Taras Antypovych. Pomyrana

Taras Antypovych

Work Proposed For Translation:

Pomyrana
A dystopian novel (2016) 
Length: 224 pp.
Copyright: Author: antyp@ukr.net 

Taras Antypovych (born 1978) is a Ukrainian writer, journalist and screenwriter. He was born in Poltava and studied journalism at the University of Lviv. He later worked for various periodicals, such as Suchasnist, Postup, and Hazeta po-kyiivsky. While still at university, he began writing and, together with his friends, founded the literary almanac Bestiary. His first tale, Misery (2007), gained popularity and was awarded the Book of the Year prize. His next book was a collection of short stories entitled Body and Destiny (2008). In 2009, he was awarded the first prize in the Koronatsiya Slova competition for his song lyrics. In 2011, his futurological novel Chronos was published, bringing the author real popularity. In 2016, he published his second novel, the dystopian Pomyrana. Antypovych brilliantly uses grotesque and satire, raising topical issues of the present day through the prism of fantastic images and events. His literary style is also characterised by vivid visual images and emotional intensity, which do not leave the reader indifferent to what they have read.

In Pomyrana, the author depicts a dark post-apocalyptic picture of the world, where the inhabitants of a degraded community, the Korytans, struggle for survival on a former rubbish dump called Koryto. In wild and brutal conditions, humanistic values have lost all meaning for them, and they themselves have long since turned into bizarre biomechanical creatures. At the centre of the story is Nelson, who is trying to fulfil the dying wish of the elder and find the “black stuff” that will bring prosperity to the impoverished community. However, his attempts to improve the situation are met with resistance from his fellow villagers and their fear of any change. The novel depicts in detail the suffering and struggle for survival of a society that, under the yoke of its own insanity, has lost its moral compass and common sense. The author has succeeded in creating an important social allegory, which examines the self-destructive tendencies and behavioural algorithms of societies that isolate themselves from the outside world.