I had a hard time getting into this book. Almost gave up several times as it just didn't seem to be going anywhere. There seemed to be some translation issues, perhaps. If I were to have rated this book prior to reading the last 50 pages or so I would probably have given in maybe 2 stars. Lots of stuff happens that just make you wonder "What? Why? What does this have to do with anything?". I think a lot of this is because there seem to be dream sequences interleaved with the story in a way such that it can be difficult to tell what's real and what's part of a dream.

But those last 50 pages or so - this is a 443 page book - they really shine. There's a scene where two men stare each other down in a tense standoff. And the narration then turns to a defining, traumatic moment in each of their lives from like 25 years before. And the description of this event for each alternates paragraph by paragraph so that you get the idea that they each have experienced a similar trauma that has contributed to what each of them is in this current, tense moment and how they are reacting to the provocation. Very well done.

Also, the last couple of pages seem to be a message from the author (famous in Ukraine) - delivered by a character who is a sort of Priest - to his fellow Ukrainians to persevere and stand together. This was written in 2012.

Written 2 years before Russia invaded Crimea and 10 years before they would invade the Ukraine, Zhadan's novel seems prescient in illustrating why the invasion hasn't yet succeeded. For Zhadan, Ukrainians are a distinct, proud people that look out for each-other in the face of "outsiders" whether they be Russians, gangsters, capitalists, etc. The comparison to Irvine Welsh and Trainspotting seems to go deeper than just the similarity in prose. Ukrainians are cast as the Scots of the former USSR--downtrodden and bereft of economic opportunity, they turn to crime and/or religion to get them through but ultimately it's their camaraderie which gives them a distinct national identity.

"So, you're saying it's all about gratitude and responsibility?" I asked.
"Yep," he said, nodding. "Gratitude and responsibility."

Did not finish. Too boring.

A bit of a picaresque about a Kharkiv hustler who reluctantly returns to his hometown Luhansk to take over the family gas station after learning his brother has abruptly taken off for Amsterdam. He intends only a temporary stay, but is instead drawn back into the old community of his childhood friends and a kind of ambiguous nostalgia for "Voroshilovgrad" (as it was called by the Soviets), which is as much a character as any of the people. Whether it's fending off threats and extortion from local organized crime, attending a smuggler clan wedding, breaking into an eerily abandoned Pioneer Youth camp, or crashing for the night with nomadic refugees from the east, each of Hermann's various adventures illustrates the life and underground of a kind of liminal city that has thrown off the Soviets yet hasn't quite settled and stabilized into something new.

"Well, take this whole situation with my brother," I said. "It reminds me of German class. It's like I'm being asked to talk about what I see in the pictures, and I really don't like talking about things I know nothing about, Olga. I don't even like the pictures! And I certainly don't like being backed into a corner, and told to play by someone else's rules. Rules only have meaning as long as you're abiding by them. As soon as you start ignoring them, it turns out you don't owe anyone anything, you're not obligated to make up all kinds of silly stories about things you actually know nothing about. Then it turns out you can get by just fine without all those made-up stories, and there aren't any rules - what they're showing you doesn't exist anymore. It's all a sham, they're just trying to use you . . . and it's all perfectly legal, of course. It's like school all over again. The thing is that we all grew up a long time ago but we're still being treated like kids, like unintelligent, deceitful, irrational bastards who need to be coerced and corrected and have the right answers beaten out of them." (Chapter 8)

Unfortunately Luhansk is located in the Donbas region, which has been illegally occupied by Russia since 2014. This book was published four years earlier and in retrospect offers a window into a region whose historic and ongoing oppressor will never let its full potential be realized.

That being said, the portrayal of women here is . . . eesh. Oksana Zabuzhko's very excellent [b:Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex|9274846|Fieldwork in Ukrainian Sex|Oksana Zabuzhko|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347239604l/9274846._SY75_.jpg|2652071] is strongly recommended as a follow-up read.

Ah, šī grāmata lika uzjundīt padomju laika sentimentu - tā neaprakstāmā un sirsnīgā vienkāršība lietās, domās, draudzībās un vārdos. Savā veidā padomju laikam piemita savs īpašais šarms - izlasot šo grāmatu, prātā nāk ainas ar bērnības našķi - baltmaize ar biezu sviesta un cukura kārtu; graņonkas, kuru tilpumu precīzi zināja gan Vodkas cienītāji, gan labāko kūku cepējas; ja daudzdzīvokļu namu pagalmos bija saplīsusi kāda mašīna, visi vīri metās uz vienu roku un pus dienu gar to ķimerējās līdz to kopīgiem spēkiem saremontēja; kad mammām atlika tikai atvērt logu un nosaukties "Pusdienās!" un bērni skriešus metās uz mājām; kad bērnu rotaļu laukums bija šim laikam prātam neaptveramie nepabeigto daudzdzīvokļu māju betona paneļi stāvu stāvos; kad pirmo košļeni neskaitāmas reizes mērcēji cukurtraukā, lai saldā garša nekad nepazustu; kopīgā svētku svinēšana ar kaimiņiem pie lielajiem galdiem ar padomju laiku traukiem; kad mazie svētkos vaktēja nepieskatītās, izdzertās liķiera glāzes, lai ar pirkstiem ķeksētu laukā jau sacukurojošo liķiera pēdējo pilīti...Kas tomēr par foršām atmiņām.

Patika iegrimt šajās lapaspusēs un būt līdzgaitniecei Hera gaitām. Mani paķēra ne tikai uzrunājošais stāsts, bet arī rakstnieka stils un valoda. Un nevar nepieminēt, ka Ukrainā romāns 2010. gadā atzīts par "BCC gada labāko grāmatu" un 2014. gadā -par "BCC desmitgades labāko grāmatu".