Ukrainian literature: Add this to your diverse reading TBR right now

When I had my old blog, I was quite proud to be, at the time, the only space on the internet with a comprehensive reading list of Ukrainian classic literature. There was even an entire story behind how I’ve decided to do it, pretty much on a whim, after an interesting discussion with a certain publisher about the ‘illiterate youth’.

Then, for a while I had a thread on X where I would add all kinds of Ukrainian literature available in English on Amazon. The thread wasn’t very long and after a while I unpinned it and replaced it with a kitten charity.

Now that I’ve revived my Ukrainian classics in translation project that I’m sharing over on my Patreon, I’ve decided to start making a list of must-read Ukrainian books, classics and contemporary literature. Like last time, I’ll stick to those that have been translated and are available for the average reader. But I might also add a wishlist of books that still need to be translated or made available (I know of quite a few that have been translated as part of a grant project and those institutions are now gatekeeping the books, either because they don’t see he value in anyone else reading them, or they no longer have the funding to care).

So, here it is! Ukrainian literature that you should read right now or at least add it to your to-be-read shelf over on Goodreads or StoryGraph.

Top Ukrainian literature

1. The City by Valerian Pidmohylny. The story of a country boy moving into the big city and discovering that he too has ambition. It starts out like those typical soviet propaganda stories but quickly turns into something completely different.
2. The Forest Song by Lesia Ukrainka. A love story of a forest nymph and a boy. It’s a play in verse and it’s in the repertoire of a popular contemporary theatre in my hometown that is impossible to get tickets to. I was supposed to go see it with my colleagues but a week before that my boss decided to attack me for posting something on social media and basically made me quit (that’s after begging me to stay when I initially wanted to quit a year before that incident). So, I never got to go and don’t even know if I ever want to see it now that it’s associated with a bad memory. But this is not to take away from the magical fairy story by a beloved author.
3. Kobzar by Taras Shevchenko. This is probably the most important collection of poetry in the history of Ukraine. It mainly deals with the tragedy of serfdom, some history and politics, and just the depiction of everyday life of Ukrainian people in the 19th century. I remember learning quite a few poems by heart, which was a standard requirement in school. Shevchenko also wrote some prose and was a very talented artist.
4. Instytutka by Marko Vovchok. Another story of a serf being mistreated by the master. This time it revolves around a maid and a young mistress, who had just returned from finishing school.
5. Kaidash’s Family by Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky. A beloved satirical comedy about a never-ending family feud.
6. Eneida by Ivan Kotliarevsky. A burlesque poem and a parody of Virgil’s Aeneid, that is considered to be the cornerstone of the modern Ukrainian literary language.
7. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors by Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky. A love story that was never meant to be. Two rivaling Hutsul families. And the ancient magic of the Carpathian mountains. There’s a popular film adaptation directed by Sergei Parajanov.
8. The Yellow Prince by Vasyl Barka. A novel about the tragedy of Holodomor in Ukraine.
9. Maria by Ulas Samchuk. Another novel about the Holodomor. I’ve re-read it a few times and find it truly a fascinating and emotional piece of literature that deserves more recognition.

I’ll get you started with these nine books and I’ll keep on adding to the list as I do more research. Have you read any of these or other Ukrainian works of literature?