Buy Book "Forbidden. The story of the life and struggle of Vasyl Stus" in Ukrainian

The book by two Ukrainian writers, Serhiy Dziuba and Artemiy Kirsanov, became quite famous and popular among readers after its release. After all, it raised the issue of the life and work of one of the best Ukrainian poets, Vasyl Stus.

The book is small in size. It tells clearly, simply, and concisely about the poet’s life and struggle against the totalitarian regime. If the reader is unfamiliar with the history and biography of Vasyl Stus, this book will introduce him to the poet in the best way. After reading it, you will definitely want to watch the film adaptation of the novel, and then read some more literature about the work of the poet, a true patriot of Ukraine, who was so unfairly banned during the Soviet era, who was shamefully sentenced to many years of imprisonment, and later ruthlessly killed. The novel vividly describes the poet’s youth, teaching in the Donetsk region, and the struggle against Soviet rule for Ukraine’s freedom and independence.

I firmly believe that such books are extremely important for Ukrainian society today. Especially for everyone to understand how difficult it was for Ukraine to gain independence and how many of its best sons and daughters died fighting for it.

Everyone is afraid of exposure. Especially those who hide dark, black deeds are afraid. We are talking about the Soviet system. It destroyed everyone who resisted it, who was not afraid of it. One of these people was the poet Vasyl Stus.

Vasyl Semenovych had such a character that if he saw injustice somewhere, he could not remain silent. Moreover, he expressed his thoughts angrily and passionately. In poetry, letters, speeches, and disputes. Of course, seeing your native land being turned into a desert in every sense, any conscious person cannot watch this calmly. Naturally, this behavior, to put it mildly, did not sit well with the top party leadership. At first, Stus was forbidden to publish his works, then he was fired from his job, no longer able to earn money, and later he was arrested and imprisoned. But even in captivity, the poet did not give up his struggle. Vasyl continued to create, despite the harassment and oppression of the prisoners. Such an indomitable will was not left without reward. Unfortunately, the artist was recognized after his death.

Vasyl Semenovych’s descendants, his countrymen, and all Ukrainians will always remember this talent, this thirst for justice, this strength that inspired the artist and encouraged him to fight.

When I started reading this book, I was not very familiar with Stus’s work. I read his poems, and that was it. But how wrong I was not to study his work and life story in more detail.

Let me start from the beginning: the book is written in an artistic style, so there will be no difficulties in understanding what is written. It is simple, but at the same time very informative. This is not just an author’s fiction, but a real story about the life of a famous Ukrainian poet, Vasyl Stus, who paid dearly for his love of Ukraine.

The life of the talented artist of words was very difficult and thorny, but in spite of everything, he was not going to give up and continued his struggle.

It was from the book that I was able to learn a lot of interesting things. For example, the poet’s biggest problems began after he openly expressed his disrespect and condemnation of the Soviet government in the theater, at the premiere of a movie. And it was because of such a trifle, in our time, that he was fired from the institute and was not given any opportunity to earn money for his family’s needs.

Stus’s situation was terrible, but he was not going to submit. “Not to lose oneself as a person under the fierce pressure of the totalitarian system – this was the main life principle that Stus himself adhered to and admired in others…” – this is one of the very apt quotes from the book, in my opinion, which perfectly describes the character of the protagonist.

The book will tell you about how love for one’s native land can be stronger than anything, even the thirst for life. It is about the patriotism and indomitability of one man who could not obey other people’s laws. About Stus’s love and the mystery of his death. About the fact that having killed a person, he was not forced to kneel.

Strong, gentle, romantic, unbreakable – all of these things make up Vasyl Stus. Living in a country where any identity was erased, he stood out, went against the system, did not remain silent, did not repent, and moved against the tide. His works are shrouded in the magic of the Ukrainian language, his poems fascinate, touch the depths of the soul…

And this book is a short story about the life of this genius of the sixties, the memoirs of a lady from the KGB. The protagonist, by chance, takes care of an old woman who is being devoured by a terrible disease. And then, word by word, she realizes that her ward was personally acquainted with Stus.

The book sparks my interest in the poet, and now I definitely want to learn more about this era of the Sixties. After all, if they were alive today, perhaps the history of Ukraine would have taken a different turn. The only thing is that it looks more like a movie script, so you should definitely watch it. However, I am glad to see such books, because they spark interest in Ukrainian artists, show how extraordinary they were, outstanding personalities who are worth studying and discovering in a new way

Two or three hours of time and the book is read. The first emotions are somehow too simple and unpretentious. But this is the effect the author duo probably intended for the reader. “An “advanced” connoisseur of Vasyl Stus’s poetry, familiar with the tragic events of his life, is unlikely to find anything new for himself on the pages of The Forbidden. But those who have only once heard of Stus will be delighted. The authors did not unnecessarily glorify the poet or try to embellish their own speech with artistic “tricks.” They simply told a story. A fictional story that could be true.

Although the book is about the past, the events in it begin and end in our time. The reader experiences the life of the unconquered Vasyl Stus through the prism of the worldview of the former Gebistro’s nurse, Liudmyla Petrova. At first, this artistic device seems somewhat contrived. There are too many coincidences per square centimeter of text: a connoisseur of Stus’s work who is writing a dissertation about him is caring for a terminally ill Hebist who saw the poet’s last moments and is not averse to revealing the secret she has lived with for many years. Nevertheless, the authors have drawn good parallels between the struggle of the “forbidden” and the events in Ukraine in 2014, and this is an undoubted “plus” of the work.

Perhaps the story is too simple for some, but I will certainly recommend it to my students. In an unobtrusive way, readers will learn about the poet’s university years, his teaching, his first love for the Russian-speaking Shurochka, a bouquet for Kobzar, Beatrice, and the collection Bird of the Soul…

Although the book does not claim to be historically accurate, The Forbidden is not only worth reading, it is a must-read. As promised, Stus returns, and the struggle continues.