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Return to Ukraine (Texas A&M University Press, College Station, Tex.) | 
 enlarge | Author: Ania Savage
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Category: Book
Buy New: $29.95
New (8) Used (6) Collectible (1) from $15.00
Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 1471190
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 259
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.4
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 6.4 x 1
ISBN: 0890969167
Dewey Decimal Number: 914.770486
EAN: 9780890969168
ASIN: 0890969167
Publication Date: March 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 3 to 4 weeks
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Product Description
Nearly fifty years after fleeing Ukraine during World War II, Ania Savage returned with her mother and aunt -- their first trip back to their homeland. In this riveting account of the journey, she records both the changes they found in Ukraine in the early days of post-Soviet existence and the memories they had gone to seek. Savage, a journalist traveling to teach at Kyiv State University, records in vivid detail her experiences in her homeland, including the political turmoil that gripped Ukraine as it struggled to establish a democracy. In a moving subtext, Savage also describes the intense emotions she felt traveling with her mother, who at age seventy-four was suffering from the early stages of Alzheimer's disease. Savage skillfully threads these personal themes into narratives of Ukraine's larger history, events that include stumbling upon the excavation of a mass grave from the Stalinist era. She moves through the discoveries of her trip with an honest and passionate voice as she witnesses the rebirth of a nation and as she and her family reconnect with their past. Savage also describes the experience of working in Kyiv and speculates on how her Ukrainian heritage and American youth and education combine to shape her view of the people and places she encounters in Ukraine. This story will prove fascinating to historians, sociologists, and general readers alike, especially those with an interest in the rise of democracy in Eastern Europe, life in those troubled countries, or personal struggles with memory and its loss. In addition, Ukrainian immigrants and those of Ukrainian heritage will find Return to Ukraine a moving account of their homeland and what it has become.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 American journalist finds roots in Ukraine February 22, 2000
Martha Bohachevsky- Chomiak (Washington DC)
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
Three books are enfolded into this elegant and readable volume. One is a first hand account of the very first months of Ukraine's existence as a separate state upon the collapse of the USSR. The other is an amusing travelogue through Crimea and the Caucasian coast of the Black Sea. The third is the personal story of daughter-mother relationship, made all the more poignant by the onset of the mother's Alzheimer disease. Savage, an American journalist born during the Second World War in Ukraine which her parents flee before the Soviets, is invited by the still existing Soviet Ukrainian government to teach a course on American journalism. She arrives in Ukraine two days after the aborted putsch put an end to the existence of the USSR. Aware of her mother's illness, she brings her to Ukraine for a short visit, which coincides with the exhumation of the skeletons on the Ukrainian Partisan Army soldiers who between 1941 and 1952 fought both the Nazi Germans and Soviet Russians. Figurative skeletons are skillfully woven into the account, as Savage deftly weaves history, politics, and personal observations into a fascinating tale of the slow disintegration of a totalitarian regime, and an equally slow birth of a new democratic Ukraine. This is much more than a travel book and it covers more than just the Ukrainian experience. Savage gives us a readable introduction to the painful story of how a totalitarian regime could destroy even those who fled it, while at the same time providing us with graphic vignettes of how individuals cope in conditions not of their own making. Savage is able to capture real people on paper, even though she does make a few factual mistakes. But why quibble with a spot, when the overall picture is so good? Martha BohachevskyWashington DC
Great description of independent Ukraine May 12, 2000
F. Orion Pozo (Raleigh, NC USA)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
From the Carpathian Mountains to the Black Sea, a great description of independent Ukraine. Ania Savage has written a wonderful book describing her journey to Ukraine during the time Ukraine was gaining its independence from Russia. The story of her family fleeing Russian persecution when she was six years old and her growing up in the USA with her mother's fond memories of home adds depth to her visit to the towns of her youth. Her description of her visits to both Western and Eastern Ukraine gives the reader a great sense of the cultural and geographic differences in this large Eastern European country. She works in a urban university and a rural school and her descriptions of the people she meets are respectful but insightful. She provides a lot of historic background to the places she visits and her bibliography in the back of the book is a valuable resource for further reading. This is a great book to read if you want to find out about Ukraine at the moment this great country gained its independence. It is a shame that almost eight years have passed between the events described in the book and its publication. The last chapter tries to bring the reader up to date, but it is only able to update us on the characters. It only briefly covers events in the last eight years of Ukrainian democracy and left me yearning for more.
 Required New Text for Ukrainian Schools in North America August 15, 2000
A. Genyk-Berezowsky (Toronto, Ontario Canada)
17 out of 17 found this review helpful
Having taken a trip in 1990 for a pilgrimage to my grandparents' graves and to see my roots I was really interested in reading Ania's book to see what her impressions were. I had reservations about the ability to stomach reading the boring diary of someone else's trip. Boy was I surprised. I couldn't put the book down. Ania has a very interesting writing style. I didn't have to read dry trip recounting by a "wanna-be" author. I read a professionally written "story" with interesting scenes from her travels. These were presented complete with flashbacks and interspersed with historical facts that helped me understand the situation.I think that anyone interested in understanding that period of time should read this book. Additionally one of the best uses of the book would be to make it required reading for all the second generation (+) children of Ukrainian parents in North American. Many attend evening or Saturday schooling in Ukrainian and struggle to understand what it's all about. This book would be easier for them to read and comprehend, and could help them immensely.
Excellent reminiscences of a fascinating journey March 15, 2000
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
Savage's book taps into the nature of our roots and the unique troubles facing the former Soviet Union as it deals with its own sordid history. The style is conversational without being light, and I was shocked (and taught) by some of the experiences the author had while traveling to and in the Ukraine.
return to ukraine November 2, 2000
Dr.Bohdan Bodnaruk (Clarendon Hills,, IL United States)
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
Excellent book. It gives the reader a mixture of a travelogue and bits of history.Highly recommended for persons that intend to travel to Ukraine, conduct some business and especially for the diplomats, not familiar with Ukraine. There are some minor historical inaccuracies, but in general it is an excellent source for people not familiar with that part of the world.
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