Sweet Darusya

A Tale of Two Villages

by Maria Matios

Sweet Darusya tells the life story of a Hutsul woman through a series of shorter stories depicting the important scenes in her life that made her who she became. Unusually (for me, at least), the story is told in a reverse chronological order: we meet Sweet Darusya in her later life, and gradually Matios unfolds what came before.

Hutsuls are an ethnic group from Western Ukraine - around Zakarpattia (Transcarpathia) - and Romania, and Matios uses the story of Sweet Darusya to paint a picture of Hutsul life in the mid-20th century. I wonder how much of that life remains, and how much has been lost forever?

Set roughly during the late 1930s up to the 1960s, Matios brings to life the culture and history of these people through the life of Sweet Darusya.

This story is so powerful and moving; incredibly emotional, at once the story of a single woman yet also - through her story - the tale of a whole culture. After finihshing the book, I have a strong desire to visit the region, to see more.

Maria Matios is a Ukrainian author, poet and former-parliamentarian, and winner of the Taras Shevchenko prize (Ukraine’s highest award for literature).

Very strongly recommended if you have any interest in Ukraine, or literature - it is not a long book and most will probably get through it in a few days, but well worth the time.