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The Death of a Soldier Told by His Sister

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The Death of a Soldier Told by His Sister

By: Olesya Khromeychuk, Philippe Sands - introduction, Andrey Kurkov - introduction
Narrated by: Olesya Khromeychuk
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Summary

 WITH A FOREWORD BY PHILIPPE SANDS AND AN INTRODUCTION BY ANDREY KURKOV

'If you read only one book about the war, this is the one to read.' -Henry Marsh, author of Do No Harm

'Unforgettable. An immediate history of a cruel war and a personal chronicle of unbearable loss' -Simon Sebag-Montefiore, author of The World

Killed by shrapnel as he served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Olesya Khromeychuk's brother Volodymyr died on the frontline in eastern Ukraine. As Khromeychuk tries to come to terms with losing her brother, she also tries to process the Russian invasion of Ukraine: as a historian of war, as a woman and as a sister.

In a thoughtful blend of memoir and essay, Olesya Khromeychuk tells the story of her brother - and of Ukraine. Beautifully written and giving unique, poignant insight into the lives of those affected, it is an urgent act of resistance against the dehumanising cruelty of war.

'If you want to understand Ukraine's determination to resist, Olesya Khromeychuk's book is essential.' -Paul Mason, author of How to Stop Fascism

[A] tender and courageous book... Khromeychuk's clear-sighted prose expresses the pain that thousands, even millions, have felt in every conflict, past and present. -The Literary Review Magazine

'A touching and brilliantly written account about grief, and also about strength. I read it in one night.' -Olia Hercules©2022 Olesya Khromeychuk Military Military & War War Solider
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Critic reviews

Elegantly written... packed with the sharpness of moments when a death suddenly becomes real
I admire a book that invites me to grapple with knotty questions. Olesya Khromeychuk has written such a book - beautifully.
Moving, intelligent and brilliantly written, this is a sister's reckoning with a lost brother, an émigré's with the country of her childhood, and a scholar's with her own suddenly acutely personal subject matter. A wonderful combination of emotional and intellectual honesty. It even manages to be funny.
In vivid, intimate prose and with unflinching honesty, Olesya Khromeychuk introduces us to the brother she lost in the war and found in her grief. Poignant, wise and unforgettable.
[A] tender and courageous book... Khromeychuk's clear-sighted prose expresses the pain that thousands, even millions, have felt, not just in Ukraine now but in every conflict, past and present.
With disarming candour and an arresting mix of the mystical and the everyday, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in the impact of Putin's war on Ukrainians
A touching and brilliantly written account about grief, and also about strength. I read it in one night.
Heartbreaking, agonizing, poetical and unforgettable. An immediate history of a cruel war and a personal chronicle of unbearable loss, beautifully and vividly told by a superb historian and elegant writer in a work that brings every death in Ukraine alive with transcendent grief and love
A deeply moving and beautifully written account of her brother's death fighting the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If you read only one book about the war, this is the one to read.
Khromeychuk is a scholar, and as such she brings an insight that is inseparable from her very personal story. She is able to frame the war in Ukraine with the rich particularity of human experience. It's the account only she could write.
Khromeychuk shows that the experience of grief transcends individual circumstance and in fact, unites us
All stars
Most relevant
This is a brilliant book, which no doubt has been harder to write than most. I love books read by the authors, when read well of course. Olesya Khromeychuk does that, it is her voice theough and through, figuratively and literally, and it creates an intimate feeling, like a friend tells you her story at a kitchen table. If you want to learn more about Ukraine and her people, and also to feel in the best way one can feel when they read a really good book, you came to the right place.

A must listen/read

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A compelling insight into the tenacity of the Ukranian spirit and the madness of war.

the importance of love and understanding its complexity

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The book is a remarkable insight to the Ukraine war and independantly of the war subject, it is a jounrey through handling grief.

Beautifully sad

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Nuanced, smart and poignant. This very personal account weaves itself into the bigger context of this Historical time. Great recording by the author. Moving, but bot overly sentimental. An honest and brilliant work. I will purchase the hard copy as well, as this book is truly inspiring . Easy to get into, with so much to digest. Bravo!

Vital & compelling. An important story told beautifully

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It feels somehow shabby not to endorse unconditionally a book which sets out to humanise the terrible conflict we are seeing in the news every day. And yet, the impression it conveys is one of disappointment.

With so much attention currently on events in Ukraine, the title suggests that the less-told story about the human side of the conflict will deepen our understanding and engage our humanity. However the focus is overwhelmingly on the sister of the soldier killed in battle. The book is about her.

She is indeed a remarkably fluent writer, and an excellent narrator. Many of the situations she is forced to deal with are the stuff of nightmare and trauma. Her responses are frequently extraordinary and heroic. The descriptions of how much more difficult life is in Ukraine for women are illuminating.

Yet the brother remains a sketchy figure, as do the other family members. The focus on the experience of the author and the unrelenting use of the first person creates a claustrophobic atmosphere. We are left understanding a little more about bereavement and some aspects of human nature, but the self-referential perspective limits the book's appeal.

Appears relevant and important but disappoints

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