventures and Misadventures of a Young Ukrainian Lady) by Natalka Sniadanko

The Owner of the Best Gay Bar by Serhiy Zhadan

The Bell an expert from The Torture Camp on Paradise Street by Stanislav Aseyev

Frogs in the sea by Tanja Maljartschuk

Samillo, or the Beautiful Brigand by Yuri Andrukhovych

[Paul Hedeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, given my intense attachments to Ukraine and my real affection for so many people there. But I only "liked" it. While the selections demonstrated what I would call passionate intensity, too many seemed to lack conviction about what is there to say about post-Soviet life and creativity. Too many stories were too happy with the thinner "weird" rather than the richer "strange" or "unique," with which "the" real Ukraine is so rich and its literary history of Bulgakov and Gogol promises.

That said, and its only my opinion, the collection also has enough bright spots to warrant its price. The Chapeye, Sentsov, Stiazhkina, Babkina, Ushkalov, and Zabuzhko were in very different ways excellent and engaging, capturing in their way the zany and sparkling intelligence that I associate with so much of Ukraine's frustrated yet rightful progress toward Europe, with which it belongs.

[Laila Collman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on the description, I was hoping for more from this collection of stories, but nevertheless did enjoy “The Ukraine” and “The Owner of the Best Gay Bar”.

[Echo · Rating 5 out of 5]

kind of crazy emotional about this. this was my first foray into Ukrainian literature and it certainly won't be the last. my relationship with my culture was already strained before the invasion and now that part of myself feels almost unreachable. but these stories were like little threads connecting that part of me to the thousands experiencing the same colours of diaspora. Слава Україні🇺🇦

FAVES
the ukraine
vera and flora
a sailor's passport
an out of tune piano, an accordion
me and my sacred cow!!!!
girls
the bell

[Evgeniya · Rating 5 out of 5]

My library got a couple of new books by Ukrainian authors.


I heard about K. Kalytko, O. Stiazhkina, K. Babkina, O. Lutzyshyna, V. Makhno, S. Ushkalov, N. Sniadanko.

I read a couple S. Zhadan and I. Zabuzhko, books I heard a lot about others.

The Ukraine.

Why The ? This short story shows us: how

Ukraine is different and the same at the same time. We see different parts of Ukraine, we can see different people, learn about their lives...

4 from 5

Vera and Flora

Kateryna K. short story is somehow beautiful, strange and crazy. It's about escaping the cruel world, making a beautiful world, giving up , learning how to live, making love, making friends, family. About trying to help people who are not good people.

It somehow reminded me of Slapstick. Novel by Kurt Vonnegut

4 from 5

From In God's Language

A very painful story , about the first days of russian occupation....

4.5 from 5

Richard the chickenheart

Another painful story, like I watched the news about 2014 , how it started....

3.5 from 5

A Sailor's passport

Kinda looks like the 90s came back. I heard these stories from some friends, but never saw it in the world around me.

4 from 5

Trapeze artists

Strange story

I'm not sure what this story about ...

Brooklyn, forty -second Street

Pretty good novel with not expected ended.

Ukrainian boy, entered the USA illegally, and he is looking how to become a legal in this country.

5 from 5

An out-if-tune piano, an accordion

Old men (in their 60s) started new life with a young girl (in her 40s). Women have a lot of problems, alcoholic, mental...

3.5 from 5

Panda

I'm not sure what this story is about.

...

Me and my sacred cow

Very depressed village, and people are leaving here. They are trying to survive. A lot of kids live in very abusive families.

4 from 5

Taras Prokhasko

Essai de deconstruction

Nostalgia ...

Dairy of a person who rents a room in a boarding house...

You never know which period you live in, whose, what field you're entering. This becomes clear when the period ends, when the force of the next death ushers us into new territories of the experience of dying.

5 from 5

Girls

This novel was published in early 90s. Story begins during Soviet's period. Girls experience first lesbian love, they gave sex in 5 or 6 grades. Lena has two lives. One regular, and another sex with 10s grader boy, then with PE teacher....

5 from 5

Grandma

It's easy to love a person who is far away, but hard to love the person who is nearby.

So true

10 from 5

When to start, what not to pay attention to, or how to fall in love with George Michael

First love...

5 from 5

The owner of the best gay bar

Man is trying to open a successful bar, but he has a lot of problems with it ...

Good story

5 from 5

The bell
5 from 5

Frogs in the Sea
5 from 5

Samiilo, or the Beautiful Brigand

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

It is really disappointing to see this charity compilation of Ukrainian fictions still of need, as the invasion has not in any way ended (or, in these later stages, been successful, of course). Let's hope it did as well as it could to raise funds for those it was aiming to support. And let's admit at this late stage in its life that I really didn't like it as much as hoped – some pieces were just unreadably bad.

Perfectly acceptable – until perhaps getting too morbid – is the opening piece that gives the affair its title – a none-more-appropriate question as to what Ukraine actually is. Talking of morbid, we have someone whose knack seems to be photographing people as if they are dead – until, you know, war happens, and they are not just looking dead. Green Cards are sought in melting-pot USA; Moldovans put themselves out a bit – or actually quite a lot. There is a snappy piece about having a regrettable grandma. The awkwardness of unrequited love in a school where too many pupils are besotted with George Michael, of all people, is also looked at. Much of this is too old to refer directly to the invasion, but a noted journalist is here with a four-page extract, of a man not adjusting to no longer being a PoW.

Only in glimpses do we see anything that could stand in the same room as Kurkov, who I am sure is only the easiest name to mention in the realm of Ukrainian fiction, not the most appropriate. But someone seeking his standards – this and he do share an American publisher – will leave feeling most disappointed. Some of this is just up-itself, modern literature, and devoid of entertainment or insight. Seeing as some of this is over a decade old, the collection should have had a far greater hit rate. It does hurt to be so uncharitable for a charity affair, but the truth must be known, and the truth of my opinion here is that much of this is skippable.