“A book that I would never want to write”: Oleksandr Mykhed published chronicles of pain and hope

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“Job’s Call Sign. Chronicles of the Invasion” is an attempt by Oleksandr Mykhed, a writer who lived in Gostomel until February 24, to tell the world about the 13 months of war through the prism of short personal testimonies, stories of loved ones and his own war tragedy. The book will appear in bookstores only today, but UP.Zhyttia book reviewer Olena Lysenko has already read it and tells why this personal testimony about Russia’s crimes will become an important asset for the home library. Read UP.Culture in Telegram. This is Mykhed’s second book since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. But if in the first one he packs his pain into an (almost) children’s fairy tale “Cat, Rooster, Locker”, then in “Calling…” he gives it an outlet without embellishments. Because he believes: “if people can formulate their experiences, this pain is not silent and it is reflected.” The pain of losing his home in Gostomel, his parents’ 3 weeks of occupation in Buch, the death of his friends, which he tells foreign journalists about, and the first 100 days in the army are all gathered under one cover. It shows a broken window in the parents’ apartment and a view of the once beautiful Bucha. On the pages of this book, Bucha remains a bloody wound. Illustrations for the book were created by Mitya Fenichkin. Illustrations for “Pozyvny…” were created by Mitya Fenichkin, the basis for them were screenshots of the news Mykhed made during the 13 months before the start of a full-scale war. As for reflection, this book is, rather, only the first step towards it. In it, Mykhed chooses an apparently simple, reportage style of narration, where he records step by step traumas that are both his own and, at the same time, so familiar to many Ukrainians. He describes in detail how he and his wife prepared for a possible offensive, how they later left Chernivtsi, how they found shelter there for a while, how they learned that the house was no longer there, how they came to the ruins of what they had cherished for years… There are books for learning, and there are also for recognition. “Call sign…” is exactly the second option. In it, the reader will find a lot that is familiar, will remind himself of the experience and life conclusions that he himself has experienced. “Job’s call sign” seems to gather the thickest. This is a book of bold and arrogant conclusions: “No matter how Ukrainians fight among themselves, in the face of the enemy, we are together.” This book is not only about personal pain. In it, Mykhed reflects on the collective history of losses and ruptures. And he records what the war once again emphasized: “Ukrainian history is a history of constant destruction of settings. We rarely inherit anything. It is rare that the connection between generations, generations of artists is maintained. Artists executed, shot, repressed. Every time we start everything first”. This war added Kurbas-Kulish-Khvylovy-Stus, in particular, Vakulenko to the list of losses. Illustration for “Job’s Call Sign. Chronicles of the Invasion” So, as you might guess, Long-suffering Job from the title of this book is an allusion to Ukraine. And this book is not only about suffering, but about the fact that it will finally end someday, despite all the skepticism of observers. And suffering will be rewarded with a happy life. But to begin with, you need to choose a call sign for Job: “I think – if modern Job got into the army, he would definitely have to choose a call sign for himself. What would it be?” Job does not lose his faith in God, but what should Ukrainians not lose faith in? Mykhed offers his answer – in victory: “Evil has crossed the line beyond which good begins to win.” This chronicle of pain and hope will be useful not only for Ukrainians – to remind themselves or tell their children what we are all going through now. “Call sign…” is also intended for foreign readers. It will not be difficult to translate these texts, and it will be interesting for people who have not experienced war to see what the war of the post-information society can be like. This book is clearly intended for a foreign reader, it should testify and tell about the horror that Ukraine experiences every day. The author explains here things that Ukrainians understand a priori, although they did not choose this experience. Mykhed tells, for example, about Iranian drones, which Ukrainians nicknamed mopeds because of their noise. What can a literary researcher agree with the army? Oleksandr Mykhed joined the army without military training. Before the full-scale war, he was a civilian – an intellectual and a writer. Now surrounded by the most diverse representatives of our society, the author of the pre-war “I will mix your blood with coal” begins to rethink everything that is happening around. Illustration for “Job’s Call Sign. Chronicles of the Invasion” He is still capable of producing poetic phrases – “a fragment of the invasion projectile is stuck in me”, but his language is being reborn. He writes briefly, curtly and to the point, because obviously he has nothing to add, he can only testify for himself and his brothers. The writer touches on a vexing topic: how can a literature researcher be useful in the army? You cannot kill the enemy by analyzing poems, you have to kill him with a weapon, and for this you have to learn to hold it in your hands. Alexander answers the question of what the book industry is like during a full-scale invasion. He says: “Journalists, writers, translators, publishers are dying. Death does not choose professions. Occupant shells are destroying warehouses of publishing houses. Libraries are burning. Sales are falling into the abyss.” The generation of people, which should be engaged in science and creativity now, is holding weapons in their hands, trying to survive in basements or arrange their lives abroad. People do not like literature. However, Ukrainian literature and culture in general can kill. That is probably why the occupiers are so afraid of it and, first of all, they destroy our books in the occupied territories. Illustration for “Job’s Call Sign. Chronicles of the Invasion” Oleksandr Mykhed writes about the stories of relatives and acquaintances, tells about the murders of children who had dreams and hopes, who were killed or raped because they were Ukrainians. Mykhed here mentions the story of Volodymyr Vakulenko and his diary, which the writer buried in his garden before he was killed by the Russians. “The history of Ukrainian literature is when Ukrainian writers search for the bodies of Ukrainian writers tortured by the Russians. It is when a writer digs up the diary of a murdered writer with her own hands.” Life Lessons in Ukraine Wartime requires adaptation to its rules. Basements and warehouses, overhead “mopeds” and donations for the Armed Forces became the norm – the more we donate, the faster they will destroy the occupiers. Mykhed talks about children for whom the words “Putin” and “Russia” are insults, the most popular game is war, and songs that have become symbols of Ukrainian resistance are an integral part of the leisure time of young Ukrainians. Read also: “We in the Armed Forces believed more than in God”: Ukraïner publishes a collection of reports from the de-occupied territories

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