Back in the 1980s Bayda Books published some 20 books, many of them novels translated from Ukrainian into English. Once Ukraine became independent we figured that interest in the country would lead mainstream publishers to translate the best authors Ukraine had to offer. But alas this proved not to be so. With perhaps the exception of Andrei Kurkov, who wrote in Russian. Even the efforts of the Open Ukraine Foundation have produced nothing in English. And the university publishers of Canada and the USA have likewise published scant little in the area of fiction.
So – we’re back at it! The first book to appear in August 2010 is Valeriy Shevchuk’s gothic thriller Lunar Pain. The book contains an introduction by Marko Pavlyshyn of Monash University, examining the work of this major Ukrainian writer. Price is $15.95.
Although there is little on the internet in English about Valeriy Shevchuk, you can become acquainted with his works “Eye of the Abyss” & “The Devil Who Is (The One-Hundredth Witch)” through the following site www.UkrainianLiterature.org
Read a Ukrainian author in English today. Order Lunar Pain by return email or by post at: Bayda Books, P.O. Box 178, East Brunswick, 3057. Or pick up a copy at FED SQUARE this Sunday 22 August.
Also to be released shortly:
“…Hardly Ever Otherwise” by Maria Matios, Ukraine’s popular award-winning female author. This is a family saga set in the Carpathian Mountains in the early 20th century. Constructed in three layers of revelation, we find, as in life, that things aren’t as black and white as they first appear to be. Love, revenge, death and suffering against a background of colorful Hutsul culture and superstition. Paperback – $21.95
