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Living in Words – New German translations of Ukrainian literature + Books on Ukraine from German publishers

War has been raging in Europe since 24 February 2022. And Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had a noticeable effect on the German book market. Demand for Ukrainian books has risen dramatically, leading publishers to respond in two ways. On the one hand, they are increasingly publishing titles that explore the history of the two states and their difficult relationship, as well as wider geopolitical contexts and possible future developments. And on the other, they are giving Ukrainian authors a German voice in a range of literary and autobiographical texts. The ‘Living in Words’ collection brings together all of these books and their authors.

Single title

Radio Nacht

Radio Night, published in Ukraine in 2020, is a powerfully written and highly topical contemporary novel. Climate protests, the pandemic,...

Radio Night, published in Ukraine in 2020, is a powerfully written and highly topical contemporary novel. Climate protests, the pandemic, the threat from Russia – it is about an era in which the hope of radical change is being buried.

ISBN:
978-3-518-43072-9
Author:
Juri Andruchowytsch
Pages:
472
Price:
€ 26.00
Republik der Taubheit

When a deaf boy watching a puppet show is shot dead by soldiers, the residents of the occupied city of...

When a deaf boy watching a puppet show is shot dead by soldiers, the residents of the occupied city of Vasenka resist: they pretend to be deaf and coordinate their protest in sign language. Among the rebels are Alfonso and Sonya, who are expecting a baby. But when they face reprisals and cannot raise the child, it is cared for by the manager of the puppet theatre. Vasenka is a war zone, but also a place where people show solidarity to one another.

Publisher:
ISBN:
978-3-446-27273-6
Author:
Ilya Kaminsky
Pages:
99
Price:
€ 22.00
Revanche
Wie Putin das bedrohlichste Regime der Welt geschaffen hat / How Putin Created the Most Dangerous Regime in the World

Few people know Russia better than Michael Thumann, who has been reporting for Die Zeit from Eastern Europe for over...

Few people know Russia better than Michael Thumann, who has been reporting for Die Zeit from Eastern Europe for over 25 years. In this breathtaking book, he traces Russia’s descent into increasingly totalitarian dictatorship and the path to Putin’s imperialist war, viewed from within.

Publisher:
ISBN:
978-3-406-79935-8
Author:
Michael Thumann
Pages:
288
Price:
€ 25.00
Rose Ausländers Leben im Wort

For Rose Ausländer, writing is a vital part of life; for her, "a word, a word constellation" are "existential questions"....

For Rose Ausländer, writing is a vital part of life; for her, "a word, a word constellation" are "existential questions". This book tells the life story of the famous German-Jewish author in the form of a graphic novel, with accessible text and plenty of illustrations.

ISBN:
978-3-946046-27-1
Author:
Oxana Matiychuk, Olena Staranchuk, Oleg Gryshchenko
Pages:
56
Price:
€ 16.00
Samson und Nadjeschda

Kyiv, 1919: amid the turmoil of the Russian Revolution, young Samson, recently orphaned, joins the new Soviet police almost by...

Kyiv, 1919: amid the turmoil of the Russian Revolution, young Samson, recently orphaned, joins the new Soviet police almost by accident. His first case is extremely mysterious: he puzzles over a sliced-off ear, a bone made of pure silver and a suit of fine English cloth. But these are dangerous times, and every day brings fresh surprises. Luckily, Samson meets clever Nadezhda: she helps him with his investigation, and he soon finds himself falling in love with her.

Publisher:
ISBN:
978-3-257-07207-5
Author:
Andrej Kurkow
Price:
€ 24.00
Selenskyj

A major political biography of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, which provides important insights into the recent history of Ukraine. Sergii...

A major political biography of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky, which provides important insights into the recent history of Ukraine. Sergii Rudenko, who has been a journalist in Kyiv for many years, has written the first biography of Zelensky. His book paints a balanced picture of an unusual politician, a vivid portrait of a hero who never asked to be one. It is an indispensable source of information for anyone wanting to understand the man who has defied Putin and who, along with his country, has long since become the defender of the free world.

Publisher:
ISBN:
978-3-446-27576-8
Author:
Sergii Rudenko
Pages:
224
Price:
€ 24.00
Tagebuch einer Invasion

Until the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Andrey Kurkov lived in Kyiv. He is one of the most popular Ukrainian writers...

Until the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Andrey Kurkov lived in Kyiv. He is one of the most popular Ukrainian writers in the German-speaking world, and has a gift for writing about the things that unite us, and what different time periods have in common. At a time when many of us cannot find the words for what is happening, he manages to capture the devastation wreaked by war, the way it changes and redefines lives, the way it causes us to look at things anew – things that can no longer be as they were, that will never taste or feel the way they did before. Andrey Kurkov highlights historical continuities and makes the Ukrainian struggle for self-determination tangible. He writes down the stories that do not make it into the news bulletins: he writes about flashpoints and life stories. He writes about people. Andrey Kurkov's Diary of an Invasion includes notes which are highly personal and yet are addressed to somebody else: to the world, to all of us. They bear witness to what was, what is, and what may be – afterwards.

