Buy Book "What is Ukrainian literature?" in Ukrainian

“What is Ukrainian literature” is a collection of essays by Leonid Ushkalov, which, before being included in this book, were articles by this author for one of the literary newspapers of our country. This book made me look differently at some phenomena and personalities in Ukrainian literature, get interested in some personalities about whom I previously knew only the bare minimum. “What is Ukrainian literature” inspired me to look differently at Kharkiv, its architecture, atmosphere, streets. This city was the real capital of Ukrainian literary life in the first half of the twentieth century.

In his essays, Leonid Ushkalov talks about Skovoroda, Shevelev and Zhadan, Lesa Ukrainka and Aleksandr Dovzhenko, covers a huge layer of time from the Baroque to modern literature. I must say that I did not find all the articles in “What is Ukrainian Literature” equally successful and fascinating: some I wanted to skip, but most of them I will re-read more than once, and I recommend you do the same.

Do you want to fall in love with Kharkiv, its streets and architecture in absentia? Read Leonid Ushkalov’s collection of essays “What is Ukrainian Literature”! If you want to learn the secrets of Ukrainian writers, from Dmytro Tuptal and Meletiy Smotrytsky, Hryhoriy Skovoroda and Volodymyr Vynnychenko to Serhiy Zhadan, this is the place for you! This book is a collection of 45 articles by the author on various topics related to the literature of our country, which were once published in the pages of the Young Ukraine. There are especially many articles on Skovoroda, Shevchenko, Dovzhenko, and Khvylovy. Ushkalov also pays a lot of attention to Kharkiv, the city where he has lived for many years.

The sketches are heterogeneous – there are those that you want to turn over as soon as possible to start reading the incredibly interesting essays, which are also numerous in this book. One of the articles is devoted to an introduction to the philosophy of Ukrainian feminism: Ushkalov talks here about Olha Kobylianska, her “Tsarivna,” and her fascination with Nietzsche’s philosophy. In short, What is Ukrainian Literature is a real masterpiece for anyone who reads Ukrainian.

A very interesting and informative book. Ukrainian literature is really fascinating, although some authors are difficult to read. A number of topics have been chosen that can be written about forever, and read forever. Each of the classics has his or her own understanding of a given topic, and that’s what makes it so interesting. The journalistic style that the author has chosen for this book adds to its vibrancy.

The book opened up a lot of new things for me personally, because usually, apart from the works required for reading at school, we are not interested in Ukrainian classics. But this book made me take a closer look at some writers and familiarize myself with their works.

I also discovered authors who were not so well known. I have marked them for myself. I wish there were more books like this. Because many worthy authors of the past remain unknown. Ukrainian literature really impresses with its versatility, color and depth.

This is a very informative book. It’s great that books of this genre and subject matter are being written, because it also allows us to understand the classics in a “modern way.” I advise everyone to pay attention to it.