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The Cathedral
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The Cathedral by Oles Honchar - Feb Buddy Read
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Hey everyone: here's some info to get us started for everyone interested in joining in:(as well as a free link to the book from UofT here: http://sites.utoronto.ca/elul/English...)
Summary from ‘The Modern Novel”:
This might be one of the finest modern Ukrainian novels; it certainly is worth your while reading. It is set in the fictitious small town of Zachiplianka, apparently based on towns in the Dnipropetrovsk area. Zachiplianka is dominated by a cathedral. Of course, as this novel is set in the Communist period, the cathedral is no longer used for worship but has been used as a grain store and is somewhat dilapidated. So when ambitious Volodmyr Loboda proposes knocking it down and replacing it with a more useful building, it is not entirely surprising. However, everyone is opposed to the idea because, though they are no longer religious, the cathedral clearly represents something for them, something that makes Zachiplianka special.
Zachiplianka is a somewhat shabby, dirty town. The local steelwork officials are much happier paying the fines for polluting the river than doing anything about cleaning up their act and a black dust is found all over the town. Yet Honchar’s talent is to make it a special, private world where, despite its faults, everyone more or less hangs together, crime is minimal and things carry on pretty much as they have for years. He is not sentimental about it. There are a variety of problems – relations between the sexes and drink being the cause of many of them. The outside world does intrude – we have several references to the German occupation and to Makhno‘s insurrection – but the Zachipliankians manage to overcome it. There is, of course, a love story. The poor peasant girl, Yelka, who is orphaned and, as a teen, taken advantage of, goes to live with her uncle in Zachiplianka, where she is wooed by Volodmyr Loboda but loves the scatterbrained student poet, Mykola Bahaly. But Honchar’s talent is the portraits of the Ukrainians and how they create their self-contained world, dominated by their cathedral.
Author bio from “Encyclopedia Ukraine”:
Honchar, Oles [Гончар, Олесь; Hončar, Oles’], b 3 April 1918 in Sukha, Kobeliaky county, Poltava gubernia, d 14 July 1995 in Kyiv. One of the most prominent Soviet Ukrainian writers of the postwar period; a full member of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR since 1978. A Second World War veteran and graduate of Dnipropetrovsk University, he began publishing his works in 1938. From 1959 to 1971 he headed the Writers' Union of Ukraine. Honchar gained prominence with the novel-trilogy Praporonostsi (The Standard Bearers, 1947–8, English trans 1948) about the Red Army in the Second World War. His other works include the novellas Zemlia hude (The Earth Drones, 1947), Mykyta Bratus’ (1951), Shchob svityvsia vohnyk (Let the Fire Burn, 1955), and Bryhantyna (The Brigantine, 1973); the novels Tavriia (1952), Perekop (1957), Liudyna i zbroia (Man and Arms, 1960), Tronka (The Sheep's Bell, 1963), Tsyklon (The Cyclone, 1970), Bereh liubovi (The Shore of Love, 1976), Tvoia zoria (Your Dawn, 1980), and Sobor (The Cathedral, 1968), which was officially censured and subsequently removed from circulation; and more. His works, most of which closely adhere to the official Soviet style of socialist realism, have been republished many times (eg, in 6 volumes in 1978–9) and translated into over 40 languages, and have been the subject of a large body of Soviet literary criticism.
Pre-questions: 1) This book has been highly acclaimed in the realm of Ukrainian literature. Have you read any other Ukrainian books either on or off the list? If so, have you found there to be any sort of common ‘character’ or style to the Ukrainian lit you’ve read?
2) This book could be seen as a timely read since it largely takes place during the time in which Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. Is there anything you are expecting from this book based on what you know from history/the current war? (It was also censored, banned, and a student protest in favour of it shut down by the KGB as an interesting fact to consider while reading).
Questions:
1) In some ways the Cathedral itself can be considered a main character in the story. While the Cathedral is broadly based on the real story of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Novomoskovsk, Ukraine, it is also representational. What might the cathedral itself symbolize, or what themes does it help convey?
2) Are there any ways in which you’ve noticed common threads with the current war in Ukraine throughout the book? What has seemed to change since then, if anything?
3) Speaking of history, other than the Soviets, both the German occupation and the Makhnovist movement are referenced in the novel. Did you learn anything about these events/Ukrainian history in general from this novel?
4) What did you make of the village of Zachiplianka? I’ve read in reviews that it portrays both depressing stark reality and a certain affection for the place and its people at the same time. Did you get that sense from the book?
5) Were there any characters you felt yourself being drawn to/ sympathetic for? How does their hardships/quality of life play into this?
6) What did you think of the love triangle between Yelka, Volodymyr, and Mykola?
