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yanahuryn's reviews
102 reviews
Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex by Oksana Zabuzhko
4.0
it was not an easy narrative, stream of consciousness writing style demands a high concentration on what you are reading. But this is like a test, you should look more between the lines.
The main plot is showing complicated relationship between the female author and Ukrainian artist, relations full psychological tension and sexual exploitation. This individual life story of an author is compared to a life of the whole Ukrainian nation, It is like a direct connection between sexual exploitation and historical victimization of Ukrainians. She always mentions "fucking dependance". Her dependance to a guy, Ukraine's dependance to Russia (the book was written in 90s, don't forget about this).
When her father (a former prisoner of GULAG camp) asked her to take off a T-shirt, so he could see how she is growing up and twenty years later her partner humiliated her the same way, cause they are all fucked up. Women are raised by fucked-up fathers and then marry their future fucked-up husbands.
Sex is shown here as a connection between an individual and nation, because the nation is recreated through sex. When she sees these unhappy faces in the streets, dumb or angry, it seemed to her that those people were conceived not in love, just in random sex, impulsive copulation.
She has concluded a thought that a historical slavery of the Ukrainians had an impact on the genetic shape of the whole nation.
"Slavery is being infected with fear. And fear kills love. And without love - kids, poems, paintings - everything becomes pregnant with death."
The main plot is showing complicated relationship between the female author and Ukrainian artist, relations full psychological tension and sexual exploitation. This individual life story of an author is compared to a life of the whole Ukrainian nation, It is like a direct connection between sexual exploitation and historical victimization of Ukrainians. She always mentions "fucking dependance". Her dependance to a guy, Ukraine's dependance to Russia (the book was written in 90s, don't forget about this).
When her father (a former prisoner of GULAG camp) asked her to take off a T-shirt, so he could see how she is growing up and twenty years later her partner humiliated her the same way, cause they are all fucked up. Women are raised by fucked-up fathers and then marry their future fucked-up husbands.
Sex is shown here as a connection between an individual and nation, because the nation is recreated through sex. When she sees these unhappy faces in the streets, dumb or angry, it seemed to her that those people were conceived not in love, just in random sex, impulsive copulation.
She has concluded a thought that a historical slavery of the Ukrainians had an impact on the genetic shape of the whole nation.
"Slavery is being infected with fear. And fear kills love. And without love - kids, poems, paintings - everything becomes pregnant with death."
Інтернат by Serhiy Zhadan, Сергій Жадан
4.0
Мені здається, я знаю яку книгу даруватиму своїм не українським друзям...
Бог Дрібниць by Arundhati Roy, Андрій Маслюх, Арундаті Рой
5.0
Як можна так неймовірно красиво писати? прекрасно, прекрасно, прекрасно.
The Four Books by Yan Lianke
3.0
Книга про страшне, так ніби читаєш Барку і його Жовтого князя. Книга про те табуйоване, про що намагаються забути в сучасному Китаї, про те скількох життів коштувала політика Мао, про голод і перевиховання людей на комуністичний лад. Страшно, але читати треба...