Writer and publisher Taisiya Nakonechna has written a book, The Country That Refuses to Break, for the Belgian publishing house Borgerhoff & Lamberigts. The book, which aims to explain Ukrainian history, culture and mentality, will be released at the end of October and is already available for pre-order. The author announced this on her Facebook page.
According to the description on the publisher’s website, the book tells the story of a country that people in Western Europe did not know about until February 2022 and which has not left the news since. Here, Nakonechna explains to Belgians how much of Ukrainian culture is European and how much is Russian, and what strengths and weaknesses the country has as it refuses to submit in war.
As Nakonechna herself explains — she has lived in Belgium since 2016 — this is an attempt “through my own experience to explain Ukraine to someone who did not grow up within our context. Why are historical memory, language and freedom so important to us? Why does distrust of Russia seem self-evident to Ukrainians, yet for many Western Europeans it was not for a long time? And, ultimately, the main question of the book: why did Ukraine hold out when it was being given three days from all sides, and why is it still standing today”.
The author is convinced that European readers will be able to find answers to many of their questions in this book. Ukrainians, meanwhile, will have the chance to settle many questions from their Dutch-speaking friends, relatives, acquaintances or colleagues simply by giving them the book as a gift.
Taisiya Nakonechna is a writer, translator and founder of the publishing house Parasolya. She has been living in Belgium for 10 years. She is a member of PEN Flanders.
Borgerhoff & Lamberigts is a major Belgian publishing house with more than 20 years of history, specialising in non-fiction.