Lithuanian Literary Award Recognizes Ukrainian Novel on Holodomor
Ukrainian writer and publisher Tetiana Pianova has received international acclaim as her novel “The Age of Red Ants” was honored with Lithuania’s “Translated Book of the Year” award, presented by the Lithuanian Association of Literary Translators.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to Ukrainian media.
The novel triumphed in the Fiction category, and its Lithuanian edition was published by the prominent publishing house “Alma littera” in 2024. The translation was skillfully rendered by Donata Rinkevičienė.
Set during the devastating spring of 1933 in the village of Machukhy, Poltava region, the novel explores the horrors of the Holodomor – Stalin’s man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine. Through the intertwining fates of two women from opposite sides of this tragedy, the story paints a harrowing picture of desperation, moral collapse, and fleeting hope.
"In the spring of 1933, the famine in Machuchy reaches its apotheosis. The first cannibalism, lynchings, mental disorders against the background of malnutrition. The village degrades. People, driven to despair, lose their human appearance, they are ready to eat anything to survive. And now two women who do not know each other, two victims of their time, two opposite sides of the great darkness called hunger, find themselves at arm's length. Hunger kills one – it saves the other," the annotation to the book says.
Originally published in Ukraine in 2022 by “Nash Format”, the book has received widespread critical praise for its powerful narrative and historical depth.
“I am deeply grateful to the translator, the publishing house, and the organizers of this award,” Pianova shared. “This recognition gives me strength to continue, even when the path is difficult. It inspires me to keep telling our stories.”
In the Non-Fiction category, the award went to "From the Vilnius Ghetto to Nuremberg," a memoir by Avrom Sutzkever. The collection, curated by Justinas D. Kamm and Saule Valyunaite, features translations from Yiddish and English and was published by “Hubris”.
The Lithuanian Literary Translators' Association has congratulated translators, publishers, and readers for whom books are translated and published. Commenting on the selection, Paulius Garbačiauskas, project coordinator and representative of the Lithuanian Literary Translators’ Union, emphasized the significance of historical memory: “This year’s winners reflect deeply moving chapters of history – Ukraine’s tragic past and the Jewish experience in the 20th century.”
As The Gaze reported earlier, Ukrainian director Pavlo Ostrikov's film “U Are the Universe” has won in two nominations at the French festival Hallucinations Collectives in Lyon, France.