Ivan and Phoebe

"Ivan and Phoebe chronicles the lives of several young people involved in the Ukranian student protests of the 1990s-otherwise known as the Revolution on Granite or the First Maidan-and investigates the difficulties and absurdities of a society swiftly shifting from subjugation to revolution to post-Soviet rule. Married couple Ivan and Phoebe grapple with questions about family, tragedy, and independence. Although Ivan tells the story, Phoebe's voice rings through the text. The two reflect on the harrowing aftermath of revolution: torture at the hands of the KGB and each other. While Ivan refuses to talk about his pain, Phoebe recounts her past wounds through poetic monologues. The story bounces between politically charged cities like Kyiv and Lviv and protagonist Ivan's small, traditional hometown of Uzhgorod. As characters come to exercise their rights to free speech and protest, they must also reevaluate the norms of marriage, family, and home life. While these initially appear to be spaces of peace and harmony, they are soon revealed to be hotbeds of conflict and multigenerational trauma. Through her characters' vivid voices, Lutsyshyna creates a his- and her-story of Ukraine: a panoramic view of post-Soviet society and family life through social, political, and economic crises"--