WAR OUTSIDE THE WARZONE,
OR IS IT POSSIBLE TO ESCAPE TRAUMA
(BASED ON HASKA SHYIAN’S NOVEL BEHIND THE BACK) Cover Image

ВІЙНА ПОЗА ВІЙНОЮ, АБО ЧИ МОЖЛИВА ВТЕЧА ВІД ТРАВМИ (ЗА РОМАНОМ ГАСЬКИ ШИЯН ЗА СПИНОЮ)
WAR OUTSIDE THE WARZONE, OR IS IT POSSIBLE TO ESCAPE TRAUMA (BASED ON HASKA SHYIAN’S NOVEL BEHIND THE BACK)

Author(s): Oksana Pukhonska
Subject(s): Novel, Ukrainian Literature
Published by: Uniwersytet Adama Mickiewicza
Keywords: literature; war; trauma; memory; national identity;

Summary/Abstract: Attempts in Ukrainian culture to reflect on and rework the traumatic experience of the totalitarian past have been portrayed in recently published literary texts. The majority of these reflect the most topical issues of the present in light of the traumatic experience caused by repressive Soviet policies against the Ukrainian people during the 20th century. Today’s Russian-Ukrainian war, which began in the Donbas in 2014, is nothing less than a struggle against Russia’s imposed vision of identity and an attempt by Ukrainians to reclaim the proper image of historical memory. This issue is addressed on different levels by representatives of different generations. However, it is perhaps the most challenging for the youngest generation, as is clearly evidenced by Haska Szyjan’s novel Behind the Back, which is analyzed in the article. In this novel, we observe reality through the eyes of a young girl trying to regain her mental balance after directly experiencing the war.

  • Issue Year: 11/2023
  • Issue No: 01
  • Page Range: 139-154
  • Page Count: 16
  • Language: Ukrainian
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