Stalinville is a 1994 novel by Oless Ulianenko, for which he received Ukraine’s Shevchenko Prize. Set in Kyiv during the turbulent years following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the novel follows a protagonist from society’s margins. After being confined to a psychiatric hospital, he escapes to the city, only to discover that the world beyond the institution’s walls is no less insane.
The novel has been translated into English by Olha Rudakevych. The translation was supported by Liudmyla and Oleksandr Draganov.
To promote the book, the publisher asked writer Andrey Kurkov to describe Ulianenko for English-speaking readers. Explaining the writer’s significance, Kurkov said:
"Oless Ulianenko is undoubtedly one of the most prominent and independent voices of Ukrainian prose in the 1990s and 2000s. His rightful place at the top of the literary hierarchy is coming; it's only a matter of time. Had he lived his life in London or Paris, he'd already be a household name — the subject of award-winning films and best-selling biographies."
The book is scheduled for publication in early September.