Kyiv Independent recommends 5 translated Ukrainian books to look out for in late 2026 and early 2027

In this novel, a musician who once shot to fame playing at the barricades during a doomed revolution in his homeland now finds himself in exile, scraping by with nightly gigs in a hotel lounge. One evening, he spots his country's dictator sitting in the crowd. Acting on impulse, he flings an egg at the man — a protest that unexpectedly leads to the dictator's death. Joined by his lover and a raven companion, he races to stay ahead of the security forces pursuing him, eventually landing on a desolate prison island. There, cut off from the world, he starts broadcasting an underground radio show — "Radio Night" — to anyone who might still be listening.

"The World Is Not Made" begins in the present day as Inna, a young Ukrainian woman, returns to her homeland for her mother's funeral. From there, the novel unfolds across two centuries, weaving in stories that move far beyond the usual family saga. Among them are Oleksii, a revolutionary swept up with Nestor Makhno's anarchists on the steppe, and Lesio, a peasant in the Carpathian mountains witnessing mysterious lights and an ominous sense of impending doom in Austro-Hungarian times. Although these characters live in different eras and circumstances, each grapples with the enduring questions of identity, belonging, and what kind of future we shape for ourselves in an ever-changing world.

It is surprising that Vasyl Stus, one of the most consequential poets of the 20th century, is only now starting to become more widely known to readers outside of Ukraine. Stus was terrorized by the Soviet authorities for his uncompromising defense of Ukrainian culture and steadfast commitment to human rights, and he ultimately perished in a Russian penal colony in 1985. His poetry stands out for its intensity and moral clarity, and the selection in "Vortex" — the first book of Stus' work to be published in English — includes poems written throughout his life. This book serves as a reminder not only of his literary talent but also of how Ukrainian culture has persevered despite Russia's long-standing efforts to erase it.

Set in late 19th- and early 20th-century Ivano-Frankivsk — known then as Stanyslaviv, when it was part of the Habsburg Empire — "Felix Austria" explores the dynamic between Adela, the daughter of a doctor, and Stefania, the daughter of the family servant. After both their mothers died in a house fire, Adela's father raised the two girls together as sisters. Years later, Stefania becomes Adela's maid, but their relationship is anything but simple. The novel is a compelling portrait of psychological dependence, social inequality, and identity. In 2020, it was adapted into the film "Vydana" ("Maid-in-Law"), a Polish-Ukrainian co-production.

Originally published in 1928, "The Shipwright" is a novel about an aging filmmaker in the port city of Odesa — a place renowned for its distinctive character even today and, during the Soviet era, once a hub for filmmakers. The novel offers a Ukrainian perspective on a historical period often overshadowed by Russian narratives, revealing how Ukrainian artists struggled to exist and create within a system keen to marginalize and punish them for what it saw as radical ideas about identity and nationhood. Throughout his career, Yanovskyi himself contended with Soviet censors determined to control the Ukrainian themes in his work.