In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing Leslie Peirce’s Empress of the East, the biography of Roxelana, a captive slave who became the wife of Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Empress of the East is a profoundly insightful look at one of the most mysterious figures of the sixteenth century. Roxelana was a […]
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Knyzhka Corner Book Review: Raven’s Way by Vasyl Shkliar
In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing Vasyl Shkliar’s novel, Raven’s Way. Raven’s Way was first published in 2009 in Ukraine with the title Black Raven. It has recently been translated by Stephen Komarnyckyj and published in English by Kalyna Language Press. It won the Taras Shevchenko Award in 2011, the most […]
Continue readingBook Review: 2016 Kobzar Award winner Detachment by Maurice Mierau
In this edition of Knyzka Corner, we will be discussing Maurice Mierau’s award-winning memoir, Detachment: An Adoption Memoir. Readers first meet an emotionally drained Maurice in 2009 in a psychologist’s office in Winnipeg. For three years, his wife Betsy has been urging him to get help. He tells the psychologist, “I have problems in my […]
Continue readingKnyzhka Corner Book Review: Red Notice by Bill Browder
Bill Browder’s fascinating new book Red Notice, is a roller-coaster ride through post-Soviet Russian history. Bill Browder was one of the architects of Russia’s growing economy during the privatization era. He saw an opportunity to make a great deal of money and created the Hermitage Capital investment fund based in Moscow. Browder became the largest […]
Continue readingKnyzhka Corner Book Review: Red Stone & Broken Stone by Gabrielle Goldstone
In this edition of Knyzhka Corner, we look at two books for middle grade readers by Manitoba author Gabriele Goldstone. Red Stone tells the story of Stalin’s cruel destruction of the kulak way of life during the 1930’s, through the eyes of eleven-year old Katya Halter. In the companion volume, Broken Stone, Goldstone picks up […]
Continue readingKnyzhka Corner Book Review: The Sea is Only Knee Deep
The Sea is Only Knee Deep is the true story of Paulina Zelitsky’s defection to Canada from the Soviet Union with her two young children in 1971. These two volumes explore many topics including: Stalin’s final years, Fidel Castro’s Cuba, and the dangers defecting. Paulina’s story begins in Cuba in 1968. She is part […]
Continue readingBook Review: Orwell and the Refugees—The Untold Story of Animal Farm
Andrea Chalupa’s Orwell and the Refugees traces the amazing connection between George Orwell’s classic novel Animal Farm and Ukrainian refugees in the displaced persons camps of postwar Germany and Austria. Animal Farm carries the message of hope that someone in the West knew the truth about the Soviet Union, that someone understood the unimaginable horrors […]
Continue readingKnyzhka Corner Book Review: Orphanage 41 by Victor Malarek
Reviewed by Myra Junyk. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Although Victor Malarek has written six non-fiction books, Orphanage 41 is his first novel. Mykola Yashan, the 19-year old protagonist of this novel, is forced into a voyage of nightmarish self-discovery. After the sudden death […]
Continue readingBook Review: Putin’s Putsches by Maria Lewytzkyj
In this edition of Knyzka Corner: Maria Lewytzkyj’s book Putin’s Putsches – Russia, Ukraine and the Near-Abroad Conflict. Maria Lewytzkyj defines “Putsch” as “a violent attempt to overthrow a government.” She explains that Vladimir Putin’s “hybrid war” against Ukraine is a blatant attempt to destabilize the current government. She also tells the stories of ordinary people […]
Continue readingKnyzhka Corner Book Review: Sliding on the Snow Stone by Andy Szpuk
SLIDING ON THE SNOW STONE. Szpuk, Andy. That Right Publishing, 2011. 238 p. ISBN 1466305681 When Andy Szpuk asked his father about his earliest memory, he replied, “Russian soldiers carrying corpses away.” After hearing about his father’s life, Szpuk decided that this story must be told. Sliding on the Snow Stone gives readers a […]
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