The Wall (short stories)
Encyclopedia
The Wall is a collection of short stories
by the Belarus
ian writer Vasil Bykaŭ.
, from Stalin
ist repressions (novella Yellow Sand) and World War II battles that left Belarus in ruins to the dismal life of the Belarusian people in 1990s. The author's disillusionment and pessimistic attitude is obvious throughout. Similarly to many other works by Bykaw, parallels to existentialism
can be drawn, e.g., the focus on choice and moral scruples. It depicts the absence of liberty and the powerlessness of an individual within a totalitarian system.
As Vasil Bykaŭ was a persona non grata
during Alexander Lukashenka's regime, the stories were published in Russian literary magazines 'Druzhba Narodov' (nr 7,8,11, 1999) and 'Zvezda' (nr 5, 1999), the first book format being the translation (of most of the stories) into Estonian
, entitled Valgevene tragöödia ('The Tragedy of Belarus'), in 2001.
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by the Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
ian writer Vasil Bykaŭ.
Description and background
The Wall deals with the tragic fate of BelarusBelarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
, from Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
ist repressions (novella Yellow Sand) and World War II battles that left Belarus in ruins to the dismal life of the Belarusian people in 1990s. The author's disillusionment and pessimistic attitude is obvious throughout. Similarly to many other works by Bykaw, parallels to existentialism
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
can be drawn, e.g., the focus on choice and moral scruples. It depicts the absence of liberty and the powerlessness of an individual within a totalitarian system.
As Vasil Bykaŭ was a persona non grata
Persona non grata
Persona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person", is a legal term used in diplomacy that indicates a proscription against a person entering the country...
during Alexander Lukashenka's regime, the stories were published in Russian literary magazines 'Druzhba Narodov' (nr 7,8,11, 1999) and 'Zvezda' (nr 5, 1999), the first book format being the translation (of most of the stories) into Estonian
Estonian language
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
, entitled Valgevene tragöödia ('The Tragedy of Belarus'), in 2001.
External links
- http://magazines.russ.ru/znamia/authors/b/bykov/ Some stories by Bykaw in Russian