Maria: A Chronicle of Life by Ulas Samchuk

Translated by Roma Franko, edited by Paul Cipywnyk

Published by Language Lanterns Publications Inc., 2011
Original published 1934

ISBN 978-0-99877750-0-9 
256 pages

Review by Daria Olynyk

A story of a Ukrainian peasant woman whose life follows a path to the famine-genocide

In 1934, at the age of 29, Ulas Samchuk published Maria, a historical fiction depicting the life of a Ukrainian peasant woman from her birth to her death. He tells us that Maria lived for "twenty-six thousand, two hundred and fifty-eight days" and, during this time, she experienced a plethora of emotions - loves, losses, joy, heartache and grief.

From the outset, Samchuk describes the bond between the newborn Maria and her own mother, Oksana. Motherhood plays a prominent role in this book as evidenced in Samchuk's dedication "To the mothers who died of hunger in Ukraine in 1932-33". Eighty years ago, this relatively young man made the unconventional decision of writing a novel about peasants as seen through the eyes of a woman. This, in itself, speaks to his character and determination.

Many books and historical texts describe the situation and circumstances of Ukraine during the years leading up to the fall of the Russian Romanov dynasty and the famine-genocide known as the Holodomor. The uniqueness which Samchuk brings to the history of this period is the personal perspective of the peasant family which was deeply rooted and tied both to the land and to faith. This is a story about Maria and her life, set against a period of history that saw immense and significant political changes.

We see how these changes completely transform the society in which the peasants lived and the affect they had on the characters at a personal level - this is what makes this book so compelling. Events unfolded and developed gradually over a period of the roughly seventy years of Maria's life. The characters wanted and hoped for stability so that they could simply continue to farm and worship but, with each subsequent political change and development, their desires and hopes grew further out of reach until survival became the only reality that they hoped for.

 

Samchuk writes of how the peasants relied on snippets of information from travellers going to and from their villages to communicate information about events happening outside of their village which were having such disastrous effects and implications on their lives.

Maria's story unfolds initially with joy, happiness and abundance; slowly and subtly Samchuk foreshadows the heart-wrenching and devastating conclusion even in the opening paragraphs, "she was a living being who …. felt hunger pains, and loudly made them know ".

The book is divided into 3 sections: A Book about the Birth of Maria, A Book of Maria's Days, and finally, A Book about Bread (which Samchuk re-wrote in 1952).

In the first book, Samchuk develops the character of Maria beginning with her as an infant, and following her life as a child orphan, a young naive bride who marries for security and not for love, who experiences the devastating death of her first two children and, finally, matures to realize that she is determined to have and marry her true love, Korniy.

The second book opens in the early 1900s, when Maria is in her early 40s. The men of the village are conscripted to fight for Russia but life on the farm must continue. Throughout the village, "Stacks of sheaves are lined up as in a parade on the fields, but on the roadways horses are neighing and thousands of men's feet are raising clouds of dust."

When Maria's oldest son is imprisoned during the First World War., he writes from Germany and asks her to send him rye biscuits. Samchuk again effectively foreshadows the famine-genocide: "How bad things must be if people over there don't have even rye biscuits. …God forbid that he should die of hunger .... It would be better for him to die of a bullet than from hunger….".

The theme of religion is interwoven throughout the entire novel. When life was good, the symbol and role of the church figured prominently and easily into the peasants' everyday lives. Church and faith in God provided them with a foundation and also gave them a refuge, a respite from the daily routines, and opportunities for celebration. In 1917, the church bells rang unexpectedly and, when the peasants gathered, it was the priest who announced that Tsar-Emperor Mykola II had renounced his throne and that now the country would be called a republic. The land would now belong to those who worked on it. For the first time in the village, the word "Comrades" was heard – the revolution had begun.

At the end of the second book, Maria and Korniy's second son Maksym, returns home as a re-born Bolshevik, and thinks nothing of shooting an ornate Kyivan icon the moment he walks into the house. Maria, his mother, is devastated: "It seemed to her that Maksym had shot her, not the icon…. And from that day on, she was filled with fear." As we read about Maria, we can't help but imagine how many times this scene was replayed throughout Ukraine.

It is only at this point that Maria and Korniy reach a tipping point – circumstances force them to switch their attention from farming to the implications of the new political reality. Korniy correctly analyzes the psyche of the Comrades: "Those who sow death cannot let others live." After announcing that he will not join the commune, Maria asks, "Do you think that we'll actually be sentenced?"

They were not sentenced; instead, every kernel of grain was plucked from their lives. Korniy had assessed the situation correctly - "They don't need either communes or NEP (New Economic Policy). They need power, they want to find ways to dominate, they have plans to take over the world ….". The Ukrainian people stood in the way of those plans and this precipitated the famine-genocide of 1932-1933.

The ultimate irony depicted in this book and, in the fate of the Ukrainian people, is that as they lay starving in their homes, unable to walk, unable to function, unable to live their lives of simple sustenance, their beloved churches, which played such an integral role throughout their lives, were desecrated and ultimately used as storage bins for the grain which they were denied.

2013 marked the 80th anniversary of the Holodomor. The onus is on us, as Ukrainians, to raise awareness. One of the ways in which this can be done is by making all Canadians aware of Samchuk's book, Maria. This is a book which needs to be read and then shared and discussed. It has a place in the library of every Ukrainian. Reviews can be submitted for publication in both print and on-line media; the book can also be sent to journalists for review. Events can be organized at Institutes and libraries to feature either readings of the book or speakers to discuss the book; Maria can be made available at Holodomor commemorations; school boards can be asked to include Maria in their curriculum for Holodomor studies – the possibilities are endless.

We can ensure that the victims of the Holodomor will not have died in vain. As we pause and reflect about this atrocity in our collective Ukrainian past, let us think of and pray for all of the Marias, for all of the mothers and their families who died of hunger during the famine-genocide in 1932-33.

Vichnaya Pamyat

Note: Maria was skilfully and adeptly translated by Roma Franko whose passion for providing quality Ukrainian literature in English translation is paramount in her life. Our deepest gratitude to her for undertaking this colossal task, first in partnership with her sister, the late Sonia Morris (nee Stratychuk), and now in partnership with her nephew, Paul Cipywnyk. Books can be ordered directly through their website: www.languagelanterns.com by clicking on the Order link; alternatively, contact Language Lanterns Publications Inc. at 2 Whitecroft Place, Toronto, ON, M9A 4T2.