Sunflowers Under Fire by Diana Stevan

 

“As a flower strains toward the light, so a man strains with thoughts, words and deeds toward the motherland. For the sunflower, the sun is the only guide; for the man, the motherland is the one and only treasure.”

                                    Ukrainian Folk Saying

  After interviewing Diana Stevan at My Writing Life blog, I learned that Diana had written several novels. I was eager to read Sunflowers Under Fire, a novel based on the life experiences of her maternal grandmother, Lukia Mazurec, in Ukraine. Her story of survival under ominous circumstances will continue to shake peoples' hearts across the world.

  Diana’s mother, Eudokia, was a natural-born storyteller. This talent appears to manifest itself in Sunflowers Under Fire through Diana’s voice.

  I requested the book from the library and I am happy to say that her novel has been the recipient of various awards and recognitions. For example, Sunflowers under Fire has been a Finalist for the 2019 Whistler Independent Book Awards and a Semifinalist for the 2019 Kindle Book Awards. It earned an Honorable Mention in the 2020 Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Award.

   In Ukraine Lukia and her family had to tackle the hardships and face the tragedies of  World War I. They also had to deal with the aftermath of it. 

   Lukia's husband, Gregory, enlisted to fight for the Tsar while Lukia stayed with their six children. Lukia did not agree with her husband’s decision. Soon after he left, Lukia and her children became refugees. The farm they owned, where they had worked hard for four years, would be invaded, so Lukia and her children were forced to leave and Russian soldiers torched their home.

 The book is a testimony of the devastating consequences of war and the abuse of power by autocracies.  

 Despite her lack of formal education, Lukia had a deep understanding of the political situation of Ukraine. Her reflections and insights express her foresight and visionary power. Her observations resonate today: “Ukraine always seemed to be under some other country’s thumb. Their land with its good earth was the envy of the countries bordering it. It had been like that when she was growing up, it was like that now, and the way it was going, it would be like that for generations to come. Over the centuries it had been invaded by many.”

 

 The story starts on August 5, 1915, on the day Lukia gave birth to Eudokia. Lukia was by herself and she managed to do so without complications. The uneventful birth of Eudokia was not taken for granted. She had lost two babies and had now a total of six children to raise. Eudokia was the youngest one. Diseases and deaths ravaged Lukia’s life, but her resilience and resourcefulness guided her through the turmoil and devastating situations.

  The novel culminates with the final decision of the family to migrate to Canada in the late 1920s.

 This engrossing novel based on true experiences and historical facts offers details of the social and political setting. It is an incredible journey to the past, to a time when antibiotics did not exist. It was common for people to die from sepsis.  

 I am still mulling over several topics related to this novel. For example, I was shaken by the gender double standards and the gender discrimination that pervaded society during those harsh years. It did not come as a surprise because I was well aware of these issues, but it is still disturbing and upsetting to read about it. Even today, we witness how the remnants of these prejudices continue to shape political outcomes, ignite suffering, perpetuate injustice and devastate economies.

    The journey of Ukraine’s independence continues to be sabotaged by the actions of political bullies who consider that violating other countries’ sovereignty is acceptable. It is important to study history to understand the roots of these actions.

  I am thankful that Diana took the time to write this spellbinding story. I hope it will help people understand the complexity of history and the need to respect and support Ukraine’s independence and autonomy.

  The cruel, inexcusable invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, under the command of Vladimir Putin has been a horrifying event. However, the people of Ukraine never gave up on their freedom. They have an honest leader who stands up for his people.

   The attack of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin’s forces continues to kill people of all ages. Also, 19,456 Ukrainian children have been abducted by Russian forces, and now the Trump administration has cut the funding needed to track these children.

 These children have been forcibly separated from their families. Some of them were sent to re-education camps. Others were sent to foster-care, orphanages or adopted into Russian families.

  Ukrainian people continue to lose their homes and livelihoods, and their families are torn apart. Putin’s lack of accountability is disturbing. In the United States of America at least seventy-five million people voted for Putin’s asset in November 2024. They voted for the guy who called Putin a “genius” for invading Ukraine. Now Putin’s “asset” blames Zelensky for the war on Ukraine and threatens to annex Canada, take over Greenland and the Panama Canal. What kind of person in his or her right mind can support a “man” who has no respect for other countries’ sovereignty?

 Is this the kind of country that voters want in America?

