Ulas Samchuk. Mariia

Ulas Samchuk

Work proposed for translation:

Mariia
A novel (1934)
Length: 192 pp.
Copyright: Estate administrators: diapora@oa.edu.ua

Ulas Samchuk (1905–1987) is a Ukrainian writer, journalist, and public figure. Born in Ukraine, he studied at the University of Breslau and the Ukrainian Free University. Before the start of World War II, several his novels were published, including his famous trilogy Volyn. An active participant in the Ukrainian resistance movement. During the years of the German occupation of Ukraine, he was the editor of the newspaper Volyn. After World War II, he emigrated, first in Germany, and then in Canada. He was an important figure in the Ukrainian community, became one of the founders and head of the MUR (Artistic Ukrainian Movement) writers’ organization, and did not stop writing, publishing several novels.

The main heroine of his novel Mariia constantly faces serious problems throughout her life: orphanhood, poverty, the death of her own children, a difficult choice between two men, etc. However, hard work and faith help her find her way in life, build a family, and establish a household. However, the real catastrophe is the coming to power of the Bolsheviks, who brutally destroy the established rural order to achieve their own goals. The text vividly describes the impact of the Soviet occupation, which penetrates even to the level of family relationships, on the Ukrainian village. Mariia, like millions of Ukrainians, becomes one of the victims of the Holodomor, which was organized by the Soviet authorities in 1932–1933. This novel became the first literary text about the Holodomor.