Official Review: Raven by Vasyl Shkliar
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- Latest Review: "Raven" by Vasyl Shkliar
Official Review: Raven by Vasyl Shkliar
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Raven" by Vasyl Shkliar.]
Raven by Vasyl Shkliar is a Ukrainian novel translated to English from Cyrillic. It was translated and edited by S. J. Speight and Stephen Komarnyckyj. The novel begins in 1921 and follows pockets of Ukrainian rebels as they resist Russian invasion. This novel was difficult for me to read for a number of reasons and equally difficult to review.
Editing - The most glaring problem is the number of mistakes. In the first three chapters I found 55 errors, after which I gave up counting. Most of the errors are words that run together (stretchedalong, beable, soopposed, etc…), however, there are also spelling and grammatical errors scattered through the text. I received the book as a Kindle download from Amazon, so this was not a rough draft but the published edition.
Translation - The book, although translated, still contained many unknown words. Some words had an asterisk after them, but there was no direct link to the definition (which is one of the best features of reading on a Kindle in my opinion). I just did not get the point of translating a word to a word that had to be looked up and did not seem critical to the meaning of the story.
Another difficulty was the number of terms used interchangeably that meant the same thing (Otaman, Ataman, Hutman, etc…). As a reader it would have been much easier to follow if the editor had eliminated some of these (or at least explained it, I had to look it up on Wikipedia).
It is really hard for me to judge the overall quality of the translation as I cannot read the text in its original format. The text would be almost lyrical at times and then would include some strangely jarring English slang (like “don’t sweat”). Conversations especially had a technical feel, not an emotional one.
Writing - Raven is the first Ukrainian novel I have read. The book offers a glimpse into the struggles of the fighters for a free Ukraine as they desperately try to unite for a full attack to force out the Russians. The Russians used the fact that the rebels were scattered and disorganized to their advantage by posing as various rebel leaders and capturing and killing any Ukrainians that came to “meet” with them. The Ukrainians literally could not trust anyone. Raven, the title character, was a rebel leader and an intriguing character. The author also includes an actual raven as a literary element throughout the novel. The bird is an interesting component narratively as well as adding a surreal, out-of-body point of view to the action. While much of the book is fiction, there is a stark, underlying reality brought in by the inclusion of actual Russian historical documents.
The novel is divided into sections; the first part was a somewhat confusing section about various skirmishes between Ukrainian rebels and Russian soldiers. There were so many names and many were similar, or the author switched between first and last name, making it hard to follow. There are also jumps from first person to third person without warning throughout the book. The story really picked up in the second section and began to feel more like a novel instead of a historical document.
Raven is a true work of literature. The tone is dark and brooding with mystical elements set against a backdrop of horrific war crimes and atrocities. The scene in which Hannusia walks to the pit clutching her baby boy was a powerful, haunting vision of injustice. The compelling story of Raven and his lover taking the baby to a safe place was practically biblical and a very profound parallel.
Overall I would give the book 3 out of 4 stars. I think the author deserves 4 stars for a moving, powerful, truly memorable book. The editing, however, is 2 stars at best and the translation is 3 stars. I cannot imagine how hard it would be to translate a book from Cyrillic to English. It seems a daunting task that would take an enormous amount of time. I think it is fantastic that the translators have brought the book to a whole new audience and the text just requires a bit more editing and tweaking.
***
Buy "Raven" on Amazon
Raven by Vasyl Shkliar is a Ukrainian novel translated to English from Cyrillic. It was translated and edited by S. J. Speight and Stephen Komarnyckyj. The novel begins in 1921 and follows pockets of Ukrainian rebels as they resist Russian invasion. This novel was difficult for me to read for a number of reasons and equally difficult to review.
Editing - The most glaring problem is the number of mistakes. In the first three chapters I found 55 errors, after which I gave up counting. Most of the errors are words that run together (stretchedalong, beable, soopposed, etc…), however, there are also spelling and grammatical errors scattered through the text. I received the book as a Kindle download from Amazon, so this was not a rough draft but the published edition.
Translation - The book, although translated, still contained many unknown words. Some words had an asterisk after them, but there was no direct link to the definition (which is one of the best features of reading on a Kindle in my opinion). I just did not get the point of translating a word to a word that had to be looked up and did not seem critical to the meaning of the story.
Another difficulty was the number of terms used interchangeably that meant the same thing (Otaman, Ataman, Hutman, etc…). As a reader it would have been much easier to follow if the editor had eliminated some of these (or at least explained it, I had to look it up on Wikipedia).
It is really hard for me to judge the overall quality of the translation as I cannot read the text in its original format. The text would be almost lyrical at times and then would include some strangely jarring English slang (like “don’t sweat”). Conversations especially had a technical feel, not an emotional one.
Writing - Raven is the first Ukrainian novel I have read. The book offers a glimpse into the struggles of the fighters for a free Ukraine as they desperately try to unite for a full attack to force out the Russians. The Russians used the fact that the rebels were scattered and disorganized to their advantage by posing as various rebel leaders and capturing and killing any Ukrainians that came to “meet” with them. The Ukrainians literally could not trust anyone. Raven, the title character, was a rebel leader and an intriguing character. The author also includes an actual raven as a literary element throughout the novel. The bird is an interesting component narratively as well as adding a surreal, out-of-body point of view to the action. While much of the book is fiction, there is a stark, underlying reality brought in by the inclusion of actual Russian historical documents.
The novel is divided into sections; the first part was a somewhat confusing section about various skirmishes between Ukrainian rebels and Russian soldiers. There were so many names and many were similar, or the author switched between first and last name, making it hard to follow. There are also jumps from first person to third person without warning throughout the book. The story really picked up in the second section and began to feel more like a novel instead of a historical document.
Raven is a true work of literature. The tone is dark and brooding with mystical elements set against a backdrop of horrific war crimes and atrocities. The scene in which Hannusia walks to the pit clutching her baby boy was a powerful, haunting vision of injustice. The compelling story of Raven and his lover taking the baby to a safe place was practically biblical and a very profound parallel.
Overall I would give the book 3 out of 4 stars. I think the author deserves 4 stars for a moving, powerful, truly memorable book. The editing, however, is 2 stars at best and the translation is 3 stars. I cannot imagine how hard it would be to translate a book from Cyrillic to English. It seems a daunting task that would take an enormous amount of time. I think it is fantastic that the translators have brought the book to a whole new audience and the text just requires a bit more editing and tweaking.
***
Buy "Raven" on Amazon
Latest Review: "Raven" by Vasyl Shkliar
