Ukrainian Fiction

У новелі Голова ході розкривається психологія Василя й Павла (батька й сина), що вийшли орати землю, яка не так давно була панською; і розмова між ними, здавалося б, звичайна, буденна: про землю, про боротьбу за неї, а з уст Василя чути навіть слова співчуття робітникам, які "теж лямку тягнуть, як і ми...". Але читача насторожує і початок твору: "Степ був сизий, мов крило орла". Тут немає світла весняного буяння, що несе хліборобові радість першої зораної борозни. Насторожує те, що батько з сином крутять цигарки з книги про життя Шевченка.

When eight-year-old Cappy discovers a whale swimming outside of his bedroom window, it's fair to say he's quite surprised. Given how long he's spent in hospital, Cappy has had plenty of time to read a LOT of books on animals, and he's never heard of a whale that can fly. What with his leukaemia, Cappy's used to not being allowed to do things he wants—like eating sweets, playing with dogs, or roaming too far from his protective family—so he's delighted when the amazing whale not only speaks to him, but asks him to join him for a ride in the sky.

A World of Beauty: Tales from Pavlysh contains 19 charming little tales about the beauty of the natural world, and how nature supports all living creatures. A chicken hatches some duck eggs. A rowan tree welcomes some beautiful crested birds to feed on its berries. A blade of grass slumbers through the winter and awakens to joyfully greet the spring. In some of the stories, people engage with this beauty. A child admires the magic beauty of a snowflake, “a six-pointed star, so beautiful and shiny, that a fairy-tale master might have cut it from a plate of silver”.