First published 2000
Marusia Petrenko wakes early on an April Saturday in 1986 to bake korovai bread for a wedding celebration in her Ukrainian village. Her son Yurko heads to his shift at the Chernobyl nuclear plant after the festivities end. The next morning brings a metallic taste in the air, a sluggish cat, and an absent priest. Yurko fails to return home. Nobody understands what has happened, but everything has shifted for the Petrenko family. When Soviet authorities order permanent evacuation of the contaminated village, Marusia refuses to leave the only home she has known. She returns to the empty settlement and climbs the church bell tower twice daily, ringing the bells in case others have come back. Slowly, four other elderly women join her. These five village babysi unite to survive together and challenge the Soviet officials who control their destiny. Their story reveals how ordinary people transcend mere survival.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, soviet-union
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, resistance
Setting: Ukraine, Chernobyl
Period: 1986
276 pages · Kindle Edition · Algonquin Books
Content warnings: death