By Oleksandra LAVRYNENKO
The brilliantly-laid-out book From the Voice of Our Clio by a well-known
writer and scholar of literature Mykhailo Slaboshpytsky, which has been
put out by Makhaon-Ukrayina Publishers, is designed to fill the almost
empty niche of modern historical belles lettres.
The author chose the most successful way of encouraging interest in
history: to present it through personalities and a gripping plot based
on anecdotes. He does not confine himself to, so to speak, the "mandatory
figures" of the school curriculum, but tells the reader not only about
princes and hetmans but also about the magi, bohatyr (hero of Ukrainian
folklore) Dobrynia, Yuri Kulchytsky, and many other Ukrainians who were
more than just a backdrop of history.
The book's text is enriched with chronological tables that create a
certain system of references for the protagonists. After reading the book,
which embraces the history of Ukraine from the inception of Kyivan Rus
to the destruction of Zaporizhzhian Sich, all this period seems to become
a huge canvas divided into small squares, each of which is populated with
and warmed by human fates.
