The Flood by Yevhen Lyr

The Flood by Yevhen Lyr is a fictionalised account of the flood resulted from the russian destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in 2023. It was an unforgettable war crime, one with serious consequences even now, years later. This is one of three books I bought during my last trip in Ukraine. I will read the other two books next year.

All the stories told in this book are real, but there are fictionalised parts, for example the narrator. This is made clear from the beginning and at the end there are additional comments on the stories, over a couple of pages. The book is described as narrative non-fiction, but I’ve decided to include it in the Contemporary Fiction category on my blog.

The narrator is a clocksmith who moves to Kherson and talks to different people, learning their stories. The people are survivors of occupation who fled through russian territory to manage to get back to Ukraine, volunteers who rescued people and animals, soldiers, employees of Kherson Art Museum. The stories are beautifully told and engaging. Knowing that these stories are real makes the book so moving. It is a document of life after the flood, with reflections on language and history and culture. I highly recommend the book, although, being published recently, it can be difficult to get a copy outside Ukraine, hopefully this will become easier soon.

The Flood by Yevhen Lyr

Details about the picture: the mug is from Ukraine
My rating: 5/5 Stars
Would I recommend it: YES
Published by: Ukraїner Publishing House
Year it was published: 2025
Format: Hardcover
Genre(s): Contemporary fiction
Pages: 240

About the author: Yevhen Lyr is a Ukrainian writer, translator, volunteer, and drone pilot in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is a co-founder of Nedopysani, a memorial project dedicated to literary figures killed by Russian forces, and of the YouTube channel and publishing house Your Underground Humanitarian.
Yevhen’s best-known book is Stepovy Boh (The God of Steppes), a mystical novel set in the South of Ukraine. He was part of a volunteer rescue team that arrived in Kherson the day after the Kakhovka dam was destroyed by the Russian military. Later, he served as a soldier in the Kherson region for half a year. The FLOOD is his first novel written in English.
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