 The trend to normalize this situation is unsettling. This is why I recommend independent journalism that shares facts, honest analysis and is not afraid to oppose fascist ideology. At the bottom of this post, I am sharing some links to the work of independent journalists that do not succumb to the manipulation of fascist ideology. Furthermore, I appreciate the reporting by Daniel Dale who cares to debunk the claims spread by the current fascist regime in the United States of America.

  People will not learn history from playing video games, which is why books like Sunflowers Under Fire should be promoted, shared and discussed.

   Sunflowers Under Fire will motivate readers to delve into the intricacies of history and to understand the impact that the political context has on the lives of common people.

 I enjoyed Diana Stevan’s style of writing and the ways she presents the characters. The scenes are realistic and vivid. Every chapter was engaging and hard to put down. 

 When I reached the end of the novel, I felt curious to learn about the next stage of their lives. I experienced a sense of loss. It was sad to finish it, but I was happy to know that they were traveling to a place of safety where they would live in peace and thrive…

 

 If you enjoyed this post, feel free to check my writing on the following books:

 

Love in Defiance of Pain: Ukrainian stories

Patriot: a memoir by Alexei Navalny

 Walking Away from Hate by Jeanette and Lauren Manning

 

Independent journalists to follow:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHM8wLOEWX4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EjSvSV3zIKA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUDLOAe_71U

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaKW9LlTHIs

For climate change news you can follow this website:

https://insideclimatenews.org/category/politics-policy/

 

 

Humor is necessary to support your mental health. You can get informed with a dose of humor:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNsKFEg5kWo

 

Love in Defiance of Pain: Ukrainian Stories

 

   PEN America and the Tompkins Agency for Ukrainian Literature in translation have published this book of short stories. The proceeds from the sale of the book are donated to humanitarian efforts in Ukraine.

  Ukrainians are fighting for their independence because they do not want to live under Vladimir Putin’s Orwellian regime. I wrote about Vladimir Putin’s regime in Russia when I wrote about Oleg Sentsov, so you can check my post if you haven't done so. Ukraine was invaded by Russian forces on February 24, 2022, and since then Ukrainians have been fighting to protect their democracy from the forces of Vladimir Putin.

 Love in Defiance of Pain contains eighteen short stories and an insightful introduction by Adam Higginbotham. His words capture the spirit of resilience of the Ukrainian people and bring to light some of the historical information that helps us to understand the characters and plots.

  Many of the short stories transport us to Ukraine, revealing aspects of her history and culture. However, not all of them take place in Ukraine. For example, “Frogs in the Sea” by Tanja Maljartschuk unfolds in Austria, where an undocumented Ukrainian man befriends a senior woman with dementia. The ending was shocking because it reminded me of the ways meaningful acts of kindness are sometimes treated with distrust and disrespect due to a combination of prejudices, cruelty and ignorance.

   Many of the stories are realistic, but there are a few of them that contain elements of fantasy or that are surreal. The anthology is like a box of artisan chocolates to be enjoyed slowly. Some of the stories are nostalgic. Some are peculiar and engaging. There are two or three stories that I found boring. I think there is something for everybody here, because the stories are all different. Some of them have shocking, unexpected endings. Others have an ending where you least expect it.

  One of my favorite stories is by Natalka Sniadanko: “When to Start, What Not to Pay Attention to, or How to Fall in Love with George Michael.” It is quirky and humorous. On the other hand, I did not like the one by Vasyl Makhno, which takes place in New York. In this disturbing story the men are portrayed as helpless victims and the women are the hopeless deceivers. There is no love in defiance of pain here. It is the kind of story that traps us into a groove of biases and social prejudices that will not allow us to break glass ceilings. It perpetuates the rigid mindsets that will continue to empower toxic bullies, but this is just my humble opinion on it. Read it yourself and reach your own conclusions.

    I still have seven stories to read from a total of eighteen, and I don’t read them in order. I will come back to write an addendum to the post later this month if there is something else that needs to be shared.

 

Relevant links:

https://pen.org/

https://www.tault.org/about-us

 Addendum: I was sad to learn that Vladimir Putin launched an inhumane attack on Unkraine on Christmas Day. He targeted Ukraine's infrastructure to disrupt their Christmas celebrations. Horrifying and vile. Every healthy democracy should stand up against acts of terrorism like the ones Putin perpetrates against Ukraine:

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/least-3-people-injured-russian-missile-attack-ukraines-kharkiv-mayor-says-2024-12-25/

Life Went on Anyway by Oleg Sentsov

 

  Ukrainian filmmaker Oleg Sentsov was born in Simferopol, Crimea. He is also a dramatist, a writer and an activist. In May 2014, under Vladimir Putin’s Orwellian regime, he was arrested in Crimea due to false accusations. The FSB (Russian Secret Services) persecuted dissidents; the Kremlin hates opponents of the Russian Propaganda.