7) And finally, what did you think of the book? Do you think it earned its place on the list?
Discuss!
Pre - questions:1) I have read Cataract, Everything is Illuminated and a newer book not on the list: I will Die in a Foreign Land. All of them have at their core the historical background of Ukraine as a beautiful country with fiercely independent people who have never been independent or at least not in the last 1,000 years. The “breadbasket” of Europe and the crossroad for Oil and trade made them the spoils for various empires. They have been ruled by Ottomans, the Polish-Lithuanian empire, the Austrian-Hungarian empire, Russia, the Soviet Union (who considered them a separate state in their federal system) and Germany during WWII. So many of their cultural stories are about loss and what little can be held onto, I suspect I will encounter the same in this book also.
2) Given that it was banned, one has to suppose that the author triggered some thinking on the part of the readers which did not align with the Soviet political philosophy of that moment. I believe that most Ukrainians were proud to be a part of the Soviet Union but also proud to be Ukrainian. They did not want their culture to be erased under a propagandist version of Soviet heroics. Also, Stalin starving millions of Ukrainians to weaken their nationalistic resolve is a bit of history that is brought up again and again in discussions of the roots of the current war.
1) In some ways the Cathedral itself can be considered a main character in the story. While the Cathedral is broadly based on the real story of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Novomoskovsk, Ukraine, it is also representational. What might the cathedral itself symbolize, or what themes does it help convey? The Cathedral represented a connection to history, pride in that history, and some projection that the history of the Ukraine demonstrated a unique and powerful aesthetic. Although the characters took pride in their steel and iron works, many of them had to have the Cathedral to balance that dirty and grimy world.
2) Are there any ways in which you’ve noticed common threads with the current war in Ukraine throughout the book? What has seemed to change since then, if anything?
Well certainly, the Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union at the time this book was written. The soviet systems of cooperative farming and cooperative steel making and even fully funded senior living centers are no longer what they were. What clearly has not changed is the attempt to balance the best of the old with the potential and possibilities of the new. Also, this book gave all the characters a unique pride in their work and in their culture both past (Cossacks) and present which appears to be one of the reasons the Ukrainians are fighting so hard to remain free of Russia's grasp.
3) Speaking of history, other than the Soviets, both the German occupation and the Makhnovist movement are referenced in the novel. Did you learn anything about these events/Ukrainian history in general from this novel?
Yes, but as usual, I had to Google Makhnovist and the exact nature of the German occupation of the Ukraine to understand the references in the book. Nestor Makhno, was an interesting character, and he clearly was added into the mix to hint at the nature of present day radicals who thought only of themselves and their place in history instead of taking into account the full breadth of the people and their long proud lineage.
4) What did you make of the village of Zachiplianka? I’ve read in reviews that it portrays both depressing stark reality and a certain affection for the place and its people at the same time. Did you get that sense from the book?
Yes, clearly the author loved the river and the surrounding countryside even if the river was polluted. He also gave his characters a great deal of pride in their work and although he pointed out again and again the pollution of the steel works, he also described the beauty of the constantly burning fires and heroic nature of the mills standing against the sky line. He seemed to be very "soviet" in that regard, which is surprising given the fact that the book was censored.
5) Were there any characters you felt yourself being drawn to/ sympathetic for? How does their hardships/quality of life play into this?
Most of the characters were sympathetic except for Volodymyr. We understood Voldymyr through both his own interior dialogue and also how his committee members, peers and father thought about him. We actually learned more about Volodymyr than the others in this way, but it was clear he represented a brazen individual ambition rather than a true understanding of the people.
6) What did you think of the love triangle between Yelka, Volodymyr, and Mykola?
Yelka and Mykola's love was so endearing that it simply made sense. It wasn't exactly the drama of Anna Karenina. However, I felt the author did do some justice to the depiction of Yelka's initial seduction and the fact that she blamed herself when clearly she was only the victim.
7) And finally, what did you think of the book? Do you think it earned its place on the list?
I did have some tendency to be confused because of the complication of names in the book. The men were often referred to by their nickname, their first name, their last name and I was not always sure who was who. I also thought the plot was not particularly well crafted. However, I did love the characters and their care for each other. Also his descriptions of the Cathedral itself, the river and the steelworks was a unique way to speak to history.
Great answers Gail! I finished it near the beginning of the month, gave it 4 stars, and am just getting around to answering now
pre-qs:
1) I've also read Cataract and Everything is Illuminated, as well as Suite Francaise which takes place in France but was written by a Ukrainian/French writer. Maybe this is too small a reference window but each one does have this sense of "the beautiful in the depressing" that this book had as well. And yes, the themes of Ukrainian independence, history and heritage, are common and WWII and/or the Soviet Union are mentioned in all of these.
