Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Ukrainian Classics in Translation, 4) Review

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Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Ukrainian Classics in Translation, 4) ReviewTitle four in the Ukrainian Classics in Translation series, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, by Ukrainian author (late 19th and early 20th centuries) Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky is, as Professor George S. N. Luckyj tells us, the first time Kotsiubynsky's masterpiece was translated professionally. Published for The Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies by Ukrainian Academic Press, it's translated with care and precision by Marco Carynnyk. The cover of Shadows is enhanced with what appear to be woodcuts of the Hutsul characters from the novel. Inside the cover is an artistic rendition of the author.
The book is divided into five sections: 1) An Editorial Note by Professor and Editor Luckyj; 2) The novel, Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors; 3) Notes on the Text; 4) The Music of Satan and the Bedeviled World; An Essay on Mykhailo Kotsiubynsky by Professor Bohdan Rubchak; and 5) Bibliography.
Professor Luckyj, in his Editorial Note, expounds that during the modernist period in Ukraine, Kotsiubynsky (1864-1913) was a leading prose writer. While his novels and short stories deal with Ukrainian life, they also explore the human psyche in a contemporary manner perceived in world literature at the time.
Professor Rubchak's Preface has the proportions of a major study; printed as a separate essay, Professor Rubchak prepared exhaustive notes to the text, which follow the translation.
Although the book is comprised of 127 pages, the novel, itself, spans 34. Within those boundaries, we trek into the Ukrainian Carpathians with Ivan, the nineteenth child in a Hutsul family, who "looked at the world with different eyes," and partook in life, rituals, and ancient customs practiced by the Hutsuls (presumably the most picturesque and artistic of the Ukrainian tribes).
We accompany Ivan on his life's journey, as we experience the world-renowned Ukrainian Hutsul folklore and folkways. The avenues we travel branch off, giving us exposure to artistic embroideries, folk music, folk songs, ornate costumes, religious ceremonies, and traditional rituals (such as a traditional Hutsul wedding and a traditional Hutsul burial), along the way.
Folklife comes alive as we float down a river in a unique wooden raft, partake in Christmas festivities, encounter a sorcerer, and lots more--all against a backdrop of the magnificent Ukrainian Carpathian Mountains, where trees' shadows silhouette straight as they stretch for the stars and for the skies, where horses dress in tassels as they meander meadows and highlands, where Hutsuls converse across Carpathian Mountains via trembitas--and, where Ivan cannot forget his true love.
Kotsiubynsky's prose sings with a voice robust with imagery, lyricism, and poetry while interweaving intricate Hutsul history ablaze with Ukrainian mythology and folklore, which he meticulously researched, into an embroidery of tapestry threads worthy a person's imagination and education.
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is masterful prose that Armenian film director Sergei Parajanov recognized and immortalized in his mesmerizing movie, of that same title, in 1964. It won six international film festival awards: London, San Francisco, Mar del Plata, New York, Montreal, and Thessaloniki. The DVD Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors follows closely Kotsiubynsky's masterful novel. The remade DVD showcases Hutsul culture via vibrant colors and camera techniques, while Kotsiubynsky's enthralling novel speaks to the senses, the intellect, and the imagination primarily through prose, poetry and lyricism.
In the Notes on the Novel, we're told that most of the material for those notes came "from sources that Kotsiubynsky himself consulted while writing Shadows," although supplementary texts were also consulted. Terminology throughout the novel is elaborated upon and enhanced vastly in this section, making this an encyclopedic history of ancient Hutsul customs.
As Professor Rubchak tells us in his Essay, Kotsiubynsky was born in 1864 in a suburb of Vinnytsia, Zamostia. His father worked for the government and moved from job to job and town to town, until, discouraged by failures, he left his family in 1882, and not long after, died of alcoholism. Kotsiubynsky's mother went blind shortly before her husband abandoned the family. Her son, Mykhailo, cared for her throughout her life.
Despite frequent relocations, Kotsiubynsky received a decent education: initially a private tutor and later a grammar school. He enrolled in a high school level theological seminary in 1876 in Sharhorod, and later transferred to a similar school in Kamianets-Podilsky in 1881.
Professor Rubchak further tells us that both photographs and memoirs about Kotsiubynsky draw a similar portrait--a tall, elegant, fastidious man, carefully groomed, and with a certain reserve. Although he was courteous and friendly to all, especially to the lower classes, he, nevertheless, always seemed to be alone. This persona of calm and dignity seemed to conceal currents of power, and similar currents are hidden under the calm style of his work.
Five stars plus for, specifically, Kotsiubynsky's masterpiece, and for, overall, the entire book, with its enthralling, engrossing, educational descriptive passages that are in themselves a history of Ukraine's artistic, colorful Hutsuls. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors is both a classic and a masterpiece that should be part of school curriculums and on library shelves, personal and public, worldwide!
Addendum: Readers, you're invited to visit each of my reviews--most of them have photos that I took in Ukraine (over 600)--you'll learn lots about Ukraine and Ukrainians. The image gallery shows smaller photos, which are out of sequence. The preferable way is to see each review through my profile page since photos that are germane to that particular book/VHS/DVD are posted there with notes and are in sequential order.
To visit my reviews: click on my pseudonym, Mandrivnyk, to get to my profile page; click on the tab called review; scroll to the bottom of the section, and click on see all reviews; click on each title, and on the left-hand side, click on see all images. The thumbnail images at the top of the page show whether photos have notes; roll your mouse over the image to find notes posted.
Also, you're invited to visit my Listmania lists, which have materials sorted by subject matter.Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (Ukrainian Classics in Translation, 4) Overview

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