{"product_id":"the-length-of-days-by-volodymyr-rafeyenko-9780674291218","title":"The Length of Days","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"book-description\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Length of Days\u003c\/i\u003e features a wild cast of characters—Lithuanian, Russian, and Ukrainian—and cameo appearances by Rosa Luxemburg, Amy Winehouse, and others. Embedded narratives attributed to one character, an alcoholic chemist-turned-massage-therapist, broaden the reader's view of the funny, ironic, or tragic lives of people who remained in the ill-fated Donbas after Russia's initial aggression in 2014.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eUnexpected allies emerge to try to stop the war, as characters criticise Ukraine's government at the time, its self-interest, and failures to support its citizens in the east.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWith elements of magical realism, the work combines poetry and a wicked sense of humour with depth of political analysis, philosophy, and moral interrogation. Witty references to popular culture—Ukrainian and European—underline the international and transnational aspects of Ukrainian literature.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe novel ends on a hopeful note even though by then the main characters have already died twice: they return with greater power each time. As the author's last novel written originally in the Russian language, \u003ci\u003eThe Length of Days\u003c\/i\u003e is a deeply Ukrainian work, set mostly in the composite Donbas city of Z—an uncanny foretelling of what this letter has come to symbolise since 24 February 2022, when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Unknown","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47464394850540,"sku":"9780674291218","price":40.99,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0705\/7784\/8556\/files\/9780674291218-the-length-of-days.jpg?v=1775048492","url":"https:\/\/bookhero.co.nz\/products\/the-length-of-days-by-volodymyr-rafeyenko-9780674291218","provider":"Book Hero","version":"1.0","type":"link"}