Bravado by Jeffrey Stephaniuk

Bravado by Jeffrey Stephaniuk – Volunteer Canadian and Ukrainian Soldiers in Stories – is one of two books I bought at an Ukrainian event. It is a short book, only 163 pages, and I read it in 2 days. It is a fiction book based, partially, on real life events happening during russia’s invasion of Ukraine, pre-2022.

It is the story of Shramko, an ordinary citizen of Ukraine, who was an accountant and volunteered for combat duty. The story is sometimes funny, many times sad. It touches upon the incompetence, the absurdity, the fog of war, the humanity, the fear, all aspects of war. It touches also on propaganda used by the russians during the war, to justify their invasion. It also clearly shows, because it is based on real events, that the russians were present in the Donbas when many were saying that it was a fight between a country and “separatists”, called as “pro-russian”. In fact there were russian troops there since the beginning and the only thing that changed was the number.

One interesting addition is that of Turvey, a Canadian volunteer in WWII. Like Shramko, Turvey has no skills and experience. Turvey is from Earle Birney’s novel from 1949, Turvey: A Military Picaresque. It is a good addition, especially as I imagine most of the readers are like me, unfamiliar with Turvey’s story. It is worth reading, but it is not a book that’s easily accessible, maybe in the US and Canada, but not in the UK.

Bravado by Jeffrey Stephaniuk

Details about the picture: Ukrainian mug, made by the Ukrainian Postal Service
My rating: 5/5 Stars
Would I recommend it: yes
Published by: 2022
Year it was published: Benchmark press
Format: Paperback
Genre(s): History – Ukraine
Pages: 163

About the author: Jeffrey Stephaniuk is a Ukrainian Catholic priest in the Eparchy of Saskatoon. He is a journalist and grade school teacher. He also translates articles from Ukrainian into English. He studied at the University of St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto, the University of Saskatchewan, and St. Paul University in Ottawa.
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