On April 23–26, VDNH will host “Book Country,” the largest literary festival in Ukraine. On the eve, the editorial staff of vogue.ua selects the most interesting books worth paying attention to during the event.
Collector's Edition “Modern Ukrainian Prose and Poetry”. Volume 2
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At the “Book Country” you can buy a real hit – a collection of Ukrainian prose and poetry, compiled by the editorial staff of Vogue Ukraine. The collection includes new works by sixteen prominent writers, from Sofia Andrukhovych and Serhiy Zhadan to Artur Dron, created especially for the editorial staff. In captivating texts, the authors reflect on feelings, hope, and experiences during the war. The text is complemented by sensual illustrations by artist Mykola Tolmachov.
The book, as well as new issues of Ukrainian Vogue, will be available on the “Book Crane” at a special price offer.
“Boyfriend”, Frieda McFadden
“Boyfriend” is a new novel by Frieda McFadden, author of “The Handmaid,” one of the most high-profile thrillers of recent years, which remained on the New York Times bestseller list for a year and has sold over 3.6 million copies worldwide. “Boyfriend” is built on the principle of other McFadden books that have become so beloved by readers: at its center is a young woman, Sydney Shaw, who lives in New York and falls in love with the wrong guy. Her lover, Tom, is perfect at first glance: handsome, polite, and also a doctor. But later the tale is overshadowed by the investigation of the bloody murder of her close friend. Suspicion falls on the mysterious boyfriend, and Sydney does not know where to expect danger, because Tom no longer seems so perfect… If you appreciate unexpected plot twists, then you will like Frieda McFadden's novel.
Vivat
“Midnight's Children”, Salman Rushdie
For more than 30 years, Midnight's Children has remained the most famous novel by British author Salman Rushdie. Published in 1981, the book won the author the Booker Prize, was named by Time magazine as one of the 100 best English-language novels published between 1923 and 2005, and made Rushdie a global star.
The events take place in India in the 20th century. The main character Salim Sinai was born at exactly midnight on August 15, 1947 – at the moment of the proclamation of the country's independence. His arrival into the world was greeted by fireworks, the triumph of the street crowd and even a personal letter from the Prime Minister. On almost 600 pages of the novel, Salim Sinai describes in retrospect the history of his ancestors, revealing in parallel important events in the history of India. But the value of the book is also in the style inherent in Rushdie, which amazingly combines allegory and fabulousness with historical accuracy.
“Plot”
“Norferville”, Frank Tillier
For lovers of the detective genre, a new novel by star French author Franck Tillier, a famous master of unexpected endings (this is almost a spoiler!), “Norferville”, published for the first time in Ukrainian, takes us to the small mining town of Norferville in the province of Quebec. Criminologist Teddy Schaffran from Lyon comes here to solve the murder of his daughter Morgana. The Quebec police assign Leona Rock to investigate the case. The woman was born in Norferville, where she was raped by three unknown men as a teenager. For Leona, this trip is a return to hell. But it is also a chance to learn the names of her abusers and take revenge on them.
“Plot”
“The Covenant of Water”, Abraham Verghese
This is an 800-page family saga set in southern India, spanning three generations of a family trying to solve a strange mystery. So it's a good idea to spend a few weeks with this large novel, enjoying the unusual style of Ethiopian-American author Abraham Verghese, who is a doctor by profession and in this book immerses us in the world of medical progress.
The novel spans the period from 1900 to 1977, set in Kerala, southern India. It is the story of a family haunted by misfortune: in each of the three generations, at least one person dies by drowning, and each generation tries to undo a mystical curse.
The author of the saga, Abraham Verghese, a physician by profession, consciously turned to writing in the middle of his professional career, without leaving medicine. Today he is a professor of the theory and practice of medicine at Stanford Medical School, continues his clinical work and at the same time writes fiction. His saga “The Covenant of Water” has become one of the most notable literary phenomena of recent years: the book was selected by the Oprah Book Club, and in 2023-2024 it was included in the list of the most frequently borrowed in public libraries in the United States.
Artbooks
“Tove Jansson. Words, Images, Life”
In 2025, the world celebrated the 80th anniversary of the first Moomin story, which is a great opportunity to get to know their author, the legendary writer and artist Tove Jansson, better through a biography that includes her previously unknown letters, diaries and notes. This book is a great opportunity to immerse yourself in the life of the incredible Swedish author and artist of Finnish origin, who embodied in the Moomin stories her own experiences of growing up, living through World War II, separation and loss; learn about her adventures and life on a small Swedish island, about love and friends, as well as how she came up with the Moomin characters that are known to the whole world today.
“Old Lion Publishing House”
“Who We Were”, Valeriy Puzik
A new collection of essays and stories by Ukrainian soldier, writer, and artist Valeriy Puzik is an unusual book that combines military memoir with autobiographical drama. Puzik volunteered for the front in 2015, and it was then that he began working on the texts that eventually formed the basis of the book “We Were There.”
According to the author, this is a book about people at war. “About voices, names and call signs. About Dali and Ruta, protesters and pacifists, about the living and the dead. Stories about Avdiivka, Lviv, Odessa, Kherson, the Black Sea. Reflections on literature and painting in the combat zone, about memory, dreams and delusions, fatigue and the illusory nature of reality, the smell of war and the constant “groundhog day”, changes in the consciousness of people who are between the world of the dead and the world of the living”. The book is dedicated to the memory of Maksym “Dali” Kryvtsov, who died on January 7, 2024 during hostilities in the Kharkiv region.
Vivat
“Agent with a teddy bear. Spy games of Viktor Petrov (Domontovich)”, Eduard Andryuschenko
Historian Eduard Andryushchenko, a researcher of the archives of the Soviet secret services and the author of the book “The KGB Archives. Unfictional Stories”, has written a work that helps to understand who Viktor Petrov (Domontovich) was – the author of the intellectual novels “Doctor Seraphicus” and “The Girl with the Bear” and at the same time an agent of the Soviet secret services. Based on declassified archival files of the Security Service of Ukraine and the Foreign Intelligence Service, the author traces how Domontovich's cooperation with the authorities was built, what his activities were during the Great Terror and World War II, in post-war emigration and after returning to the USSR. Andryushchenko tells not only about Viktor Petrov's double game, but also about the fates of his contemporaries – Rylsky, Bahryany, Shevelyov, Krymsky and others.
Vivat
“Another Life”, Sofia Sereda
In this book, journalist Sofia Sereda has collected 13 stories of soldiers about serious injuries and their acceptance. Told in the first person with plot details and sharp emotions, they make you sincerely admire the people who stood up for the defense of our country and gained difficult combat experience. “With irony and ease, frankness, a sense of humor, and sometimes even despair, all possible states and emotions that test a person in such circumstances,” announces the Stretovych publishing house.
Stretovych
“The Pocket Guide to Patriarchy,” Maya Oppenheim
The Book Country will host a presentation of British journalist Maya Oppenheim's book “The Pocket Guide to Patriarchy.” Oppenheim is an experienced human rights journalist and author of Vice, iD magazine, and Dazed. Her award-winning book explores issues of inequality and discrimination.
Women around the world, the author says, still face systemic inequality: they are more likely to work in harmful and low-paid jobs, are deprived of support and assistance in raising children, in some places do not have access to necessary hygiene products, and one in three experiences physical or sexual violence, most often from a partner. Yet many people are convinced that sexism and misogyny have already been eradicated and equality has prevailed everywhere. This book explains why such confidence is false.
“Old Lion Publishing House”