   Oleg Sentsov opposed the Russian invasion of Eastern Ukraine and his only “crime” was to bring food and supplies to the Ukrainian soldiers trapped in Crimean bases, but the FSB accused him of being a terrorist. He was beaten, tortured, suffocated and forced to confess, but he never gave in. Oleg Sentsov stood by his principles. He was sentenced to 20 years in prison in Russia.

  Oleg Sentsov became a symbol of the Russian’s state disregard for human dignity and basic human rights. International Human Rights organizations condemned his imprisonment and considered it a way of the Russian Government to quash dissent.

  In 2018 Oleg Sentsov went on a hunger strike for 145 days to advocate for the release of 70 Ukrainian political prisoners in Russia. This was an incredible act of courage. As a consequence of this, he lost 66 pounds, but he was also awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament. Thankfully, he was released in September 2019.

  Oleg Sentsov’s Life Went on Anyway, translated by Uillean Blacker, shares life vignettes of his childhood and youth. His writing style is honest and straightforward.  He does not sugarcoat his experiences, but neither does he dwell on them with pessimism.

  His life stories may have carved the path of his activism in his adult years. They sound simple. Yet you may find yourself reflecting on them after you finish the read.

   Life Went on Anyway is not about Sentsov’s activism, even though the translator provides an introduction and a background to help us understand the political situation.

  Sentsov introduces himself by explaining that he had a happy childhood, and he did if you consider the love of his family and his dog, and the community of friends in his neighborhood, where he played outdoors until it got dark. However, his childhood years also had a sad side, which may have molded the fabric of his current resilience.

  His attitude toward school was ambiguous. “I liked school, but not for long. I liked studying, but not necessarily going to school. The Soviet education broke me down with its routine, its rote learning, its ponderous lessons as thick as tar. I liked gymnastics, woodwork and metalwork, and the breaks, when you at least had some kind of freedom.”

  He also loved literature and history. However, his teachers did not welcome his inquisitive nature. The teachers sent him out of the class often for asking too many questions that nobody else asked.

 “I spent half of my literature and history classes in the corridor.” He had the highest grades and wrote remarkable essays, which the teachers liked to read aloud, but the other students were not impressed.

 Starting in fourth grade, he became an outcast among his peers. The other students mocked him and ridiculed him regularly, and nobody stood up for him. He endured five years of humiliation in school, fighting the bullies and defending himself however he could. He never told his mother about this, but she could sense something, and she suggested that he could change schools. (This never happened, however, and the bullying lasted five years).

  “In class, in the corridor, in the changing-room, in the sports hall, in the canteen, in the toilet, in the park behind the school, everywhere. Five years of hell.”

    Life went on, and the bullying eventually stopped. In his book Oleg gives advice to his younger self…and I will let you search for his wise advice when you get to read his book.

  Another past event that may have left a deep imprint in him happened in a hospital. When Oleg was thirteen he had a tonsillectomy. During his hospital stay he witnessed how a boy mocked a child with Down syndrome. Oleg observed what happened and was silent about it then, but the scene stayed with him. Oleg never forgot how a child with Down syndrome had been humiliated.

 All these experiences may have shaped the activist he is today.

 Oleg Sentsov is now fighting in Ukraine against the Russian invasion.

 Wherever he is, I hope he is safe. I also look forward to watching his films and to reading more of his works.

 Sentsov’s works include two books of short stories, several scripts, plays, essays, and films. In 2016 he was awarded the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine, the country’s highest honor for artistic achievement. In 2017 he received the PEN/Barbey Freedom to write award.

 To end this post I will share some informative thought-provoking articles:

 https://theconversation.com/putins-brazen-manipulation-of-language-is-a-perfect-example-of-orwellian-doublespeak-178865

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60891801

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/mar/29/online-abuse-lawsuits-gendered-personal-attacks

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/vladimir-putins-rewriting-of-history-draws-on-a-long-tradition-of-soviet-myth-making-180979724/ 

Till next time.