{"product_id":"life-in-spite-of-everything-9781917092746","title":"Life in Spite of Everything","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA cultural portrait of eastern Ukraine, and an urgent, essential read.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eSince the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine in 2014, its eastern region – Donbas – has been synonymous with conflict. With the escalation of that war in 2022, its cities such as Bakhmut and Lysychansk have become familiar to us through the images and reports of brutal devastation. Victoria Donovan excavates a rich, multicultural history of this area, and paints a radically different picture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eTravelling from the dramatic, jagged peaks of Bilokuzmynivka to the marshland of Mariupol, from a warehouse rave to an abandoned gypsum mine, the physical world and its importance to this region’s identity is brought to vivid life. But above all else, by speaking to those whose lives are embedded there now – curators, artists, railway workers, young people who have grown up amidst instability and destruction – Donovan amplifies local voices and reveals the intensely personal lived reality of Putin’s war.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003eRevelatory, evocative and deeply humane, \u003ci\u003eLife In Spite of Everything\u003c\/i\u003e is a celebration of a country’s past and present, and its people’s tenacity, creativity and independence.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e‘Donovan allows us to see the region of Donbas from the inside, centralising the memories and lived realities of its inhabitants, and reminds us that life can and must continue, in spite of it all.’ \u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eService 95\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e‘\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-contrast=\"none\"\u003eHauntingly personal yet rigorously researched . . . [Donovan] avoids didactism, yet is always compassionate and compelling.’ \u003cstrong\u003eSerhy Yekelchyk, \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TextRun SCXW139992812 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW139992812 BCX8\"\u003e‘\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TextRun SCXW139992812 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW139992812 BCX8\"\u003eWar is not central to this work. It is a story of people and nature, filled with sweet and bitter memories, \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW139992812 BCX8\"\u003eempathy\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW139992812 BCX8\"\u003eand hope.’ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TextRun SCXW139992812 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW139992812 BCX8\"\u003eObserver\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"EOP SCXW139992812 BCX8\" data-ccp-props=\"{}\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TextRun SCXW38583573 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW38583573 BCX8\"\u003e‘A sad and angry history.’ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TextRun SCXW38583573 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW38583573 BCX8\"\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"EOP SCXW38583573 BCX8\" data-ccp-props=\"{}\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TextRun SCXW134441985 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW134441985 BCX8\"\u003e‘Shines a spotlight on a part of the world most of us know only from scenes of death and destruction on the television news.’ \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"TextRun SCXW134441985 BCX8\" lang=\"EN-US\" data-contrast=\"none\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW134441985 BCX8\"\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"EOP SCXW134441985 BCX8\" data-ccp-props=\"{}\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Victoria Donovan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48931495182587,"sku":"9781917092746","price":33.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0806\/8176\/3067\/files\/9781917092746.webp?v=1780456152","url":"https:\/\/aureliabooks.co.nz\/products\/life-in-spite-of-everything-9781917092746","provider":"Aurelia Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}