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Ш KOOKS Two Lands, New Visions: Stories from Canada and Ukraine. Janice Kulyk Keefer, Solomea Pavlychko, eds. Marco Carynnyk, Marta Horban, trs. Regina, Sask. Coteau (General Distribution Services, distr.) 1999 (© 1998).xv + 312 pages. $13.95. ISBN 1-55050-134-8. Combining in one volume stories written in two different languages and in two different cultures may be a novel idea, but is it justified? The thin thread that unifies Two Lands, New Visions is not subject matter, but the idea of ethnicity: all Canadian authors included have at least some trace of Ukrainian ancestry. Thus, some may argue, there are two streams of contemporary Ukrainian literature by young authors, some of whom write in English and live not in Ukraine but in Canada. Literature, however, is defined first and foremost by language. While Ukrainian literature may have a justified claim to the writings of Canadians who write in Ukrainian, the inclusion of Canadians who write in English is a somewhat dubious proposition. The Ukrainian part of the book, masterfully translated by Marco Carynnyk and Marta Horban, contains stories by Yurii Izdryk, Oles Ulianenko, Yevhenia Kononenko, Vasyl Portiak, Roksana Kharchuk, Bohdan Zholdak, Svitlana Kasianova, Yurii Vynnychuk, Taras Porkhasko and Oksana Zabuzhko. Most of these writers are in their thirties and have appeared on the literary scene only relatively recently. What they have in common is their rebellion against the limitations of socialist realism, which was the dominant superimposed literary style prior to Ukraine's independence. Thus they are tempted by hitherto forbidden subjects: violence, sex, feminism, life's frustrations, the macabre, wartime atrocities in Afghanistan, political corruption. And their tone, as if in direct contrast to the politically correct false cheerfulness of the prior era, is frequently pessimistic. The most interesting two stories in this collection, in my view, are both by and about women. "An Elegy About Old Age" by Yevhenia Kononenko deals with the plight of the suddenly impoverished old pensioners who have lost touch with the changed attitudes of the younger generation. "I, Milena" by Oksana Zabuzhko is likely to appeal to the Western reader because of its original treatment of a contemporary universal theme. Milena, the story's protagonist, is a host of a television talk show for women; the story deals with television reality that is supplanting and intruding upon real life. The Ukrainian stories are introduced and presented against a wider Ukrainian literary context by Solomea Pav lychko, a prominent literary scholar of the post-Soviet generation, author of a recent book on Ukrainian mo dernism. There is a great need for more translations from Ukrainian literature. Supplementing these stories with selections from Valerii Shevchuk, Yuri And- rukhovych, Volodymyr Dibrova, Volodymyr Drozd, and other contemporary Ukrainian writers and issuing them in a separate volume would have given the Western reader a wider perspective and a better under standing of contemporary Ukrainian literature. The Canadian writers also deserve a separate collection. Two Lands contains short stories by the following Canadian authors: Barbara Scott, Mary Borsky, Ray Serwylo, Lida Somchynsky, Chrystia Chomiak, Patricia Abram, Marusya Bociurkiw, Myma Kotash, Martha Blum, and Kathie Kolybaba. All of the stories have some Ukrainian connection. Coming to terms with one's Ukrainian heritage — an acceptance of it or a rebellion against it — seems to be the dominant theme. The contributions deal with contemporary life and focus on the younger generation and its problems with drugs, sex and family conflicts. One story deals with reminiscences of the Holocaust during the war, another with the post-Soviet immigrants in Canada. I found Ray Serwylo's "Lost Winters of Emerald and Silver" especially interesting: it reminded me of Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" both in its style and in its atmosphere. Was it influence by Faulkner's story? Unfortunately, it is marred by some serious flaws, including such totally superfluous asides as the one about a silver tooth that "shone like the moon on the surface of those waters where the haidamaky had centuries ago sailed and sung and slaughtered the Ottoman lords." The editor should have caught this and substituted Kozaky or zaporozhtsi for haidamaky to make the sentence at least conform to history. In her introduction to the Canadian part, Janice Kulyk Keefer, herself a Canadian novelist of considerable renown, discusses both similarities and differences between the Ukrainian and the Canadian * Editor's Note. Solomea Pavlychko died on December 31, 1999 in Kyiv. “НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ”, ЛИПЕНЬ-СЕРПЕНЬ 2000 13
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