Buy Book "Sweet Darusya" in Ukrainian

“Sweet Darusya” by Maria Matios is a family saga, a story about rural life, and the history of the writer’s small homeland (although in fact it is the whole country). At the same time, the phrase that the book is about “the influence of Muscovites on the lives of Ukrainians” seems very apt. A destructive influence.

The inhabitants of a Bukovynian mountain village have a quite ordinary life, with hard work, love stories, gossip… But it is violated time and again by invaders who come to the Bukovynian land and establish their own rules. Romanians – the first Soviets – Romanians – Germans – the second Soviets… And they all bring pain, death, abuse, grief, although they promise protection and order. People in this mountain village want peace, but they are afraid to believe that it can last because of all the invaders of the past. They seem to ask for little more than to live in their village with their families, without constant fear. But time after time, the invaders destroy their dreams. The tragedy of not only Bukovyna, but of the entire Ukrainian people is shown on the example of one family that has been “run over” by the wheel of history. The narrative is reversed chronologically, and on the last pages of this novel of three tragedies it becomes clear why Darusya is “sweet.”

I will say that the book is worth reading! As soon as I started reading, it was really boring. 2/3 of the book told the story of the characters’ lives with sometimes interesting moments. But it was not enough. Then, starting about halfway through the third story, it became incredibly shocking and interesting. Some of the moments really shocked me! Again, these actions of the Soviet government are trash… and the way the author turned the stories around, combined them and set them in the right order is very cool! I am pleased with the plot twists and style.

By the way, about the style. Dialects and foreign words are really hard to read, but it has its advantages: you can learn new words and expand your vocabulary)

In my opinion, this book is a masterpiece of modern Ukrainian literature.

The book deservedly won the Taras Shevchenko National Prize for Literature.

Pavlo Zahrebelnyi, Dmytro Pavlychko, Vasyl Shklyar, and many others wrote reviews of it.

The book has been translated into at least nine languages, including Russian.

And published in Moscow… If only someone would read it there…

This book is the story of a family that absorbed all the pain and horror that Ukrainians experienced after the arrival of the Soviet “liberators” on the territory of Western Ukraine…

We are looking at an ordinary Bukovynian village with its incredibly beautiful and authentic color. But for many years this village was under occupation by three regimes-Hungarian, German, and Soviet.

It was a hard fate for the villagers. And most importantly, for Darusia. She seems to be an ordinary housewife, if not for her strange illness…

What is Darusya’s story? What does her past hide? And what is her personal tragedy against the background of the tragedy of the entire Ukrainian people?

Read this book! It will definitely not leave you indifferent!

Another story from Maria Matios. Another historical drama. Not so voluminous, but insightful and painful.

Darusya is a good girl, but… stupid. Or at least she is considered so. She is mute, but not because of her illness, but because of her sad fate. She is silent because she does not want to talk to people. And most of all, she is afraid of candy. Why? Gradually, step by step, we will find out the answers to all the questions. But it will be painful.

The events are taking place in a terrible time for this corner of Ukraine. They were constantly divided, given to each other like candy – Romanians, Soviets, Germans, Romanians, Soviets… Today you are a friend, and tomorrow you are an enemy. And people just wanted to live, to farm, to raise children.

It was a terrible time. And there were terrible people there. From all sides. But this is something that needs to be remembered. So that it never happens again.

And a separate aesthetic pleasure is the author’s language!

I recommend it.

I had already read this work, but back in the 8th grade. I liked it then, but I didn’t fully understand it. At 24, it’s better perceived than at 14. It definitely is.

Maria Matios writes incredibly strongly. I want to read her other historical works as soon as possible. Such texts need to be written, and as many people as possible need to read them. Perhaps then more understanding will come to our minds, perhaps then we, Ukrainians, will stop stepping on the same rake over and over again.

Darusya is a collective image of all our people. Children, adults and elders. Her example, and the example of the village, of course, shows what happened to our ancestors, to our people during the war. How the government changed, what it was, and what its “fair” rule led to.

The episode with the disappearance of Matronka is a vivid example of this. I had already forgotten this moment, but re-reading it, it hurt me.

And now, every time I see a caramel cockerel, I remember the story of Darusya.