Swan Flock. Green Mills

Zemliak sheds new light on familiar aspects of Ukrainian village life in the 1920s-1940s. The revolution, the destruction of estates, the first communes, collective farms, and World War II – all of these appear before the reader in an unusual light. Old Babylon on the Pobuzhia River, peasants who find ancient weapons under a pear tree, a local philosopher who reads Plato and reflects on the Taurians and Scythians, a swing built by a Singer sewing machine salesman to marry off his daughters, the goat Fabian who turns his back on the firing squad – all of this is woven into a bizarre novel against the backdrop of a brutal history.
Zemliak masterfully combines the ordinary and the fantastic, tragedy and humor, creating a unique atmosphere in his works. His characters are ordinary people who live in difficult times, but do not lose their human dignity, faith, and hope.

Reading Zemliak's works is like immersing yourself in another world, where reality intertwines with mysticism, and laughter through tears becomes the only way to survive.