Authors

Mariam Mokhammad¹;  ¹ H.S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical Uni, Ukraine

Discussion

During the second half of the 1980s, in times of tension and capriciousness, we can trace a tendency towards an ironic and melancholic attitude to life. At that time "eighties" writers began to be published under conditions of weaker censorship, something that the previous generations did not have - the "post-sixties and seventies" writers. They were called the "suppressed generation" because the publication of their works was prohibited. The increase of censorship for the “post-sixties” and “seventies” writers led them to philosophical introspection. Many felt they had to distance themselves from politics through internal migration. The authors of this generation focussed on European aesthetic tradition rather than socialist realism.
The "eighties" writers, who were not engaged by the authorities, had more freedom and were thus allowed to be a provocative generation with a preference for individualism over collectivism. This tendency can be observed in the works of V. Yavorivskyi with whom many critics blamed for being excessive, whimsy, shocking and using imagery in his works which were deficient in conceptual thoughtfulness. His 1988 novel, “Mary with Wormwood at the End of the Century”, in particular, received a significant number of such criticisms.
Many of these works, in the form of historical essays, highlight the socio-political and scientific-technical pre-requisites of the accident at the 4th power unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant which occurred on the 26th April, 1986. These works exposed the level of information suppression in the country which led to a drop in public trust in the authorities.
Volodymyr Yavorivskyi was interested in this "ultra-modern" problem. When the construction of an "innocent" nuclear power plant begins, the young writer goes to the construction site, studies the "biography" of the atom and begins to develop his literary works on the topic. At the end of April, tragic news hits the whole world. The disaster at the Chernobyl NPP then forces the writer to go to the city where he writes the novel "Mary with Wormwood at the End of the Century ''. The author focuses on the technical, medical and biological issues through the life of an ordinary Ukrainian family, analyzing the main directions of solving the problems caused by the accident. Not hiding anything and calling things by their names, he publicises the terrible truth about the real intentions and ways of the empire to cheap enrichment. He exposes Moscow's neglect and the fate of Ukraine and the Ukrainians, by highlighting the environmental disasters, quality of life and health concerns and the overall impact of the accident on the fate of the people.