Buy Book "White ash" in Ukrainian

“White Ashes by Illarion Pavliuk is my second book after I See You’re Interested in Darkness. Mystical intertwining is clearly not my thing, but I must say that it’s impossible to put it down, and at the finish you realize that you still want to follow this story.

So, briefly, what I liked:

A dynamic detective story that won’t let you get bored, you just fly through the pages.

Interesting interweaving with other works, for me it was with two works. Clearly, this is a kind of upgrade of The Eyelash. And I also felt references to Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club because of the different personalities of the protagonist.

It was interesting to read how the investigation of the young lady’s murder unfolds. You always have the feeling that everything is not as simple as it seems at first. I can’t say that the ending is unexpected, but the author has led to it in an intriguing way.

A good, high-quality Ukrainian book in its genre. I recommend it!

The village of Bilyi Popil is constantly covered with white dust from which there is no escape. Visitors say that it is the waste from chalk mines, while the locals believe that it is ash from hell itself. Once upon a time, the Witch walked around the village and people died of white disease (cholera). But what if he has returned, does this mean the death of the small village?

In the story of this mystery, we meet Taras Bilyi, a Kyiv detective who does not remember the first 20 years of his life. From time to time, memories of his beloved girl come back to him, followed by a shock and immersion in cold water in which he began to drown. He is hired to investigate a murder, but not a simple one, one with big gaps. What are the villagers hiding in this story, and was the young lady really killed by the boy who loved her so much?

The plot is revealed gradually, but I would have liked a slower narrative. It was over too quickly, although it was so beautifully paced. The ending was shocking and conquering, Agatha Christie is just resting. I’m grateful to Pavliuk for popularizing Ukrainian literature in such a way, and I’m glad that my contemporaries write so well, it will be a great legacy for the country.

When I read the names of the characters, I was a bit confused… My first thought was that the book would be a retelling of The Wind with the author’s fantasies…

But this is not quite true.

I. Pavliuk has twisted things so much that nothing is clear by the end of the book. A dynamic, multi-layered detective story. The protagonist takes off his secrets like extra clothes, and the reader can only marvel at the author’s imagination.

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The only thing I didn’t like was that I don’t like playing with the subconscious. These memory lapses and similar things in detectives. But this story has a thread of mysticism, and such techniques are very appropriate here. There is a lot of philosophical stuff in Taras Bilyi’s monologues. He talks about conscience, about the fact that everyone has their own hell, about people’s indifference and fanaticism. Many people are still dark, and instead of finding a solution, they will believe in a demon. And they will kill you if you are even a little bit different from them. It has always been harder to swim against the tide.

This is the second book I’ve read by Ilarion Pavliuk, which left a pleasant aftertaste.

I liked the real-life characters. Even if the main character Taras Bilyi is a bit brash, he is catchy. The others also have their own unique personality, even the secondary characters are memorable.

The detective story is written in a very cinematic way, the author is able to immerse you in the events without even using long descriptions of nature or places. It’s enough to use bright accents, and you find yourself inside that village.

The story about Viya is interestingly reworked, here she is a detective. And, despite the initial mystical notes, everything is explained rationally in the ending. Although the writer has created a lot of eerie atmosphere: white circles, strange ash-dust flying around the farm, living and dead water.

It is perfectly shown how easily people succumb to beliefs and impositions, the herd instinct and dependence on each other’s opinions when you live on a small farm. History teaches us to always check facts and not to believe gossip.

I liked a lot of mysteries in the detective story and the tension that makes you not want to put the book down, but rush to read on.

I am glad that Ukrainian literature and Ukrainian authors are developing.

I won’t tell you about the ending.

If you are interested in the book, there are no age restrictions: 16+, 18+.

If you were worried about this, don’t worry, you can take it.

There’s no vulgarity or swearing.

Here’s the link: ….

Let’s talk about my impressions.

Frankly speaking, the book didn’t really work for me

It was just a normal story.

I didn’t feel any mysticism in it.

Perhaps because I hadn’t read Gogol’s “The Lash,” since who doesn’t know this is an allusion to it.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

Most people, judging by the reviews, like this book.

So it’s up to you to decide, but know that you might like it as a “normal” book.

So, I don’t know…

Not bad… not a bad book.