Man Running Over the Abyss. Morituri. The Defeat. The General

«Crucifixion and death are often a testament to the weakness of the crucifier, not the crucified». These words from Ivan Bahryanyi's novel «The Defeat» serve as a key to understanding his four works presented in the third book of the «Classics of Ukrainian Fiction» series published by «Apriori»: the novella «Man Running Over the Abyss» the plays «Morituri», «The Defeat» and «The General».
Bahryanyi's works, written about World War II, remain relevant today as they resonate with contemporary challenges. Speaking about Ukraine's enemies – both German and Russian fascists – as well as the Ukrainian people, Olena, the protagonist of «The Defeat», proclaims: «They want to inject themselves with the elixir of life at our expense, at the expense of the young, but what is historically destined to be a corpse, no elixir will save. They are going downhill into oblivion. We are going uphill to the top. We can be temporarily detained, but never pushed down. We can be decimated, but never destroyed. We can be terrorized, but never broken».
This book is especially valuable in our time when Ukraine is once again under threat of crucifixion by enemies – both external and internal.