2 mapsĪlthough I learned a lot about the culture and politics of Ukraine from reading Sophie Pinkham’s memoir-expository piece, this is probably not the best place to start if you want to learn about recent events in that nation. Black Square is necessary reading for anyone who wishes to learn the roots of the current Russo-Ukrainian war and the stories of the people who live it every day. These fascinating personalities, rendered in a bold, original style, deliver an indelible impression of a country on the brink. She meets―among others―a charismatic doctor helping to smooth the transition to democracy even as he struggles with drug dependence a band of Ukrainian, Russian, and Belarusian hippies in a Crimean idyll and a Jewish clarinetist agitating for Ukrainian liberation. With a keen eye for the dark absurdities of post-Soviet society, Pinkham presents a dynamic account of contemporary Ukrainian life. Sophie Pinkham saw all this and more during ten years in Ukraine and Russia, a period that included the Maidan revolution of 2013–14, Russia’s annexation of Crimea, and the ensuing war in Donbass. Each time Ukraine has rebuilt itself over the last century, it has been plagued by the same conflicts: corruption, poverty, and, most of all, Russian aggression. A distinctive writer’s fascinating journey into the heart of a troubled region, tracing the origins of the war that is now tearing Europe apart.
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