Publisher:
ISBN:
978-3-7099-8179-5
Author:
Andrej Kurkow
Pages:
320
Price:
€ 19.90
Ukrainische Gegenwartsliteratur

Accounts of a culture in flux – the most internationally renowned intellectual and literary voices from Ukraine. A thematic focus...

Accounts of a culture in flux – the most internationally renowned intellectual and literary voices from Ukraine. A thematic focus for these selected authors is Ukraine's multicultural past. Many of them reflect on the extent to which Ukraine is a European country. The common point of reference is the collective and historical memory of Ukraine and its importance in the present day. With contributions from Yuri Andrukhovych, Lyubko Deresch, Andrey Kurkov, Tanja Maljartschuk, Anatoly Rybakov, Serhiy Zhadan and Oksana Sabuschko, among others.

ISBN:
978-3-96707-749-0
Author:
Yvonne Pörzgen (Hrg.) 
Pages:
120
Price:
€ 18.00
Ungleiche Brüder
Russen und Ukrainer vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart / RUSSIANS AND UKRAINIANS FROM THE MIDDLE AGES TO THE PRESENT

For centuries, Russians and Ukrainians have described each other as brother nations – but the Russians have always seen themselves...

For centuries, Russians and Ukrainians have described each other as brother nations – but the Russians have always seen themselves as the older brother. This book tells the story of these unequal brothers as one of entanglements and disentanglements. It helps the reader gain a better understanding of the current Russian-Ukrainian conflict.

Publisher:
ISBN:
978-3-406-79006-5
Author:
Andreas Kappeler
Pages:
267
Price:
€ 16.95
Unsere Anderen
Geschichten ukrainischer Vielfalt / Stories of Ukrainian Diversity

This prizewinning book about 14 ethnic minorities looks at the regional history and personal stories of Czechs and Slovaks, Meskhetian...

This prizewinning book about 14 ethnic minorities looks at the regional history and personal stories of Czechs and Slovaks, Meskhetian Turks, Swedes, Romanians, Hungarians, Roma, Jews, 'Liptaks', Gagauz, Germans, Vlachs, Poles, Crimean Tatars and Armenians in Ukraine. Based on academic insights, ethnographic research and interviews, Olesya Yaremchuk paints a fascinating picture of the emergence of these groups in Ukraine and their development within its national borders. Complemented by vivid photographs that bring the literary reportage to life, Our Others describes the countless voluntary and forced migrations that have shaped Ukraine for centuries.

Publisher:
ISBN:
978-3-8382-1635-5
Author:
Olesya Yaremchuk
Pages:
176
Price:
€ 16.80
Virtuoso

Yelena Moskovich is an accomplished layer of tracks, and her novel exerts a hypnotic pull on the reader. The author...

Yelena Moskovich is an accomplished layer of tracks, and her novel exerts a hypnotic pull on the reader. The author weaves together the personal and the political in a tragicomic story. Both the characters and the world around them undergo a radical change. In a highly emotional register, Moskovich writes about love and friendship between women who are dignifiedly mad.

ISBN:
978-3-8031-3350-2
Author:
Yelena Moskovich
Pages:
272
Price:
€ 24.00
Warum der Igel reich beschenkt wird

The little hedgehog is back! In the autumn, he likes to sit on his hilltop in the sunshine and watch...

The little hedgehog is back! In the autumn, he likes to sit on his hilltop in the sunshine and watch the people in the village. When he gets back to his tree stump house he finds three sacks full of little apples. He thinks the apples are a present from the grey mouse, but they turn out to be the red squirrel's winter stash. It doesn't matter, though, because the wood is full of gifts for everyone.

Publisher:
ISBN:
978-3-257-01305-4
Author:
Andrej Kurkow, Tania Goryushina
Pages:
36
Price:
€ 16.00
World War II

This book brings together several fascinating family stories based on the accounts of parents, grandparents etc. The authors, whose articles...

This book brings together several fascinating family stories based on the accounts of parents, grandparents etc. The authors, whose articles were collected with the help of the popular academic publication Historical Truth, tell of the worst war of the 20th century, of the fates of those whose lives were forever divided into 'before' and 'after'. There are first-hand accounts of Ukrainians who fought in various armies, of the lives of deported people, of the fates of people taken to forced labour camps, and of the men and women who remain in our memories forever.

Publisher:
ISBN:
978-3-8382-1621-8
Author:
Vakhtang Kipiani
Pages:
270
Price:
€ 24.90
Zeitenwende
Putins Krieg und die Folgen / Putin's War and its Consequences

Rüdiger von Fritsch has met Vladimir Putin many times and gained an insight into his personality. He explains what motivates...

Rüdiger von Fritsch has met Vladimir Putin many times and gained an insight into his personality. He explains what motivates Putin and how the autocrat is increasingly becoming a victim of his own obsessions and his warped perception of reality. Rüdiger von Fritsch knows from his years as an ambassador in Moscow that Russia and Putin are not one and the same. But how much resistance is there to Putin? Who can stop him? What will happen to Ukraine? And where will Russia's imperial aspirations end?

Publisher:
ISBN:
978-3-351-04176-2
Author:
Rüdiger von Fritsch
Pages:
183
Price:
€ 18.00

Contact

Portrait Niki Theron

Niki Théron

Senior Project Manager

Date:
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