Material Hardship

Many of the stories in this book revolve around dynamics of material hardship, thereby interrogating matters of scarcity in both historical and abstract ways. The first story, “Novostroïka,” illustrates the general scarcity suffered in late-Soviet Ukraine. A lack of resources affects nearly every aspect of Daniil’s life. Daniil also notices a discrepancy between the supposed production outputs and the reality of daily life: “I was looking over the impressive list of goods our combine produces, and couldn’t help wondering—where does it all go?...All I see in stores is sea cabbage” (10). This story has a somewhat humorous tone, but it also serves to establish the inherent urgency of material hardship. A lack of resources can be dangerous, even life-threatening, in various ways. Elements of scarcity shape most of the stories in the book, and the narratives seek to explore the human...