2) Given current events and how far back this point of contention goes I was expecting this book to have pro-Ukrainian independence and culture themes...and yep, it does.
Questions:
1) Agree with Gail here. The iconic Ukrainian aesthetic church church being turned into a Soviet steel works area is such a clear image: even when turned into a Soviet worker, the Ukrainian remains Ukrainian.
2) Yeah this was exactly what I expected: It has recurrent themes of different groups trying to occupy Ukraine only to find the Ukrainian identity and pride in their Cossack history is unbreakable. That certainly hasn't changed.
3) I had to google the Makhnovist movement as well and found that chapter of history fascinating, What I find interesting, is that Makhno is portrayed as a bit of a power hungry hypocrite in this who is there to bury gold without his troops knowing. However, he is currently largely seen as a national hero in Ukraine for fighting both the Tsarists and the Bolsheviks ( to the extent that apparently many remember him as a Nationalist hero and not a radical anarchist). And, the story of him stealing gold from towns and hiding it is actually from German propaganda...wild.
It makes me wonder if this being published in the Soviet Union had something to do with this portrayal, or if Honchar just wanted to throw in everyone who had come through the area fighting for something in a group together as people ruining the lives of of peasants through upheaval.
4) I totally agreed with this while reading. There is a sense of the beauty in the horrible in it that I find really captivating in a 'the sublime exists between the dichotomy of life" sort of way. Also it has a sense of "yeah this is a shit town, but it's my shit town" that I love in things. I like that Gail brought up by how Soviet it seems despite the fact they censored this book. I found it interesting when looking stuff up for this book that his style actually is considered to be part of the Soviet Socialist Realism tradition. Which isn't a bad thing: while I condemn the fact that other forms of art were more suppressed during this time, the style itself has produced some remarkable paintings, statues, novels, movies, etc. It is actually one of my favorites, as I find the glorification of the regular and mundane, the peasant, often far more affecting than art that glorifies the religious or aristocratic.
5) I agree that I really didn't like Volodymyr but felt some level of sympathy for almost everyone else, especially the women characters who both tend to work and often have to hold things together when the men are out drinking more.
6) This wasn't my favorite part of the book: and love triangles seldomly are: I find them unrelatable and not the type of conflict/drama I find interesting. But, Yelka's story itself was captivating for me. I also agree that her guilt over being victimized, how other people responded, etc was a bit heartbreaking but very grounded in how it would have gone realistically.
7) I also have to agree it was a bit plot weak but that was compensated for in the strength of the characters, their lives, and the description of the village and Cathedral. I gave it 4 stars and would probably keep it on the list as a great example of both socialist realism and Ukrainian identity in art.
I read the second half of this today, just a little late. I enjoyed it but I think I didn't know enough of the background history/politics to appreciate it fully.1) In some ways the Cathedral itself can be considered a main character in the story. While the Cathedral is broadly based on the real story of the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Novomoskovsk, Ukraine, it is also representational. What might the cathedral itself symbolize, or what themes does it help convey?
I thought it symbolised the old pre-Soviet order which was in abeyance but still very much present in the town and in people's minds, but disguised to some extent.
2) Are there any ways in which you’ve noticed common threads with the current war in Ukraine throughout the book? What has seemed to change since then, if anything?
Not really. I think the current war is far more terrible.
3) Speaking of history, other than the Soviets, both the German occupation and the Makhnovist movement are referenced in the novel. Did you learn anything about these events/Ukrainian history in general from this novel?
I didn't know enough to pick up the references, except one incident during the German occupation.
4) What did you make of the village of Zachiplianka? I’ve read in reviews that it portrays both depressing stark reality and a certain affection for the place and its people at the same time. Did you get that sense from the book?
Yes! There was a strong sense of belonging to the place among the characters, even though they grumbled a lot.
5) Were there any characters you felt yourself being drawn to/ sympathetic for? How does their hardships/quality of life play into this?
I felt more sympathetic towards the older characters - Yahor who was doing his best to help Yelka to a good life but got it all wrong; and Ivan's wife who had spent years waiting for him to come home only to find him much changed and telling stories about India that meant little to her.
6) What did you think of the love triangle between Yelka, Volodymyr, and Mykola?
I found it quite sad and depressing! I couldn't support Volodymyr's suit, but I didn't believe Yelka and Mykola would be happy for long, even before his injury. Both men seemed too different from Yelka.
7) And finally, what did you think of the book? Do you think it earned its place on the list?
Yes, I am sure it deserves to be on the list as a rich slice of Ukrainian life under the Soviets.
Review thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...