The Orphanage by Serhiy Zhadan - 4.5 stars (Subdue)

[Joy D]

The Orphanage by Serhiy Zhadan - 4.5* - My Review

Published in 2017 by Ukrainian author Serhiy Zhadan, this book reflects the impact of the war in Ukraine on the civilian population. Pasha is a thirty-five-year-old teacher of Ukrainian language. When violence intrudes into his classroom, he realizes that his nephew is stranded in a care facility in occupied territory, and he embarks on a perilous journey to bring him home. Pasha declares he is apolitical and does not keep track of the news, so he was unaware of the magnitude of the danger. He was trying to live a “normal” life but with the arrival of the war at close quarters, he must act.

Pasha finds a taxi driver who transports people and items across military checkpoints and gets a ride to the train station. Pasha must tread carefully, deciding whom to trust, as he navigates one crisis after the next, forming precarious alliances with strangers. He decides to take lesser traveled paths to avoid the brunt of the fighting, where he encounters both cruel and kind people. This is a powerful book about the upheaval caused by war, conveying omnipresent fear and not knowing whom to trust. This is an important book, especially for those of us not in Ukraine to get an idea of what has transpired (and is still occurring).

4.5

[Booknblues]

This sounds really good and right up my alley.

[Joy D]

Booknblues wrote: "This sounds really good and right up my alley."
I think you will appreciate it, BnB.