Unfortunately, in time of digital technologies paper books are risking to turn in atavism and their loyal admirers are passing as cranks. In spite of everything, book shops continue their work in occupied Luhansk, delighting and sometimes unnerving lovers to rustle paper pages and smell ink. What books are selling in Luhansk today? What book shops are working and what are closed? How political situation affected on the assortment in the region? The answers on this questions are in the review of informator.lg.ua.
Closed “Hrinchenko’s knyharnya” (Hrynchenko’s book-shop) and contemporary Ukrainian literature out of showcase
More than 30 shops, trading books, worked in prewar time in Luhansk. Now their number decreased trice. First of all we went to the doors of “Hrinchenko’s knyharnya” that is on Pushkinskaya street in the old center of Luhansk. The shop is closed and it’s hard to say that there was posh assortment, but anyway it’s a pity that it’s closed. Or book-shop couldn’t stand the economic reality or it has paid for the proud name of Ukrainian writer and specialist in literature.
Luhansk shop of all-Ukrainian network “Knijny klub semeinogo dosuga” (Book club of the family leisure), which is located on 52, Sovetskaya street, didn’t work from the summer of last year. The work of the network on the uncontrolled by Ukraine territories was paralyzed because of warfare. And it’s hard to imagine that current assortment of this publishing house could be brought in Luhansk: “Book club” has issued a number of books on Ukrainian authors about war and ATO. On the other hand we easily found the rests of the goods of “Book club” in “Zdorovie” (Health) shop. Here, except the literature of medical topics, books of contemporary Ukrainian authors are sold and they are issued by the “Book club”. Qarpa, Zhadan, Deresh, Shklyar, Zabuzhko and others, as usual, modern Ukrainian authors. According to the words of staff of the shop, the books of Ukrainian authors don’t use special demand, that’s why not all positions are exhibited on the showcase.
Nothing special in “Lira”: the assortment is not so big, a little bit of the positions of Ukrainian authors of the second tier from the series “Graffiti” af publishing house “Folio” in paperbacks were found. And there is also “Sugar Kremlin” of the famous Russian writer Vladimir Sorokin.
Prewar cost, restless Buzina and the constitution of “LPR”
What will please the larger bookstores of the city?
“Litera” pleased with prewar prices. According to the words of the staff, the prices were decided not to raise to turn books for dwellers in the luxury item. The assortment wasn’t renewed too. Employments of the shop say that “it’s unreal and has no sense” to deliver Ukrainian books and cost of Russian leading publishers “Eksmo” and “AST” will be too expensive for usual reader. According to the words of staff, youth often buys Prilepin and Pelevin, older people prefer classic. Housewives, as it was early, are “feeded” by fiction as Daria Dontsova and also take cooking books. Ukrainian authors are also on sale, but choise of them is very small: Andrukhovych, Kidruk, Luzina and translations of Koelio and King on Ukrainian. “Vororshilovgrad” of Zhadan in Russian translation stands proudly apart. The middle price of books in “Litera” is 150 Russian roubles. “Globus” on Sovetskaya street has traditionally a huge number of schoolbooks and different calendars, which are planted on to gullible customers. One of the details of “Globus” is the exhibited in the most plain sight the “Tomes” of dead and restless Oles Buzina – “Pre-Kyiv Russ”, “The union of plough and trident” and “Ghoul Taras Shevchenko”.
Taras’ books are near for sale. To exhibit demonstratively on plain sight anti-Ukrainian literature is the trend of last days maybe. Interesting, it is doing because of political position or by the somebody’s order?
Also, legislative and juridical literature of “republic” is presented near with Ukrainian. It includes different laws, codes and constitution of “LPR” And who buys it?
Mozgovoy, Marquis de Sade and Taras Shevchenko: everything is being read in the “capital of republic”
The book supermarket “Booklet” on Oboronnaya street actively tries to attract customers with the sign “new delivery”. Really, there are a lot of new positions of Russian publishers of 2015. And from the enter to market we face with the stand of political new reviews on “one day”, from which Stepan Bandera is looking severely at you somehow. It turned out that row of anti-Ukrainian edition has been presented on this stand, inciting inter-ethnic strife between neighbour peoples. Dozen of books from the series “Ukraine is on fire” and row of the similar ersatz literature “exposing atrocities of Kyiv junta”. Fashionable book of memory of dead chieftain of “Prizrak” (The Ghost) gang Aleksei Mozgovoy “Freedom and Conscience” is also sold here. Late Mozgovoy in papakha is looking at us from the cover of 300 paged book
Dared to buy it will find inside the interview of the “commandante”, essais and poems of his comrades and also the compositions of Mozgovoy himself. There are also cute photos where Mozgovoy strokes a kitten. This book costs a little bit more than 700 roubles. As it turned out the book is weakly bought even by supporters of “Novorossiya”, for which so divided and died Svatovsky warrior. However, the price doesn’t scare only the most notorious fans of the talent of Mozgovoy. “The flame of Novorossiya” of Pavel Gubarev wasn’t noticed there, but maybe it was already sold out.
Not far from Mozgovoy “120 Days of Sodom” of legendary Marquis de Sad flaunts. Honestly, we were waiting least of all to see this scandal book in the heart of “young republic”. The assortment here maybe the biggest in the city, a lot of new products, but prices are also very high. Middle cost of the novices 2015 is nearly 500-600 roubles.
“Booklet” also has the big old stores of “contemporary Ukrainian literature” and also enough of Pelevin on 600-700 roubles for 1 book. Do I need to say that such prices are too expensive for the biggest part of readers in Luhansk? “Kobzar” of Taras Shevchenko of different publishers is in a free sale. The great Ukrainian poet was recognized the inviolability in “LPR”. Even his birth this year was celebrated in Luhansk. Interesting books from the publishing house “Shico” were found in “Booklet”, fantasy and science fiction in general.
Our book walking comes to the end on this. It pleases that book shops, in spite of low profitability are continuing to work in Luhansk. But high prices on the new editions and frankly propaganda anti-Ukrainian garbage, which is trying to be imbued to indifferent to policy Luhansk dwellers grieves.
Lilith Rebrova for informator.lg.ua