Review of DUEL in Ukrainian Canadian, April 1987

DUEL
By Borys Antonenko-Davydovych.
Published by Lastivka Press, Melbourne, 1986.
Translated from the Ukrainian by Yuri Tkach.
Soft cover, 136 pages.

Borys Antonenko-Davydovych (1899-1984) was born in the town of Romny in the Poltava Region into a worker's family. He graduated from Kharkiv University, majoring in physics and mathematics, and then prolonged his studies, graduating as a history and language specialist from the University of Kyiv. His first publication, Knights of the Absurd, appeared in 1924.

Antonenko-Davydovych was not only a writer but also a thorough expert in the Ukrainian language and a translator of books from Russian. Altogether, he wrote 24 books. His better works have been reprinted and translated into a number of countries.

Duel (titled Smert’ in the Ukrainian original) brought the author recognition. The novel's main hero, Kost Horobenko, is a former Ukrainian nationalist who now plays an active role in Party life. This is his life story.

The English translation reads with interest and is of a good standard. The translator is known for several renditions of Ukrainian authors such as Pantelimon Kulish, Ostap Vyshnya, Valery Shevchuk, and others. A short introduction, written by Dmytro Chub, is included.